Guatemala - Day 4

Dear Evan nd Nathan,

     We had another good day.  We started off by spending about 30 minutes visiting Maria's daycare.  Do you remember me telling you about her last year?  She had polio as a child.  Karen, who is the director of H.I.M., took her to the United States for surgeries for her legs.  She lived with Karen for about 18 months, then returned to her family in Teculutan.  Years later, there was a need for daycare in the town.  Many children were not going to school because they were staying home to take care of their younger brothers and sisters while their parents worked.  Maria now runs the daycare.  She has the maximum limit of 12-13 kids.  It is like a pre-school.  The children learn some English.  They learn to recognize and write their letters and numbers.  They get a nutritious breakfast and lunch, which is important because many of them do not get a lot to eat at home.
     Next, we saw patients at the H.I.M. Center for Rehabilitation in Teculutan.  They moved their clinic in September, so this was a new space for me.  It was larger than their old clinic and is in a better location for clients.  We had a full day of patient care and then went back to the hotel to do aquatic rehab with a woman who had multiple fractures and countless subsequent surgeries from an accident.  She cannot walk on land, but we were able to do a lot of exercise in the pool.

     Evan, I hope your baseball practice went well! 

     Nathan, Did you play baseball with Dad during Evan's practice?

     I miss you both very much!

Love, Mom

A 'healed' fracture of the tibia and fibula.

Group photo outside of the panaderia next door to the clinic.  After smelling the bread all afternoon, we had to try it!

Our evening aquatic rehab session