Cancer and the Poor in Gustemala

Friends and Family,
Before I came "back" to Guatemala in 2006, I had worked ten years at the University of Washington in Oncology Nursing.  This experience for me was very rewarding. Most of my career as a Register Nurse has been in the Mission in Guatemala.  I came to Guatemala in 1966 after graduating as a Register Nurse in 1964 from Carroll College in Helena, Montana. I and another nurse found the Clinica Maxeña in 1966, as a Parish Mission Clinic with the diocese of Helena, Montana, in a small rural town in Guatemala Central America. The clinic served also thousands of Mayan Indigenous people in the surrounding mountainous villages.

When I left the Clinica Maxeña in 1983, Cancer was a rare diagnosis. This was mostly due to the reality that the country was in turmoil from internal armed conflict for almost 30 years.  Health Care and diagnostic tools almost did not exist in rural Guatemala.  Doctors in this area were few. The Clinica Maxeña has had a full time Physician since 1980 but our diagnostic laboratory capabilities were minimal.  The signing of the Peace Accords in 1996 did bring about change and progress.  Now we do have more doctors working in Public Health Centers in our area.  The area is very populated; 13,000 in our town area and over 80,000 in the mountain Mayan villages.  Unfortunately the Public Health centers, though they do have doctors, they have very few medications and diagnostic laboratory capacity. We do the diagnostic slides for Tuberculosis and take references for follow up on AIDS patients, and Cancer patients.  Most of these patients do require follow up; most are Mayan and do not speak Spanish but the Mayan dialect, QUICHE; few have been to Guatemala City or other cities of reference.  Tomorrow I am going to Guatemala City to accompany a Breast Cancer patient who will begin Chemotherapy.  I am happy to do this as it is important for me to have direct contact in these health centers and know the doctors and nurses.  We also provide the cost of Chemotherapy to the poor, through a  PROJECT FOR HEALTH CARE NEEDS FOR  THE VERY POOR, MANAGED BY SISTER ANNA.

We are very grateful for your financial support. I have a deep faith that GOD is with us in our Mission to care for the POOR. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ACCOMPANIMENT!  PLEASE DONATE ON LINE!

http://catalog.diocesehelena.org/Guatemala-Mission-c10/   NOTE FOR THE CLINICA MAXENA.

PHOTO OF MARIA AND HER HUSBAND MANUEL.  MARIA HAS STAGE 3 BREAST CANCER AND BEGINS CHEMOTHERAPY TOMORROW; SHE  WILL ALSO HAVE SURGERY, FOLLOWING CHEMOTHERAPY.  MANUEL AND MARIA HAVE SIX CHILDREN.  SISTER ANNA, TWICE A CANCER SURVIVOR, IS A GREAT SUPPORT AND ALSO ASSISTS NEEDY PATIENTS THROUGH A PROJECT SHE MANAGES. THANK YOU FOR PRAYERS.

FUN DAYS OF PROMOTION AND EDUCATION

Friends and Family,

June 5, 2012,  was WORLD DAY OF THE ENVIRONMENT; this day was first declared by the UNITED NATIONS, in 1972.  Every year the Clinica Maxeña has celebrated the day in colaboration with  PASTORAL HEALTH OF THE DIOCESE, SUCHITEPEQUEZ/RETAHULEU.  This year, we felt there was an urgent need of environmental messages; we have dedicated a week of two hours every morning,  in front of the Clinic, to different themes.

We have also been promoting our own  environmental products; especially the ONIL stove, ONIL water purifier, and ATOL MAXEÑA. Our Atol Maxeña is a nutritious organic drink, made in our Medicinal Plant Clinic, from organic ingredients; soy, corn, wheat, rice, peanuts, mush and other spices. These ingredients are toasted over an open fire, ground and packaged in one pound bags.  Our Agricultural and Nutrition Project promotes healthy organic vegetables and herbs in our demonstrative gardens.  We produce organic fertilizer with worms and the shell of the coffee bean.  All this information was shared daily with the 20 to 30 patients waiting to see our doctor or visit our diagnostic laboratory.  It was also transmitted the first day by the parish radio.  Since they recorded our educational talks they can continue to educate the public, on our behalf, about these important themes.

The UNITED NATIONS has proclaimed that the GOAL of this WORLD DAY of the ENVIRONMENT is to raise GLOBAL awareness; to take positive environmental action; to motivate people to convert to active agents of sustainable development. The HOPE is to change attitudes towards environmental themes;  to develop cooperation and guarantee nations and persons so they can enjoy a more prosperous and safe future.

The Clinica Maxeña takes this responsibility seriously.  We know we cannot just offer curative medicine and not solutions to prevent disease.  Preventive Health has been part of our service since the CLINICA MAXEÑA was established in 1966.

Thank You for being part of our Journey and Service.  Please continue to support our work with the Poor in this mountainous region of the MAYAN population. You can donate on line at:

http://catalog.diocesehelena.org/Guatemala-Mission-c/10   Please note for CLINICA MAXEÑA

A DAY OF REST; LUNCH AT THE BEACH WITH DIEGO!

FRIENDS AND FAMILY,
A quiet Saturday; errands to do in the neighboring town.  The sisters have visitors.  I decided I wanted to get away a day from work and the Mission, and maybe lunch at the beach.  I invited my Patient, Diego Tunay.  Diego is 20 years old, insulin dependent diabetic for two years, and profoundly malnourished. He has recovered from diabetic induced cataracts; our visiting opftalmologists from the North West,  removed the second cataract in April.  When he came for his surgery he had a glucose of 598, profound diarrhea and malnutrition.  I decided to treat him and admit him to our infirmary until he recovered. He had been a chronic patient that always relapsed. He weighed 59 pounds.  After seven weeks he weighs 65 pounds and has had a few bouts of diarrhea.  He has returned to his afternoon classes; he is in a career of Industrial art and construction grafting. Diego will graduate this November.  He hopes to continue his study in arts and crafts.  He is very talented in working with bamboo and small weaving crafts and finds it very productive and enjoyable.

Today when I went to lunch with Diego at the Beach, about two hours from the mission, I discovered a little more about his person.  Delightfully he sang some songs and chatted most of the journey. He told me about his family; his parents and three older siblings, his school life and his interests.

Diego is from a very poor family, who live in a one room home with a dirt floor, in a neighborhood near our town.  Recently his dad almost lost this very small dwelling and piece of land because of a loan he took and could not pay and had given the deed of the property as collateral.  This is a very common tragedy here as the poor do not understand interest and Banks and individuals take advantage of their lack of understanding and many do lose their land.

His father borrowed 40,000 thousand quetzales, equivalent to about $5,000. His father works three days a week, slaughtering animals for meat sold in the local market.  He had paid very little of this debt and after 2 years the lawyer who loaned the money to his dad gave him thirty days to pay 100,000 quetzales, more than double the amount borrowed, or he would lose his land and humble home to this lawyer.  His dad had borrowed the money to buy some animals and hopefully make a productive business, but it did not work out.  He was about to lose the land when a cousin, working in the United states, offered to buy the land and property at 100,000 quetzales and allow the family to continue to live there.  A bargain but a grave injustce of the lawyer!  His parents are happy now, secure in their humble home.  They are also happy that Diego continues staying in the clinic and is healing from malnourishment and his diabetes and diet are well controlled.  He often goes home during recess time of his classes to visit his mom.

A delightful saturday afternoon; I returned rested.  Thank You Diego for sharing your story with me.

Attached are a picture of Diego between two visiting Montana State University students, who are also 20 years old!  Diego with his Mom and Nurse following his cataract surgery; and today at the Beach!