Monday at Cebedas

Last night some of us accompanied Martha (our host) to evening mass. Of course it was in spanish, but otherwise similar to our catholic services. The church was beautiful inside.

Today we saw 80 patients in Cebedas and will return there tomorrow. One of Alicia´s first patient was a women with a fractured forearm. the fracture was probably 2 weeks old and she tried to make a brace with ace and a branch. She was so resourceful.
I saw an 18 month old that couldn´t walk yet. Also many older patients with significant arthritis. They live such hard lives. When we suggest resting for a week to let a tendonitis ¨heal¨they simply can´t comprehend the idea of not working.
Nick met up with the team and joined us today. Talk about jumping into the fire from the fry pan. He just took 4 major exams last week, and his only week off he comes to Ecuador!
All of the students are really giving their best, despite the fact that most of them are fighting off a cough and some ¨travelers¨GI distress. There is not a whiner in the group.

Last night after dinner, I asked the students to summarize their experiences from the previous week for Nick. They were so insightful and compasionate. I feel very privileged to be working with them.

Tony has been a rock keeping us saine when needed, and helping us laugh when needed.

Anyways... back to the mission. As in many days past, the fed us lunch. It was the best fried chicken and french fries Í´ve had in a long time.

We continue to focus on women´s health and hope tomorrow will be a younger group.

well bye for now
more tomorrow
I´ll try to send pictures tomorrow
Terry