2017 Guatemala City, Guatemala

Feb 22, 2017

Day one and two: Travel to and Pre-Clinic in Guatemala City

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Late on the evening of Sunday February 19th, most of the team gathers at San Francisco International airport eagerly anticipating the begining of the mission. Team members are delighted to meet friends... Read More »

Feb 23, 2017

Days Three and Four: Rest day and First day of surgery.

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Day Three was originally supposed to be the first day of surgery. However, the long delay in getting our medical equipment out of airport customs required the Mission Director to modify the schedule. The t... Read More »

Feb 24, 2017

Day Five: Second Day of Surgery

Guatemala City, Guatemala

The second day of surgery begins with the team doctors checking on their patients in the post operation ward. All of yesterday’s patients are doing remarkably well and most of them are happily playing wi... Read More »

Feb 25, 2017

Day Six: Third Day of Surgery

Guatemala City, Guatemala

A patient who was operated yesterday models the “movie star” sunglasses she was given this morning in the post operation ward. The morning begins with the team boarding the bus at 6:20 AM for our ride ... Read More »

Feb 26, 2017

Day 7: Fourth Day of Surgery

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Today, we are very challenged by having seven members of the team incapacitated with what acts like stomach flu. We were fortunate, however, in having the son and daughter of two of our local team members ... Read More »

Feb 27, 2017

Day 8: Fifth Day of Surgery

Guatemala City, Guatemala

We were blessed today by having the team back up to full strength. Those who were ill yesterday were able to return to the hospital. Although they were feeling a bit weak, they carried on like troopers.... Read More »

Feb 28, 2017

Day Nine: Sixth Day of Surgery.

Guatemala City, Guatemala

The ninth day of our mission begins with what by now has become a familiar pattern. However we know that once we get to the hospital patients and events will make the day anything but routine. We board the... Read More »

Mar 1, 2017

Day Ten: Seventh Day of Surgery.

Guatemala City, Guatemala

This morning when we arrived to the hospital, we found the lobby of the operating room decorated with red balloons. On the wall, a banner and heart-shaped poster conveyed a warm message of gratitude from t... Read More »

Mar 5, 2017

Days Eleven and Twelve: Post Clinic Day and Farewell

Guatemala City, Guatemala

As is customary on the last day of the mission, today the doctors conducted the final post-operation examinations. All of the patients that returned to be evaluated were doing remarkably well. It was parti... Read More »

Sep 19, 2017

Guatemala City, Guatemala 2017 – Day 1

Guatemala City, Guatemala

After a long night of redeye flights we finally made it to Guatemala City! Surgeons, Pediatricians, nurses, and other volunteers have come from the Boston, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Oregon, California, Washing... Read More »

Sep 20, 2017

Guatemala City, Guatemala 2017 – Day 2 – Clinic

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Today patients began arriving at the hospital, some as early as 3am. The inner courtyard of the hospital quickly filled with patients and family members as they patiently waited to be screened by our pedia... Read More »

Sep 20, 2017

Guatemala City, Guatemala 2017 – Day 3 – First Day of Surgery

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Day one of surgery has started off with a bang! Our team began work at 6:30 am this morning, and as I write this at 6:00 pm the last surgery has just begun. Everyone has been upbeat and energized throughou... Read More »

Sep 23, 2017

Guatemala City, Guatemala 2017- Day 4 – Under the OR Lights

Guatemala City, Guatemala

The team downs some coffee and we’re off! After a busy first day of surgery yesterday we hope to have ironed out some of the first day kinks, and look forward to some smooth sailing operations tod... Read More »

Sep 23, 2017

Guatemala City, Guatemala 2017 – Day 5 – The Trek to Surgery

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Excitement bubbled on the ward before surgeries began today. Andrea, a Pediatrician, is one of our best patient advocates. She works tirelessly to ensure that patients and family members are kept in the lo... Read More »

Sep 25, 2017

Guatemala City, Guatemala 2017 – Day 6 – Elsie’s Adventure

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Medical volunteers are a special breed. Rotaplast volunteers vary in size, gender, profession, years of experience in their field, and number of medical missions with Rotaplast and other organizations. Oft... Read More »

Sep 28, 2017

Guatemala City, Guatemala 2017 – Day 7 & 8 – The Final Surgeries

Guatemala City, Guatemala

On our last two days of surgery we saw 12 patients, some with multiple procedures. Our team has really gotten into the groove of working together. These past two days have gone extremely smoothly. Josue i... Read More »

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