End of the Trip

Hey readers!

Sorry this is so late in coming. I have been so low on energy and computer time lately. I suppose I will tell you a little about the last few days in Guatemala.

We spent the Monday and Tuesday of the last week working in the clinics. On Monday, Garrett and I went to clinic in Rio Bravo but there was no doctor there. Dr. Garrett, Dr. Kate, and a health translator support person ran the clinic. We only had 8 patients thank goodness but it was fun. We gave a lot of referrals to come back the next week and did our best to make the patients that were in pain more comfortable. It was an interesting day for sure. Tuesday, we went with Dr. Sierra to his clinic in Samayac that Amy and I were at the week before. We saw lots of really interesting patients and I felt like we got to participate in the process either by writing the prescriptions or examining the patients. We saw a lot of hernias and other painful disorders that they will need surgery for. They will have to wait until September for most of them when the next team comes down...but that is not that bad if you consider the level of care and the price that they would be paying elsewhere.

Wednesday we had family day with our friends in Chicacao. We watched the US game at Garrett's and then went to Amy's for chocolate covered fruit. Funny thing is...that fruit gave all of us parasites (amoebas in specific). The strawberries and bananas and oranges were good but the full week and a half of bloating, not sleeping, loss of appetite, cramping after you eat, fever, and all the rest of it were unpleasant. Oh well, "Welcome to Guatemala" as we say along with "travel with no expectations because those become disappointments; traveling expectation free allows you to always be pleasantly surprised." So yeah, it was good we met Lisa the doctor two days later when we were all fit-to-be-tied and sick as dogs. Not really though, I didn't feel bad unless I thought about food or saw it or smelled it. There is no diet like amoebas...let me tell ya.

Thursday we headed to Antigua and got here before lunch. We waited on the other group and watched soccer games until they got there. Then we went to lunch and had a great afternoon. These were our two vacation days to act like Americans and how the other side lived. We went shopping and swimming and had great food. We had such a good time. My roommates and I stayed up until 4 one night just talking and then got up at 7 to watch the Brazil game at 8. It was so much fun and great to relax. I had my first hot shower in over 17 days in that hotel and almost freaked out it was so delightful...oh the little things in life.

Saturday was very bittersweet. While I got to see my family (mom and grandparents and then Bering church family the next day) which was great, I had to say bye to all of my new friends that shared this singular experience with me. I just want to take a second to thank them for all of the support and friendship and love that I was shown while I was in Guatemala. It was a rough time for me and you all stuck it out alongside me and encouraged all of us the whole way. It truly was a great experience and ones I will remember for the rest of my life.

From the highs of Lake Atitlan and climbing the volcano to the depths of tropical storms, insomnia, and bed bugs...it was a summer that I will never forget and provided experiences that I will carry in my heart forever. I can't wait to meet my first patient with bed bug bites-- empathy will never come so easily as with that.

Thanks again for the prayers and support. They were definitely felt and highly needed. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more adventures in the life of Kate Huggins, :)

Summer days...drifting away...

Hey readers!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I have had limited time on the internet and all of that has been concentrated on finishing my medical school application and emailing my advisor and my parents about all of that stuff! I am back though!!

I did finish my application for medical school on, wait, what was that?, Wednesday night. It was an exciting story- I had gone over to Garrett's everyday because his family has a computer. But during the day on Wednesday I was supposed to be working, but the doctor I was working for insisted that I watch the Uruguay-South Africa game instead. I did (naturally) and updated him on the progress every few minutes. I toldd myself that if Uruguay won, I had to submit my application that day...no matter what. So I went to Garrett's after work but there was a thunderstorm. I waited for it to go down a little, checked the rest of the information, read my essays again and got ready to submit it. A few minutes before church started, I realized I had to have the number of the check that I am sending them. So I went to church and it was, not so ironically, about worrying about our lives. Perfect, God. Thanks! I trudged down to Andrea's in the rain (she has the phone) and finally got a hold of my parents. After I got the check number, I walked in the pouring rain back up to Garrett's. I was soaked, but I needed to get it done. Garrett had pulled up the website for me but he was eating dinner with his family, so I went in and got the information put in. Garrett and his host dad came in right as I was about to press the button, so I closed my eyes and went for it...the internet shut off...perfect. So I did that a couple more times and then decided that I was GOING TO GET THIS APPLICATION IN! So I stayed and waited. Finally, it showed it as in and I was never so relieved. I swam back to my house (almost literally) and got home in time for dinner (more or less). Just thought all of you should know what a hillarious mess that whole night was.

So yeah, I have been back in medical clinics the last two days and it is really different than the clinics in Chichi. There I felt like we were a part of the process, that we were useful and they liked having us around. Here we don't really do anything like vitals or helping out with labs(they won't let us) so we just basically shadow the doctors. It is always great experience and useful for learning, but now I find that I really miss the hands-on/this-is-my-patient aspect of clinics. It is good though, don't get me wrong...I love it.

Today, we all got an excuse to stay home and come into work late because the USA team was playing Slovenia. We met at Garrett's and watched the very exciting game. I have never been so worked up about a sport in my life (minus Wade's state-winning football game). It was great. When we got to the clinic, we saw a patient and then they said that was all there was to see today. Hence, the catching up on my blog...

Thanks for the love and prayers and support. I really appreciate it so much. I've grown so much on this trip it's incredible.

k-baby

Weekend at Chicacao!!

Hey there friends and family!

 

I am happy to report tht I am loving my life here at the coast. By the coast I mean still 40 miles away from the beach...not walking distance...

 

We had a great weekend filled with soccer games. i am finding that I really like to watch the world cup matches and they are really fairly interesting. Garrett and I have our brackets going and we'll have to se how mine shapes up. We watched the USA-England game on Saturday all together and that was really fun.

 

Today at the clinic, Amy Archer and I are doing dental again. I got to do a cleaning all by myself which was really cool. I really enjoy working with dental, but not as much as medical. Being here at Ezell at the coast has been such a high...I don't want our time to end. I don't wanna say goodbye to my new friends!! But life goes on and I do miss my old friends.

 

Today Amy and I were thinking about how different the two locations are for us. In Chichi, I wanted to go to work early and get home late. Here I want work to end so that I can go home and be with my adorable family. The little grandchildren were over yesterday and the little girls are so cute! One of them talks to me in Spanih really fast and her pitch goes up so high at the end of her sentences she is squeaking. She also helped me brush my hair yesterday and we sat on my bed and takled for a while. She is four.. :)

 

So yeah, i am good and healthy right now. The bed bugs bites are almost all resolved now...the final count (drumroll...) five-hundred and eighty. that's right 580. Eighty more than half a thousand. Lovin' life though... Loving it.

 

Oh did i mention that my bathroom is in the kitchen? It's great. the toliet, shower, stove and sink are all there together. I suppose if you need water in a room you need water the room. Taking a shower while they clean upfrom dinner is interesting though. Oh well, just another quirky thing about Guatemala. I don't know what is quirky anymore though...

 

Well thanks for all the prayers and love! I'll see some of you soon!

To the Lake and the coast

Man! So much has happened in our story since I last wrote. Where to begin is the real question...

 

Well, Saturday Garrett and I went to clinic with Sherri and then had lots of time to chill at home and hang out with the family. All of the chickens were safe this time though...Sunday was really exciting in a lot of ways. We went to Chi Chi to go to the market and shop. I was able to find some good stuff at "good prices" from some very friendly vendors. Then we went to the hotel and showered again! Highlight of the day...lol. We got home just in time for them to dress me up in their Mayan garb before going to church. This consists of a top that tucks into a wrap around skirt that is tied with a very tight belt around your natural waist. While it was fun for a while, it occured to me later that the top dyed my hands, watch, and arms a light pink color...Oh well. The more color on me the merrier...right?

 

After our 2 and a half hour church service, I thought I was going to get to go home to change but boy was I wrong. It was starting to get a little uncomfortable and I w feeling a little faint and my stomach hurt, but I climbed into the back of a truck as instructed with my family and we went down the hill. We went to a funeral for the mother of one of the elders at church. No one paid attention though...the kids in my family ran around crazy and my family just sat and talked. By the time we left, I was feeling really quite faint and didn't know if I could make it up the hill to get home. It was steep. But I did and when I got there after a few more pictures, I took off the skirt and top and put on some scrubs. I thought I would feel better but I didn't. To make a long story short I got pretty sick that night and didn't feel good the next day...

 

The next day though, we went to Lake Atitlan for our "tourist day". Although I didn't feel quite right, it was so much fun. We went on a boat ride  to some hot springs that were really just a warmer side of the freezing cold lake. We had lunch (they had lunch) and then we shopped. Luckily, Garrett didn't feel like doing much shopping either so we kinda sat and wandered around at a good pace. That night I had so much fun with my family though, they were so great. They wanted to learn some English and the ladies knitted with me (I taught them) and that was just great.

 

Tuesday was our last day in clinic in the highlands and I got to be a denist again. I really like that (maybe too much). I got to give three shots (in the mouth) and then got to pull more teeth. It was great! We got home early so I rested and packed. That night, for our last night, my family asked me what I wanted to eat and then ended up makeing the most amazing fried chicken I have ever had! It was soooo amazing but i couldn't eat too much of it. I took lots of pictures with my family and then said goodnight! It was a little bit sad, but I was ready to have a new bedbug-free bed. For those of you who were wondering, I had bed bugs and those were the bites that I have talked about. i am sorry for that oversight as far as blogging is concerned.

 

Wednesday we switched with the team at the coast. We me at Wendy's and had a great burger before heading out to the coast. After that we went to church in Chicacao and then to our new homes. My new home is so amazing!!!! It has a floor, a ceiling, a TV (world cup starts tomorrow), a fridge, and so many more things that I love I can't even count. I had veggies last night and pancakes this morning! I love it!

 

Besides the house, my family is great! Everyone is so nice and I have a little brother that is so precious! He is 11 which means he is the same age (more or less) as my mom's fifth graders that I love working with. They love soccer and there is a TV in the eating room so we aregoing to be watching a lot of soccer. They told me that I should skip clinic tomorrow to watch the first game! Lol. I can't but that would be fun. They are soooo nice.

 

Today was also amazing! We got to come to Clinica Ezell and watch surgery. I got to scrub in on one case and feel the muscles and arteries inside the girls arm. It was amazing!!!! Then I got to cut the sutures and I just love love love it. I got to watch some other cases and have been doing a lot of translating. It is good. I am able to do some of my chaplaincy stuff in Spanish and it is great! I talked to them as they were going to sleep and waking up because the nurses with the team don't speak spanish...it is good for us though to practice.

 

anyway!! I am doing good. thanks for the prayers!!! Love and miss yall!

What a ride! My life among the Mayans!

Well, the last few days have been really interesting. Ever since I got to Chichi (in the mountains) I have done so many things that I never said I would do:

1. Start a prednazone pack for 193 bedbug bites all over.
2. Each hot cornflakes soaked in corn juice.
3. Take a 5 minute hike to the corn mill at 6 in the morning.
4. Participate in a 2.5 hour church service on a Sunday afternoon.
5. Eat multiple internal organs.
6. Hit my head (repeatedly on door frames).
7. Go for four days without a shower (baby wipes don't cut it).
8. Eat at least the equivalent of 4 corn tortillas at all three meals of the day.
9. Get good at chugging hot corn drink.
10. Kill a chicken. Yep, last night was my turn to help make dinner.

Although our village doesn't have water yet and we are at a hotel this afternoon taking showers, I am still loving my life. I have learned so much about myself and God and his provision. We have survived a volcanic erruption, a hurricane, mudslides, sinkholes, floods, downed roads, and now an earthquake. The hand of God and that alone has shielded us over the last week.

I am happy to say that I am recovering from the bug bites and now that I have new bedding, I am not getting new bites! I am lucky to work at a clinic though, that has medicines and doctors and nurses all around.

Here's a little bit more about my day to day: I get up at 5:30AM and get dressed. Then I help with chores, what I can, and then eat breakfast with my family (usually not "breakfast food"). Then we pile into the trucks and drive between an hour and three hours to get to the village that we are doing clinic in that day. Then we get out, get out all the stuff, and set up shop. Patients come and we take vitals and talk with them during consult. Then we pray with them and get their medicines for them. After all the patients have been seen, we load up and drive either to Chichi for some internet time and or food. Then we take the 45 minute drive up a non-paved road back to our village of Paxot Segundo. I get home and help with more chores or watch a movie with the kids (last night I killed a chicken for us). After we eat dinner and I sit there not knowing what they are saying. I politely excuse myself, take a baby wipe shower and crawl into bed. I journal and read and then go to sleep...The next morning we do it all over.

I love my life right now though (not the not showering part) but I really do. It is so interesting and our patients and family are all so sweet. I have not been too homesick, but I am ready to get to the coast where they have water. The good news is that they opened the airport again yesterday! Haha. We laugh so much about the little victories like no new bites, hearing English songs, and getting a shower after four days!!! We were sooooo excited...yes!!

So yeah, just be in prayer that God continues to be with us and our patients! I love all of you and can't wait to give you details when I get home!

Volcano, Hurricanes, Prayer, and Kate

Well , readers, I am alive. We have survived a volcanic erruption and hurricane Agatha, and mudslides. My house in the village is just under the church, so we are pretty safe but please prayer forour friends and neighbors that did not fair so well.

I love being in clinic though. I realy do. I am now doing vital signs and glucose and today I was a dentist. I got to pull some teeth and help with fillings. It was really exciting.

Our village doesn´t have electricity or water right now, so we are bringing pure water up everyday. We can live without electricity though...so yeah. Everything has been so overwhelming the last few days with the storm and all I don´t know what to write.

Sorry for the short post butI am out of time. I miss you all and love you. Please keep praying. We will talk when I get home...I promise. i have so much to share that I just ´can´t type out right now. I am journaling it all though!

k'baby

Chichicastetenango

Nope...that´s the real name of where I am right now. We are here in the middle of nowhere Guatemala for the next two weeks and it is really different. My family doesn´t really speak Spanish, which is interesting. They all speak Kíche which is a Mayan language. Here are the top five reasons I could not ever pass for a Mayan

5. I am about 2 feet too tall for an average woman
4. I know nothing about carrying children on my back
3. I don´t know how to wash my face and brush my teeth while holding a flashlight.
2. I don´t cherish getting up at 5 in the morning to take the corn to the corn mill. I do it, but not quite with a spring in my step.
1. I am miserable at making tortillas.

Where as rice and beans were the flavor last week, this week is corn. Corn drink, corn tortillas, corn flakes, corn tamales, corn for the chickens, corn for the turkeys, corn husks on the table...you get the picture. Corn is really big.

Ah, what else...well, yeah, I started work this week. I am taking vitals and blood glucose levels, and sitting in with consults. I have really enjoyed every minute in the clinics so far. I am so at home with all of that stuff. Today I saw two female patients recieve pelvic exams and a male patient who was suffering from a hernia...yeah, gross, but it´s life and I am glad those patients were able to make it in to see us. We give a lot of vitamins and the people are so grateful for what they get.

I am so grateful to love what I am doing so much. Life at home, my Guatemalan home, is a little hard but I am getting through. It is just the food and the language barrier that get to me. I am getting better at eating the food though...little at a time. Please pray for me and us though this week as adjusting to living out in the country in Guatemala and 5 foot ceilings can be difficult at times.

Thanks for all the prayers and support!