Monday, Day 2. San Jose Succotz

We spent all day at San Jose Succotz, a village of 2,500. It is south of Santa Elena just across the river from Xuntantic. 

Our facility was a large community center. It had a concrete floor, open walls, and a peaked aluminum roof. The two ends were solid concrete blocks and the interior was completely open. The eastern end had a big stage and children ran up and down it all day. The western end had the store room and toilets. There was chain link fense partially up the sides and children entertained themselves climbing on it.

The Chairman of the village met us and welcomed us enthusiastically. The workers helped us set out an intake table, three examination tables and a private exam room in the store room where Victoria worked when personal examination was needed. We set up several rows of nice white plastic chairs where the people waited. Last night a big wind blew in the rain. It rained all night and all day. We had a brief period around lunch when it stopped raining. There were a few leaks in the roof so we positioned the tables and chairs around them. Kids played with the water that dripped from the roof.

We got started around 9:30 and worked till 5:30. In between we saw over 100 people, mostly mothers and children. The kids are too cute, running around the facility, playing in the puddles, and arm wrestling. I worked the intake, assigning numbers and recording names, ages, weight, height, the chief complaint and symptoms. Entire families came in, often with several children and sometimes with grandparents. Each person got a separate sheet with his information on it. When the parent's number was called the entire family went up. One family had five children, one little girl and four boys. I took their photos and they loved it, mugging for me. The little girl brought me a little tinsel heart which I am now wearing on my name tag.

The entire team worked well together. Kim and Andy were a team, Nichole and Kelly worked together, Victoria floated to wherever she was needed and Amelia made sure everyone had what she needed. It was amazing how well everything went. Everyone pitched right in, did her job and helped everyone else. Amelia spelled me a bit when Verizon called me about my texting trouble ticket. (I have SMS now, but no ability to send photos. Hopefully that will be fixed tomorrow.) Wilhelm ran errands and kept an eye on the whole operation, ready to be of service at any time.

Most of the health complaints were colds and flu, coughs, runny noses and fever. Everyone wanted vitamins. One mother had Dengue fever and was taking treatment for it. We saw several people with high blood pressure. We saw at least three people who were 70 or older. We met Amrita Cocom, a Community Health Worker who manages the facility. She knows everyone in the community and she will be a great help to us in future Clinics.

One little girl walked a long way with her sister who then left her there and returned home. Wilma, age 7, gravitated to me so I stayed with her and took her to see Kelly when her number, 72, came up. She had a fever and a nasty laceration on her right big toe. The wound was only a couple of days old and very dirty. Kelly cleaned it up, put antibiotic cream on and bandaged it thoroughly. She gave Wilma an oral antibiotic and instructed her to keep the toe dry and wear closed-toe shoes until it healed. Wilma was very quiet and barely spoke. Amelia translated for her and gently gave her the instructions. I held her on my lap and tried to help her feel secure. Tears leaked out of her eyes and when I asked if she was sad she said, "yes." I gave her a tissue and she wiped her face and held on to it like a security blanket. I was concerned about her ability to get home on her own. She said she could, but she also said it was a long way. I called Amrita over and asked if she knows Wilma. Amrita did, and confirmed that she lives a long way away. She looked around and saw that Wilma's brother had just arrived on his bicycle. She called him over and Kelly gave him the take-home instructions for cleaning and bandaging the wound. He and Wilma left together for the long walk home.

We finally started to wrap up around 5:00 pm. We were exhausted but happy that we were able to see so many people. Tomorrow we go to Georgeville and the forecast is for rain again. Elections are on Wednesday so it's a holiday and everything will be closed. So, we'll go to see more Myan ruins. Wilhelm promises to prohibit rain that day.

We'll wrap up tonight shortly. Everyone is well, happy, fed and dry. There are two night watchmen at the facility and they patrol the grounds all night long. We feel safe and cared for.

See you tomorrow!