Dr. Daly and colleague Dr. Mike Forseth performed the first surgeries on two patients who came to the external clinic looking for medical assistance in the weeks leading up to their visit. One patient, an elderly woman, was in serious need of help. Last November, she fell out of a tree and broke both wrists (why a woman in her sixties was climbing a tree to cut wood in the first place is a question we did not get into, and likely would’ve led to a larger discussion on Honduran cultural norms and living conditions). The public hospital in Tegus, her only form of assistance, asked for somewhere in the neighborhood of US$10,000 to operate on her. She hasn’t seen that kind of money in all the years of her life, so she walked away untreated and continued to care for her children as best as she could despite her comprimised condition.
On triaging this woman and other candidates at the beginning of the week, hand surgeon Dr. Forseth determined that hers was a case that, while complicated, they could reasonably undertake. Along with the other patient (needing a minor cyst removal in her hand, lingering from a previously botched attempt at a health center in nearby Talanga) the two became the Surgery Center’s first patients to receive US trained surgical care.
The surgeries were successful, and both women expressed gratitude and dignified satisfaction with the care they received. A humbling and rather striking sentiment I realized was the pride and joy felt by the community that such a center has been constructed for them. The goal is to make the center of U.S. quality, and this is a level of care far and beyond what these people have experienced. It really does affect one’s psyche when the quality of the facilities and services available to you are in poor condition and third rate. For these Hondurans to be told that they deserve (and will receive) sound care in clean facilities uplifts their dignity and sense of worth, and it is an additional benefit that really can’t be quantified. To see the surprised smiles of these two patients as they received careful attention from dedicated providers, who listened to and answered their questions, was a terrific thing to behold. Thinking of the many future patients that are soon to come, it certainly solidified my faith in the project.
All in all the week was a success, and I think everyone involved left with a feeling of satisfaction and gratitude, including the patients. For now, we will continue to treat patients once weekly at the surgery center for minor procedures (with Dr. Cerna from Tegucigalpa), progress with details in building construction, and gather more patients as we look forward to a May visit by the Daly group, with goals of augmenting the services provided and numbers of patients treated at that time.
The medical team that came with the Daly's.
My 15 seconds of fame scrubbed in and sitting at the surgical table.
