Day 6-June 19-Day 3 of Medical Clinic

I want to start with two special people. Cecelia is 84 years old, originally from Venezuela, and has attended this medical trip for 11 years. She acts as one of our translators and helps hand out prescriptions at the pharmacy. She is a fabulous and inspiring lady.

Coto is a local who helped set things up at the school beforehand. His English is about the same as my Spanish, so we agreed to only speak Spanish whenever we meet, which is several times per day. This has been wonderful practice for me. I’ve used my Spanish more on this trip than on any vacation. I have to read and write all the prescriptions in Spanish, which hasn’t been a problem since my writing and reading are better than my listening.

How do things work at the clinic? First, there is a long line before the clinic opens. Many people travel by foot for miles. Folks then register, and the staff identifies what services they need. Everyone gets parasite medicine. After that, they disperse to the dentist or doctors for a preliminary assessment. Eventually, they get their dental work or visit the doctor. The last step is getting their prescriptions. Since there are hundreds of people each visit day, there is a lot of waiting, but everyone is so patient. Anyone who makes eye contact with you smiles. Three elderly gentlemen wanted to shake my hand and thank me. We realize that although everyone is poor, the adults and children try to dress up and look their best.

The pharmacy usually has 6-8 people running it. Yesterday, we filled over 700 prescriptions. Most people end up with 2-3 prescriptions. My main partner is Velinda, the wife of one of my roommates, Dr. Steve. We also have a crew of hardworking Honduran medical students helping us out. The last few photos are of the pharmacy.Read more