From May 21 to 28, the Daly group was here for what would be the final surgical brigade during my time in Honduras. Their goal was to expand upon the successful inaugural operations that took place in March. To do this, a number of projects needed to be completed, foremost of which were installing a backup generator in the event of a power outage and installing a water filtration system for the autoclave.
The generator and filtration system, along with many medical supplies, were to arrive two weeks before the Daly group came with technicians to install the equipment. With unsurprising Honduran reliability, the container was delayed at customs in Puerto Cortes by a broken computer system, and its ETA was completely unknown. However, to unload the generator inside the container, we needed to rent a mobile crane mounted on a flatbed truck and have it at the ranch when the container arrived. At this stage that I actually benefited by Hondurans’ aversion to schedules. I could not tell the rental company when we needed the truck, but they were content to wait until we called. When the container finally showed up on our doorstep a week late and without warning, we called the company, and they arrived within about a half an hour.
Everything came intact and was unloaded without a hitch. We even succeeded in enlarging the generator house to accommodate a larger than anticipated generator in the span of a week, no small feat for the ranch construction workers. I regret not having a camera handy to document the proceedings, especially the generator being lifted by the crane, which was impressive. Everything was in place for Dr. Daly and his team of technicians.
Dave Helgeson and Keith Hines installed the generator, Brad Weaver put together the water filtration system, and Becky Hines RN organized all the medical supplies. The generator was equipped with an automatic transfer switch to maintain a nearly constant power supply, keeping anesthesia machines and other life saving equipment running during surgery. The four orthopedic surgeons were now able to operate.
After screening patients in the external clinic, the surgeons selected a number of feasible operations. At final count, twelve operations were performed during two full days of surgery, ten orthopedic cases done by the U.S. surgeons and two elective, general procedures that Dr. Cerna completed on Pequeños. The Pequeños had needed their respective surgeries for some time. Of note was the most complicated procedure, removal of dead bone from a middle-aged woman’s wrist that had become infected after being operated upon by public hospital doctors. After taking out an unexpectedly large amount of dead tissue, she will need further surgery in August or November to finally correct the problem. None of the 10 patients from the community paid a cent for the operations they received.
All in all the week was a success, in large part because, with the invaluable help of Dave, Keith, and Brad, the final major components were installed to equip the building for function on a full scale. With these pieces in place, the Daly’s are ready to scale up operations in August to treat more needy persons. It was great to see a wide array of talented individuals give their time and work together to make large strides for the surgery center and the health of our community here.
The generator and filtration system, along with many medical supplies, were to arrive two weeks before the Daly group came with technicians to install the equipment. With unsurprising Honduran reliability, the container was delayed at customs in Puerto Cortes by a broken computer system, and its ETA was completely unknown. However, to unload the generator inside the container, we needed to rent a mobile crane mounted on a flatbed truck and have it at the ranch when the container arrived. At this stage that I actually benefited by Hondurans’ aversion to schedules. I could not tell the rental company when we needed the truck, but they were content to wait until we called. When the container finally showed up on our doorstep a week late and without warning, we called the company, and they arrived within about a half an hour.
Everything came intact and was unloaded without a hitch. We even succeeded in enlarging the generator house to accommodate a larger than anticipated generator in the span of a week, no small feat for the ranch construction workers. I regret not having a camera handy to document the proceedings, especially the generator being lifted by the crane, which was impressive. Everything was in place for Dr. Daly and his team of technicians.
Dave Helgeson and Keith Hines installed the generator, Brad Weaver put together the water filtration system, and Becky Hines RN organized all the medical supplies. The generator was equipped with an automatic transfer switch to maintain a nearly constant power supply, keeping anesthesia machines and other life saving equipment running during surgery. The four orthopedic surgeons were now able to operate.
After screening patients in the external clinic, the surgeons selected a number of feasible operations. At final count, twelve operations were performed during two full days of surgery, ten orthopedic cases done by the U.S. surgeons and two elective, general procedures that Dr. Cerna completed on Pequeños. The Pequeños had needed their respective surgeries for some time. Of note was the most complicated procedure, removal of dead bone from a middle-aged woman’s wrist that had become infected after being operated upon by public hospital doctors. After taking out an unexpectedly large amount of dead tissue, she will need further surgery in August or November to finally correct the problem. None of the 10 patients from the community paid a cent for the operations they received.
All in all the week was a success, in large part because, with the invaluable help of Dave, Keith, and Brad, the final major components were installed to equip the building for function on a full scale. With these pieces in place, the Daly’s are ready to scale up operations in August to treat more needy persons. It was great to see a wide array of talented individuals give their time and work together to make large strides for the surgery center and the health of our community here.
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