Special Report from Front Lines April 2008
ONA Members Help Needy in Guatemala
ONA members have once again proven that when it comes to helping those in need, their charitable work extends well beyond their own communities.
Melanie Fallis, a clinical research coordinator at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, and Anna Jewell and Charlene Dart, who work in the surgical services department at Lakeridge Health Corporation in Port Perry, were part of a contingent of Canadian doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and paramedics who travelled to Guatemala in Central America for five days in late February 2008 to provide medical/ dental clinics to children and families – who average eight to 10 members – in desperate need of primary health care, and to distribute food, clothing and toys.
Feed the Children Canada
The trip was organized by Feed the Children (FTC) Canada, which, in partnership with Canadians, responds to the needs of children and their families in Canada and around the world by providing food, medicine, education and other essentials.
"We take our medical and dental teams to lesser developed countries because, in most cases, in the poor communities that we visit, the children and adults we treat have never seen a dentist or doctor," said FTC Canada President Ken Dick. "These services are unavailable due to the distance to a clinic and/ or the lack of funds to pay a doctor or dentist and/or to purchase medicines."
In conjunction with a local Guatemalan team of doctors, dentists, administrators and interpreters, and accompanied by members of the Guatemalan police to ensure their safety, the team treated more than 3,500 medical patients and 450 dental patients in five regions in the country.
Role of Our Members
"While in Guatemala, we worked as a team, assessing patients and delivering basic health care," said Dart, who along with Fallis and Jewell learned of the medical trip through Fallis’ brother-in-law Dr. Tony Brown, who is the medical advisor for FTC Canada. "We took blood pressures, blood sugars, listened to chests, checked ears, noses and throats, and listened to people via our translators."
"Vitamins and medications for parasites were given to everyone," pointed out Jewell, noting that a pharmacy was set up at each site.
"Poor living conditions, lack of clean water, substandard diet and a difficult life of hard labour all contributed to the medical issues we saw," which included dysentery, lice, parasites, scabies, respiratory ailments, gastritis, hypertension, diabetes, advanced tooth decay, colds, fevers, asthma, viral infections and injuries, said Fallis. She is hopeful "the local team will continue what we have started."
Giving Back
For the three nurses, who gave up precious vacation time to go – although they don’t look at it that way – it was a chance to give back to those less fortunate.
"I was looking for a new and different type of nursing experience that would contribute to the greater good and challenge me at the same time," said Fallis. "Guatemala was a compelling opportunity to help and learn."
"This was the perfect opportunity to see what most tourists wouldn’t be able to experience," added Jewell, who traveled on a FTC Canada medical trip to Honduras last year.
For Dart, Fallis and Jewell, the biggest reward was the genuine appreciation they felt from the local residents they came to help.
"Through education, encouragement, friendship and hope, I think we made a real difference in the lives of the people we met," stated Fallis.
"The Guatemalans were so thankful that we came to help them," added Dart. "The sincere ‘gracias, señora’ is what will take me back on another mission."
And she’s not the only one. Jewell said that she is hoping "for the privilege of participating in a medical/dental mission next year to El Salvador," while Fallis added that she would "volunteer again without hesitation."
The trip also helped the nurses appreciate what they have back home.
"I was very thankful to return home safely to a country that has a health care system like it has," remarked Jewell.
What ONA Members Can Learn
Fallis said if there’s one thing she wants other ONA members to take away from this story, it’s that these medical trips are an opportunity to invest your time and skills outside your current job.
"They serve as a reminder that the Learning never stops," she said. "There’s always a way to make a difference in the lives of others who need our help."
Reprinted with permission of the Ontario Nurses' Association
Friday, June 6, 2008
By Jennifer D. Foster
For five days in February 2008, Dr. Jack Cottrell and his Feed the Children Canada comrades gave nearly 500 children and adults something to smile about.
On a temperate afternoon in late February, 6,500 feet up in the mountains of the Saxsuy community of Guatemala City, Dr. Jack Cottrell bent over the febrile, dehydrated body of tiny three-year-old Ingrid. Travelling five miles on foot with her grandmother, Ingrid, who had never seen a dentist, was expressionless as the bright operatory light revealed 20 primary teeth completely decimated by dental caries and abscesses. After Dr. Cottrell removed two of her teeth, she was rehydrated, given antibiotics and taken to a local hospital to complete her treatment.
“I always wanted to give back — to help people,” says 58-year-old Jack Cottrell, who has lived and worked in Port Perry, Ont., for the past 33 years. He is co-partner of a thriving full-service clinic, which boasts eight dentists and 10 hygienists. An ODA member (and president for 1997-98) and a CDA member (and president for 2005-06), Dr. Cottrell’s impressive list of credentials includes being chair of the North American Regional Organization of Dentistry, a fellow of the International College of Dentists and the Pierre Fauchard Academy and recipient of many honours and awards.
In Guatemala City, the boyishly handsome dentist’s dream to help the less fortunate became reality, as he, his wife Michelle, a dental assistant and the co-ordinator of the preventive dental program in his practice, along with the entire team from Feed the Children (FTC) Canada provided primary health and dental care for people in desperate need for one week in February.
Dr. Cottrell first became involved with FTC Canada via FTC Canada’s medical advisor, Dr. Tony Brown. Early in 2006 Dr. Brown, a family physician and anesthetist, returned from a dental mission to Honduras. Saddened that the three American dentists and three assistants could only perform extractions (they had no compressor or power source), he approached Dr. Cottrell upon his return. “Jack is an extremely skilled dentist with superb technical skills and a fabulous bedside manner. And he’s probably the most energetic individual I’ve worked with, so that’s why I asked him to help out,” recalls Dr. Brown. Dr. Cottrell rose to the challenge of providing free, mobile, first-class oral-health care abroad, envisioning clinics where teeth are repaired and preventive dentistry is de rigueur. In the summer of 2007, Dr. Brown introduced Dr. Cottrell to FTC Canada president Ken Dick, and the rest is dental history.
In just five days in five different Guatemalan suburbs, Dr. Cottrell’s dental team — his wife Michelle (who monitored sterilization protocols and provided equipment maintenance), a local woman who’d assisted on previous FTC Canada missions, a Spanish translator, a handful of Guatemalan dentists and a dentist from FTC El Salvador — treated nearly 500 children and adults. Dr. Cottrell and Michelle didn’t stop at all — even for lunch — during the long days. “Our feeling was, if you took 10 or 15 minutes, that was one less person we’d be able to see in the day,” he says. That sense of urgency was heightened daily by the armed police escort that shadowed the team all day long, ensuring their safety and also preventing their pharmacy from being stolen by local bandits. Despite strict departure times, the team managed to squeeze in a few extra patients each day.
Patients received treatment in school classrooms that had become makeshift dental clinics, featuring state-of-the-art sterilization equipment, three to four portable dental chairs, dental drills and all the high-volume suction and high-powered lights critical for restorative work, bonding and extractions. The level of disease and decay they witnessed was catastrophic. “Everywhere we went we saw mouths at the end stage of dental disease. There was not one person who did not have something going on in their mouth,” says Dr. Cottrell.
And he attributes much of it to their diet. Soft drinks and tortilla chips — cariogenic food staples — are available at every corner store and are much cheaper than bottled water. Sugar cane, a primary export, is another daily foodstuff, eaten raw or made into a honey-like liquid and given to children in their bottles. Unfortunately, many Guatemalans have never owned a toothbrush and have never been shown how to clean their teeth. “It’s not unlike what we had here in Canada and the U.S. 60 to 70 years ago,” says Dr. Cottrell. “People expected that they got to a certain point in their life, and they got all their teeth taken out — that was the norm.” But the natives “came to this clinic thinking they were having their teeth extracted, and some ended up getting restorative work, instead, which is really exciting,” says Dick.
Charity work is nothing new to Dr. Cottrell. From 1975 to 1981, he volunteered one or two nights per week at two different inner-city dental clinics in Toronto, treating immigrants, poor families, drug addicts and street people. He’s seen the effects of poverty firsthand on dental health and knows it’s a reality in any country, “but when we take the neediest situation here, it doesn’t hold a candle to what exists in these types of countries,” says Dr. Cottrell, a father of four. “These people die from dental infections; they die from problems that would be unheard of to die from in our culture.” Dick concurs. “I wouldn’t think there’s an adult or child who could walk into any emergency department here in Canada and not be treated. Social services are here. There’s no transportation and no infrastructure in these other countries. It’s pay before you get treated.” Why Central America? “It’s closer than Africa, so it’s less costly,” says Dick. “And we have Spanish translators and an office with staff in Guatemala City, so that helps us with preparation.”
Dr. and Mrs. Cottrell’s first dental clinic experience with FTC Canada was so successful, they’re already booked for the next 2008 mission — Nicaragua in October. “We can hardly wait to go to Nicaragua, because we have now seen just a glimpse of the needs in these countries. We have found that we can make a huge difference,” says Michelle Cottrell. And Dr. Brown is equally thrilled. “The Cottrells were very sensitive to the Guatemalans’ customs and practices. I was impressed with Dr. Cottrell’s balance of sensitivity and his desire to teach new ways of doing things.”
And teaching and collaboration, says Dr. Cottrell, are the keys to all future dental missions. “My goal is to develop a comprehensive model of care — rather than a unilateral model of just extracting teeth — and teach the professionals how they can best use these preventive programs. I want to leave a legacy behind, where people learn how to look after themselves — that’s the key.”
What’s changed for Dr. Cottrell after this trip? “The need to get bigger faster,” he says. “There’s so much need, and it’s the urgency I sense now. It broke my heart to turn people away at the end of the day.” His solution is to train enough “sub-leaders” so that they can conduct myriad dental clinics annually, even without his presence. Dr. Cottrell is also determined to introduce regular fluoride rinse programs at FTC feeding stations in all future missions.
Does Dr. Cottrell recommend other ODA members get involved? Without hesitation. “We live in a society of self-interest and self-indulgence, so it’s really an important part of our position and our responsibility to give somebody a hand. The joy you get from seeing somebody appreciative, not even from the treatment, but from the fact you took the time to befriend them, warms your heart. You’re giving them hope. And that’s what it’s all about — hope for a better tomorrow.”
Reprinted with permission of the Ontario Dental Association and Ontario Dentist, 2008.
For five days in February 2008, Dr. Jack Cottrell and his Feed the Children Canada comrades gave nearly 500 children and adults something to smile about.
On a temperate afternoon in late February, 6,500 feet up in the mountains of the Saxsuy community of Guatemala City, Dr. Jack Cottrell bent over the febrile, dehydrated body of tiny three-year-old Ingrid. Travelling five miles on foot with her grandmother, Ingrid, who had never seen a dentist, was expressionless as the bright operatory light revealed 20 primary teeth completely decimated by dental caries and abscesses. After Dr. Cottrell removed two of her teeth, she was rehydrated, given antibiotics and taken to a local hospital to complete her treatment.
“I always wanted to give back — to help people,” says 58-year-old Jack Cottrell, who has lived and worked in Port Perry, Ont., for the past 33 years. He is co-partner of a thriving full-service clinic, which boasts eight dentists and 10 hygienists. An ODA member (and president for 1997-98) and a CDA member (and president for 2005-06), Dr. Cottrell’s impressive list of credentials includes being chair of the North American Regional Organization of Dentistry, a fellow of the International College of Dentists and the Pierre Fauchard Academy and recipient of many honours and awards.
In Guatemala City, the boyishly handsome dentist’s dream to help the less fortunate became reality, as he, his wife Michelle, a dental assistant and the co-ordinator of the preventive dental program in his practice, along with the entire team from Feed the Children (FTC) Canada provided primary health and dental care for people in desperate need for one week in February.
Dr. Cottrell first became involved with FTC Canada via FTC Canada’s medical advisor, Dr. Tony Brown. Early in 2006 Dr. Brown, a family physician and anesthetist, returned from a dental mission to Honduras. Saddened that the three American dentists and three assistants could only perform extractions (they had no compressor or power source), he approached Dr. Cottrell upon his return. “Jack is an extremely skilled dentist with superb technical skills and a fabulous bedside manner. And he’s probably the most energetic individual I’ve worked with, so that’s why I asked him to help out,” recalls Dr. Brown. Dr. Cottrell rose to the challenge of providing free, mobile, first-class oral-health care abroad, envisioning clinics where teeth are repaired and preventive dentistry is de rigueur. In the summer of 2007, Dr. Brown introduced Dr. Cottrell to FTC Canada president Ken Dick, and the rest is dental history.
In just five days in five different Guatemalan suburbs, Dr. Cottrell’s dental team — his wife Michelle (who monitored sterilization protocols and provided equipment maintenance), a local woman who’d assisted on previous FTC Canada missions, a Spanish translator, a handful of Guatemalan dentists and a dentist from FTC El Salvador — treated nearly 500 children and adults. Dr. Cottrell and Michelle didn’t stop at all — even for lunch — during the long days. “Our feeling was, if you took 10 or 15 minutes, that was one less person we’d be able to see in the day,” he says. That sense of urgency was heightened daily by the armed police escort that shadowed the team all day long, ensuring their safety and also preventing their pharmacy from being stolen by local bandits. Despite strict departure times, the team managed to squeeze in a few extra patients each day.
Patients received treatment in school classrooms that had become makeshift dental clinics, featuring state-of-the-art sterilization equipment, three to four portable dental chairs, dental drills and all the high-volume suction and high-powered lights critical for restorative work, bonding and extractions. The level of disease and decay they witnessed was catastrophic. “Everywhere we went we saw mouths at the end stage of dental disease. There was not one person who did not have something going on in their mouth,” says Dr. Cottrell.
And he attributes much of it to their diet. Soft drinks and tortilla chips — cariogenic food staples — are available at every corner store and are much cheaper than bottled water. Sugar cane, a primary export, is another daily foodstuff, eaten raw or made into a honey-like liquid and given to children in their bottles. Unfortunately, many Guatemalans have never owned a toothbrush and have never been shown how to clean their teeth. “It’s not unlike what we had here in Canada and the U.S. 60 to 70 years ago,” says Dr. Cottrell. “People expected that they got to a certain point in their life, and they got all their teeth taken out — that was the norm.” But the natives “came to this clinic thinking they were having their teeth extracted, and some ended up getting restorative work, instead, which is really exciting,” says Dick.
Charity work is nothing new to Dr. Cottrell. From 1975 to 1981, he volunteered one or two nights per week at two different inner-city dental clinics in Toronto, treating immigrants, poor families, drug addicts and street people. He’s seen the effects of poverty firsthand on dental health and knows it’s a reality in any country, “but when we take the neediest situation here, it doesn’t hold a candle to what exists in these types of countries,” says Dr. Cottrell, a father of four. “These people die from dental infections; they die from problems that would be unheard of to die from in our culture.” Dick concurs. “I wouldn’t think there’s an adult or child who could walk into any emergency department here in Canada and not be treated. Social services are here. There’s no transportation and no infrastructure in these other countries. It’s pay before you get treated.” Why Central America? “It’s closer than Africa, so it’s less costly,” says Dick. “And we have Spanish translators and an office with staff in Guatemala City, so that helps us with preparation.”
Dr. and Mrs. Cottrell’s first dental clinic experience with FTC Canada was so successful, they’re already booked for the next 2008 mission — Nicaragua in October. “We can hardly wait to go to Nicaragua, because we have now seen just a glimpse of the needs in these countries. We have found that we can make a huge difference,” says Michelle Cottrell. And Dr. Brown is equally thrilled. “The Cottrells were very sensitive to the Guatemalans’ customs and practices. I was impressed with Dr. Cottrell’s balance of sensitivity and his desire to teach new ways of doing things.”
And teaching and collaboration, says Dr. Cottrell, are the keys to all future dental missions. “My goal is to develop a comprehensive model of care — rather than a unilateral model of just extracting teeth — and teach the professionals how they can best use these preventive programs. I want to leave a legacy behind, where people learn how to look after themselves — that’s the key.”
What’s changed for Dr. Cottrell after this trip? “The need to get bigger faster,” he says. “There’s so much need, and it’s the urgency I sense now. It broke my heart to turn people away at the end of the day.” His solution is to train enough “sub-leaders” so that they can conduct myriad dental clinics annually, even without his presence. Dr. Cottrell is also determined to introduce regular fluoride rinse programs at FTC feeding stations in all future missions.
Does Dr. Cottrell recommend other ODA members get involved? Without hesitation. “We live in a society of self-interest and self-indulgence, so it’s really an important part of our position and our responsibility to give somebody a hand. The joy you get from seeing somebody appreciative, not even from the treatment, but from the fact you took the time to befriend them, warms your heart. You’re giving them hope. And that’s what it’s all about — hope for a better tomorrow.”
Reprinted with permission of the Ontario Dental Association and Ontario Dentist, 2008.
Friday, March 28, 2008
6,500 Prescriptions In Five Days – Amazing!
Since their return, the pharmacy team has been busy analyzing the Guatemala trip to determine what worked and what can be improved upon for future trips. The pharmacy, which traveled daily to the various sites packed neatly in plastic bins, played a vital role in the treatment of 4000 people in only 5 days. Doctors and dentists wrote prescriptions and sent patients to the very long “Farmacia” where three Canadian team members worked efficiently with their Guatemalan colleagues, to send people home with the medications listed below.
Acetaminophen (adult and kid's chewable) – 13,000 Tablets
Ibuprofen - 7,000 Tablets
Albendazole (parasite medicine) – 2,000 Tablets
Antibiotics (adult) – 3,000 Tablets
Antibiotics (children) – 400 Bottles
ASA Blood Thinner/Circulation – 2000 Tablets
Cough Medicine – 400 Bottles
Stomach Medicine – 8,000 Tablets & 180 Bottles of Maalox
Allergy Medication – 2,000 Tablets & 75 Bottles
Sulfa Antibiotic Eye Drops – 75 Bottles
Diabetic Medications – 3,000 Tablets
Adult Vitamins – 30,000 Doses
Children's Vitamins – 30,000 Doses
Pharmacist Chris Ritskes says, “Now that we’re home, it's a bit overwhelming to look back on the number of people that we were able to treat and to realize that we filled more than 6500 prescriptions with detailed explanations for their use. The impact that we were able to have in such a short period of time is amazing and it’s what motivates me to continue to find ways to streamline our pharmacy processes for the next trip.”
During their stay, Canadian team members learned enough Spanish words to communicate basic instructions to the patients. For the next trip, the pharmacy team will work with their Guatemalan counterparts to develop detailed Spanish instructions for the most prescribed medications.
THANK YOU PHARMACY TEAM!
Doctors, dentists, and support staff all send a big thank you to the exceptional pharmacy team who worked together so efficiently to make this trip a success for the people of Guatemala.
Acetaminophen (adult and kid's chewable) – 13,000 Tablets
Ibuprofen - 7,000 Tablets
Albendazole (parasite medicine) – 2,000 Tablets
Antibiotics (adult) – 3,000 Tablets
Antibiotics (children) – 400 Bottles
ASA Blood Thinner/Circulation – 2000 Tablets
Cough Medicine – 400 Bottles
Stomach Medicine – 8,000 Tablets & 180 Bottles of Maalox
Allergy Medication – 2,000 Tablets & 75 Bottles
Sulfa Antibiotic Eye Drops – 75 Bottles
Diabetic Medications – 3,000 Tablets
Adult Vitamins – 30,000 Doses
Children's Vitamins – 30,000 Doses
Pharmacist Chris Ritskes says, “Now that we’re home, it's a bit overwhelming to look back on the number of people that we were able to treat and to realize that we filled more than 6500 prescriptions with detailed explanations for their use. The impact that we were able to have in such a short period of time is amazing and it’s what motivates me to continue to find ways to streamline our pharmacy processes for the next trip.”
During their stay, Canadian team members learned enough Spanish words to communicate basic instructions to the patients. For the next trip, the pharmacy team will work with their Guatemalan counterparts to develop detailed Spanish instructions for the most prescribed medications. 
THANK YOU PHARMACY TEAM!
Doctors, dentists, and support staff all send a big thank you to the exceptional pharmacy team who worked together so efficiently to make this trip a success for the people of Guatemala.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Dental Clinics Become an Integral Part of FTC's Teams
This year FTC was thrilled to add dentists and dental assistants to their team efforts. After the first day, it was evident that most had never seen a toothbrush or a dentist and consequently, they lived with chronic tooth pain and gum infections. Below are the reflections of Dr. Jack Cottrell,from Port Perry, ON
Scores of people were already clustered and waiting in the courtyard adjacent to the primitive cinderblock schoolhouse in Saxsuy, Guatemala as we unloaded dental equipment, food, clothing, toys and pharmacy from the supply trucks.
We had been briefed by FTC staff that most of these people are plagued by combinations of parasites, worms, dysentery or lice, a result of the lack of clean water and poor living conditions. They have never had a toothbrush, let alone been seen by a dentist. Oral hygiene is non-existent. Their woefully inadequate diets are many times filled with chips and cola. It is not uncommon for the children to be put to bed, even up the age of five, with a baby bottle laden with a white drink that they call "honey", which is a sweet slurry produced when sugar cane is boiled, reduced and cooled.
As the newest members to this seasoned FTC medical team, my wife, Michelle and I were excited and hopeful that our years of experience, those of Dr. Mimi, a dentist helping us from El Salvador, and our very talented translator Marta would be adequate to meet the needs of the indigenous people in this rural area of Guatemala.
Our excitement quickly turns to shock as we see patient after patient presenting with end stage oral disease – mouths ravaged with periodontal disease and riddled with dental caries.
Late in the afternoon, just before we closed the clinic a precious diminutive four year old named Ingrid, accompanied by her mother, timidly approached the door after hours of waiting in the never-ending line which had enveloped our clinic all day long.
The mother hoisted Ingrid into our chair and she spoke softly in a dialect that neither we nor our competent translator could decipher. However, her animated gestures told the story as she pointed to virtually every tooth in this young child's mouth. The bright operatory light revealed a dentition totally decimated by dental caries. Sadly, many of these rotten stumps were pristine newly erupted teeth less than one year ago. Suddenly, our elaborate dental equipment and years of experience seemed very inadequate as not even one of this child's teeth could be salvaged. Her expressionless fixed gaze did not change as we presented her with a coveted toy from our toy chest to comfort her. This behavior was reflective of a child who was febrile and dehydrated. A little girl who had cried herself to sleep night after night from the searing pain caused by rotting teeth and pus filled abscesses that punctuated her gums.
We proceeded to remove the most painful teeth, prescribe antibiotics, and to call the president of FTC Canada, Ken Dick, to the dental clinic to ask for special consideration to be given to this child so she may be sent to a local hospital to complete her treatment. Ken agreed that this little girl needed more extensive help and thankfully those arrangements are being made.
That evening, as we made our way back to the hotel, Michelle and I reflected on the need to establish a stronger preventive dental program for these people that have never been told that sugar and cola are bad for their teeth – perhaps if they received some education in this area, if we introduced a fluoride rinse program and improved the oral home care of these people, we would see a decline in dental caries and the teeth of these children could be saved.
A few days later as we boarded a plane headed back to Canada, we were comforted by the fact that during five days of dental clinics we treated more than 430 people – bringing friendship and hope to them in the process through the amazing work of FTC Canada.
Scores of people were already clustered and waiting in the courtyard adjacent to the primitive cinderblock schoolhouse in Saxsuy, Guatemala as we unloaded dental equipment, food, clothing, toys and pharmacy from the supply trucks.
We had been briefed by FTC staff that most of these people are plagued by combinations of parasites, worms, dysentery or lice, a result of the lack of clean water and poor living conditions. They have never had a toothbrush, let alone been seen by a dentist. Oral hygiene is non-existent. Their woefully inadequate diets are many times filled with chips and cola. It is not uncommon for the children to be put to bed, even up the age of five, with a baby bottle laden with a white drink that they call "honey", which is a sweet slurry produced when sugar cane is boiled, reduced and cooled.
As the newest members to this seasoned FTC medical team, my wife, Michelle and I were excited and hopeful that our years of experience, those of Dr. Mimi, a dentist helping us from El Salvador, and our very talented translator Marta would be adequate to meet the needs of the indigenous people in this rural area of Guatemala.
Our excitement quickly turns to shock as we see patient after patient presenting with end stage oral disease – mouths ravaged with periodontal disease and riddled with dental caries.
Late in the afternoon, just before we closed the clinic a precious diminutive four year old named Ingrid, accompanied by her mother, timidly approached the door after hours of waiting in the never-ending line which had enveloped our clinic all day long.
The mother hoisted Ingrid into our chair and she spoke softly in a dialect that neither we nor our competent translator could decipher. However, her animated gestures told the story as she pointed to virtually every tooth in this young child's mouth. The bright operatory light revealed a dentition totally decimated by dental caries. Sadly, many of these rotten stumps were pristine newly erupted teeth less than one year ago. Suddenly, our elaborate dental equipment and years of experience seemed very inadequate as not even one of this child's teeth could be salvaged. Her expressionless fixed gaze did not change as we presented her with a coveted toy from our toy chest to comfort her. This behavior was reflective of a child who was febrile and dehydrated. A little girl who had cried herself to sleep night after night from the searing pain caused by rotting teeth and pus filled abscesses that punctuated her gums.
We proceeded to remove the most painful teeth, prescribe antibiotics, and to call the president of FTC Canada, Ken Dick, to the dental clinic to ask for special consideration to be given to this child so she may be sent to a local hospital to complete her treatment. Ken agreed that this little girl needed more extensive help and thankfully those arrangements are being made.
That evening, as we made our way back to the hotel, Michelle and I reflected on the need to establish a stronger preventive dental program for these people that have never been told that sugar and cola are bad for their teeth – perhaps if they received some education in this area, if we introduced a fluoride rinse program and improved the oral home care of these people, we would see a decline in dental caries and the teeth of these children could be saved.
A few days later as we boarded a plane headed back to Canada, we were comforted by the fact that during five days of dental clinics we treated more than 430 people – bringing friendship and hope to them in the process through the amazing work of FTC Canada.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Paramedics Answer The Call In Guatemala
This year, we were thrilled to have three paramedics on the team. Glen Canavan and Grant Rumford were an integral part of last year’s Honduras team, and for this year’s Guatemala trip they brought along their colleague, Christine Barber.
Along with the doctors and nurses, these paramedics took blood pressures, checked blood sugars, cleaned ulcerated wounds, started IV’s, and gave of their strength to each team member in so many ways – showing each of us the determination and the courage that is required in order for them to do their critically essential jobs on a daily basis.
Paramedic Christine Barber…
“With each day, I am increasingly amazed by the resilience and stamina of these people. To search for the words to describe their lives; there are no words that can do it justice. The incredibly hard lives they live is so evident in their sun weathered, cold beaten faces. Their hands, rough and calloused, reveal the endless years of hardship and daily physical labour they must endure, just to survive; hauling firewood for heat and cooking, walking miles for fresh water only to carry it back. The care and hope that FTC is extending to these people is immeasurable, and my appreciation goes out to FTC for allowing me to be a part of this very rewarding opportunity to help others.”
Paramedic Glen Canavan…
"After this trip to Guatemala, I have come home with a sense that FTC has a good infrastructure in Central America with their local team. Local governments are also trying to improve the living conditions of the people in their municipalities. However, it is a difficult task and they cannot do it without the help of organizations and caring people. Even though many of the people in this country have small homes to live in, most of them still live in abject poverty barely making enough to feed their families which means there is no money for toothbrushes, proper cooking stoves, or nutritious foods. I am excited about the possibilities for our local team to continue with social services that would educate and encourage these people to take care of hypertension and diabetes - ongoing medical conditions that must be treated well beyond our trip. It was a privilege to serve these lovely people and I am definitely looking forward to the next trip!"
Paramedic Grant Rumford…
“After coming back to Canada, Guatemala seems like another world. Here, people worry about a dent in their car, another raise, or what to do over the weekend. In Guatemala, every hour is spent trying to plan for the next two. What will they feed their children? How they will find a small job that day, and will they have enough bus fare to get there? During this trip, we were able to diagnose several serious medical conditions that people were oblivious to. Hopefully, knowing what they are dealing with physically will help them make some crucial lifestyle changes. For example, when we diagnosed diabetes, it was critical for these patients to understand that they can no longer drink cola which was wreaking havoc with their bodies. We made a lasting difference for many and knowing that challenges me to do more to help.”
Along with the doctors and nurses, these paramedics took blood pressures, checked blood sugars, cleaned ulcerated wounds, started IV’s, and gave of their strength to each team member in so many ways – showing each of us the determination and the courage that is required in order for them to do their critically essential jobs on a daily basis.
Paramedic Christine Barber…
“With each day, I am increasingly amazed by the resilience and stamina of these people. To search for the words to describe their lives; there are no words that can do it justice. The incredibly hard lives they live is so evident in their sun weathered, cold beaten faces. Their hands, rough and calloused, reveal the endless years of hardship and daily physical labour they must endure, just to survive; hauling firewood for heat and cooking, walking miles for fresh water only to carry it back. The care and hope that FTC is extending to these people is immeasurable, and my appreciation goes out to FTC for allowing me to be a part of this very rewarding opportunity to help others.”
Paramedic Glen Canavan…
"After this trip to Guatemala, I have come home with a sense that FTC has a good infrastructure in Central America with their local team. Local governments are also trying to improve the living conditions of the people in their municipalities. However, it is a difficult task and they cannot do it without the help of organizations and caring people. Even though many of the people in this country have small homes to live in, most of them still live in abject poverty barely making enough to feed their families which means there is no money for toothbrushes, proper cooking stoves, or nutritious foods. I am excited about the possibilities for our local team to continue with social services that would educate and encourage these people to take care of hypertension and diabetes - ongoing medical conditions that must be treated well beyond our trip. It was a privilege to serve these lovely people and I am definitely looking forward to the next trip!"
Paramedic Grant Rumford…
“After coming back to Canada, Guatemala seems like another world. Here, people worry about a dent in their car, another raise, or what to do over the weekend. In Guatemala, every hour is spent trying to plan for the next two. What will they feed their children? How they will find a small job that day, and will they have enough bus fare to get there? During this trip, we were able to diagnose several serious medical conditions that people were oblivious to. Hopefully, knowing what they are dealing with physically will help them make some crucial lifestyle changes. For example, when we diagnosed diabetes, it was critical for these patients to understand that they can no longer drink cola which was wreaking havoc with their bodies. We made a lasting difference for many and knowing that challenges me to do more to help.”
Monday, March 3, 2008
Day 5 - Results
Two mornings ago we woke up to the tragic news that just a few minutes outside of Guatemala City, a bus loaded with 79 passengers failed to make a sharp turn which sent the bus careening into a ravine, killing 52 people. Each team member could not help but remember our own bus rides up the mountain's sharp curves. Marcelino, the bus driver we have had all week, drove slowly and we felt safe, but on Saturday morning we couldn’t help but thank God for giving us the safety we had prayed for before leaving the hotel parking lot, and we continue to pray for the injured and for those families that have lost loved ones.
It is hard to believe that Saturday was our last day of clinics in Guatemala – a country with very polite, humble, and appreciative people. Saturday's location was only 15 minutes from our hotel in the community of Sabana Grande. This is an urban community that is not without the same vast needs that we have seen all week, and when we arrive we are once again thankful that our Spanish team has gone on ahead.
The Spanish team from Feed The Children Guatemala has been arriving at the sites several hours before us each day, in order to have everything set up so that we can begin working immediately upon arrival. This has meant early mornings and late nights for these committed team members, and we could not have done this amazing work without their help. Central American Director, Efrain de los Rios has been a gracious host and we know that he has spent many hours organizing this medical/dental trip which ended on Saturday with incredible results.
In just five days, our team has treated more than 3500 people bringing relief to sickness and unbelievable tooth decay and gum disease.
Oscar, 14 months old: Scabies covered his body and he had bronchitis and two infected ears - antibiotics, skin medication, and cough medicine were prescribed.
Odelin, 3 yrs. old: Seems to have some kind of muscular dystrophy – she cannot walk and her mother cannot afford to find out why. FTC Canada is paying for a proper diagnosis to determine what needs to be done.
Yany, 14 months old: Throwing up for 5 days so she was dehydrated – nurses started an IV with antibiotics to kill her infection.
Josue, 6 yrs. old: Dr. Jack removed 4 front teeth that were black – antibiotics for the abscesses on his gums that were oozing with infection.
Marilin, 42 yrs. old, Josue’s mother: Dr. Jack totally restored this woman’s central front teeth that were black with cavities – she now has a beautiful smile and was so grateful.
These are just five of the thousands of people that we treated. Over the next few days, we will highlight additional stories and team members.
Sir Winston Churchill said, “Sometimes our best is simply not enough – we have to do what is required.” This week we brought life changing results to the humble people of Guatemala through a very dedicated medical/dental team who by dispensing kindness and hope, along with skill and medication, have done so much more than what was required.
It is hard to believe that Saturday was our last day of clinics in Guatemala – a country with very polite, humble, and appreciative people. Saturday's location was only 15 minutes from our hotel in the community of Sabana Grande. This is an urban community that is not without the same vast needs that we have seen all week, and when we arrive we are once again thankful that our Spanish team has gone on ahead.
The Spanish team from Feed The Children Guatemala has been arriving at the sites several hours before us each day, in order to have everything set up so that we can begin working immediately upon arrival. This has meant early mornings and late nights for these committed team members, and we could not have done this amazing work without their help. Central American Director, Efrain de los Rios has been a gracious host and we know that he has spent many hours organizing this medical/dental trip which ended on Saturday with incredible results.
In just five days, our team has treated more than 3500 people bringing relief to sickness and unbelievable tooth decay and gum disease.
Oscar, 14 months old: Scabies covered his body and he had bronchitis and two infected ears - antibiotics, skin medication, and cough medicine were prescribed.
Odelin, 3 yrs. old: Seems to have some kind of muscular dystrophy – she cannot walk and her mother cannot afford to find out why. FTC Canada is paying for a proper diagnosis to determine what needs to be done.
Yany, 14 months old: Throwing up for 5 days so she was dehydrated – nurses started an IV with antibiotics to kill her infection.
Josue, 6 yrs. old: Dr. Jack removed 4 front teeth that were black – antibiotics for the abscesses on his gums that were oozing with infection.
Marilin, 42 yrs. old, Josue’s mother: Dr. Jack totally restored this woman’s central front teeth that were black with cavities – she now has a beautiful smile and was so grateful.
These are just five of the thousands of people that we treated. Over the next few days, we will highlight additional stories and team members.
Sir Winston Churchill said, “Sometimes our best is simply not enough – we have to do what is required.” This week we brought life changing results to the humble people of Guatemala through a very dedicated medical/dental team who by dispensing kindness and hope, along with skill and medication, have done so much more than what was required.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Day 4 - Relief
After a day of rest yesterday, our team was back to work and headed to San Guayaba, which is another community in the region of Palencia. As our bus moves through the city toward the mountains, young women sweep the streets with homemade brooms while groups of young men plant trees along the roadside and climb ladders to trim hedges that grow above 10 foot walls. All around us people are beginning their day and a refreshed team is excited about who they will meet in San Guayaba.
Once again we climbed the winding mountain roads with clouds of dust billowing behind the bus. We are surrounded by mountains as we climb to an altitude of 2500 meters where 800 people are waiting for relief from toothaches, ulcers and blood sugars that are so high they will not even register on our glucometers. Nurse Anna Jewell starts two IV’s to help with hydration while Paramedic Glen Canavan cleans an ulcerated wound that has become infected. Nurses and paramedics look into sore throats and ears and send patients to the pharmacy where they will receive medicine to take home.
Pharmacist Chris Ritskes and his team meet each evening after dinner to package more of the vitamins donated by caring Canadians to the children of Guatemala. Nurse Charlene Dart’s sister, Karen Dallas, wanted to do something to help the children of Guatemala and so she became creative with the unit on money for her grade three class at Dr. MacGillvary School in Courtrice, Ontario. Through a coin drive, this class raised $330.00 which purchased 186 bottles of children’s vitamins that have already been distributed to some very needy children.
To date, our pharmacy has distributed more than 5000 vitamins, 500 doses of Ibuprofen and/or Acetaminophen, and hundreds of antibiotics and parasite medications. The pharmacy team works non-stop and the line seems never ending. However, at the end of the day, this team knows that they have distributed much more than vitamins and antibiotics taken home in small plastic bags – they have dispensed kindness and brought relief to more than 2000 people in some of Guatemala’s poorest communities.
Once again we climbed the winding mountain roads with clouds of dust billowing behind the bus. We are surrounded by mountains as we climb to an altitude of 2500 meters where 800 people are waiting for relief from toothaches, ulcers and blood sugars that are so high they will not even register on our glucometers. Nurse Anna Jewell starts two IV’s to help with hydration while Paramedic Glen Canavan cleans an ulcerated wound that has become infected. Nurses and paramedics look into sore throats and ears and send patients to the pharmacy where they will receive medicine to take home.
Pharmacist Chris Ritskes and his team meet each evening after dinner to package more of the vitamins donated by caring Canadians to the children of Guatemala. Nurse Charlene Dart’s sister, Karen Dallas, wanted to do something to help the children of Guatemala and so she became creative with the unit on money for her grade three class at Dr. MacGillvary School in Courtrice, Ontario. Through a coin drive, this class raised $330.00 which purchased 186 bottles of children’s vitamins that have already been distributed to some very needy children.
To date, our pharmacy has distributed more than 5000 vitamins, 500 doses of Ibuprofen and/or Acetaminophen, and hundreds of antibiotics and parasite medications. The pharmacy team works non-stop and the line seems never ending. However, at the end of the day, this team knows that they have distributed much more than vitamins and antibiotics taken home in small plastic bags – they have dispensed kindness and brought relief to more than 2000 people in some of Guatemala’s poorest communities.
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