Weekend Fun and Eye Surgery Team

This past weekend, Macie and I caught a ride to Guatemala City, two hours away from where we live. My suitemate for next semester, Jessica Castro, actually lives in Guatemala City! We didn’t really know each other; we had just met once. She graciously invited us to stay at her house and show us around the city. Her family was very welcoming to us and even gave US presents… We had a fabulous time with Jessica! We walked to a nearby mall - it was huge with 5 stories, many restaurants, a movie theater, and a carousel inside. We thoroughly enjoyed shopping around, and then we ended up at an aquarium restaurant. There were fish underneath our feet under the floor, and we got to go inside the huge aquarium with a shark, eel, puffer fish, and a scuba diver! Afterward, we grabbed some authentic Guatemalan coffee and went to the theater to watch “Eclipse.” It was in English with Spanish subtitles… so good! :)

The next day, we took a taxi to the airport to meet the American eye surgery group that was flying in. We rode with them in a bus back to the clinic. Three hours later, we arrived at the clinic in Montellano, and immediately we began eye consults. I helped with the visual acuity chart tests. I instructed the patients to stand behind the line, cover one eye with the spoon, and read me the chart, if they could. We couldn’t use the typical E chart, with all the alphabet letters, because many are illiterate, so we just used a chart with all E’s. The patients had to tell me whether the E was facing right, left, up, or down. I got so tickled watching the patients try to mimic the way the E was facing with their bodies, rather than simply telling me the direction. The consults lasted until 10 p.m. Macie and I decided to stay at the clinic hotel with the group this week, instead of with our host families, because finding a ride from Chicacao to Montellano was such a hassle every day.

Today, I got to observe in the operating room. I saw Dr. Jerry Swale from Illinois remove a cataract from an 80-year-old woman. I was the “translator” in the operating room. I got to forewarn the patient what the doctor was about to do, monitor her pain throughout the surgery, and keep her informed post-op. She was so brave. The doctor had to zoom in and focus his microscope manually because we lacked some equipment that we have in the States. Also, we didn’t have an anesthesiologist, so our patients just received local anesthesia. They were completely conscious and their eyeballs were moving around looking at us, while the doctor cut into their eyeballs… it was creepy! I would have definitely required some anxiety medicine! I saw the doctor slip the cataract out and lay it on the patient’s chest. I got to feel it between my fingers… it felt like a hard booger. Then, Dr. Swale inserted the new lens implant, and that was it. Right after he slipped the new one in, he asked the patient to open her eyes. She was able to tell him how many fingers he was holding up. Before surgery, she could only detect up-close hand movement. Crazy cool.

I’ll be working with this ophthalmology team here at Clinica Ezell through Thursday of this week. It’s already so fascinating, and the people are so kind! Thanks for your continued prayers. Please pray that the surgeries will run smoothly and that we will be able to help the patients, despite lack of certain instruments and machines. Dios te bendiga!!