STC Blog
Update from The Healing Hands Foundation Trip in GuatemalaJennifer Simpson - Lead Epidemiologist
Two members of the STC Public Health team, Jennifer Simpson and Chrissie Twomey, are currently in Guatemala on a mission trip with the Healing Hands Foundation. Below is an update from them as they begin their work. For more information about The Healing Hands Foundation, visit http://www.thhfoundation.org/.
Chrissie and I have been enjoying our work, as well as the Guatemalan culture. We have been hard at work getting information on all the patients seen by Healing Hands, including information such as gender, age, hometown, weight, height and blood work. It's interesting how far some of the patients have traveled to get surgery here.
The Healing Hands team is very tight-knit group who work hard. Patients have been both children and adults, ages ranging from 4 months old to 72 years. Most of the children are cleft lip or cleft palate repairs. There have also been quite a few burn scar contracture releases and cryptotic ears or microtia.
The hospital is a facility in the middle of an orphanage run by a group of nuns. The kids are cute, cute, cute!
We are staying in the town of Patzun, pop ~18,000 up in the mountains and located about 2-3 hours drive from Guatemala City. The people here are of Mayan decent and are generally quite short. Diets here are high in starches and carbs... lots of pasta, corn, tortillas, rice and beans. There are many agricultural fields which we passed on our drive to Patzun from Guatemala City, growing everything from squash to carrots to kale, however we were told by Dr. Jaime that almost 85% of it is exported out.
Patzun has a quaint feel to it. I love the traditional dresses the women and girls wear. They are very ornate and colorful. The skirts' patterns reflect the town/village that they are from. There is a market 3 times a week in the streets.
Luckily, it hasn't been as cold here as we were worried about. I am doing ok with the weather...my bed is like a board but my blankets are warm :)
Email Jennifer Simpson your comments.
