The Medical Side

Dear Friends,

Along with the 32 missionaries from Mary Our Queen, a group of doctors and nurses did a medical mission. There were two surgeons (ophthalmologist and orthopedic), two anesthesiologists and one allergist who saw patients in the clinic all day.

Dr John Kelley wrote some reflections.

Our patients mostly came from the barrio (neighborhood) of Comayagua and the surrounding mountains.

In all, we operated on 47 patients and performed many other consultations. Several of my patients came from a new physical therapy program, Paso a Pasa (Step by Step) started by the Missioners of Christ (a lay group of Catholics based out of Virginia Beach) who have a mission nearby the Friar.

Jennifer with some patients waiting to be seen in the clinic

Childspring International provided some sponsorship to the hospital to help provide surgery for some of the children. Our patients also included some religious: priests, nuns and seminarians.

Orthopedic cases that included hand surgery, tendon releases and exisions of masses

Surgery for cataracts and a variety of eye problems

A real treat for me was that two of the 32 Mary Our Queen Missionaries were my daughters Jennifer and Kate- it was Father’s Day all week for me. Our surgical team joined the parish group for daily Mass, prayers, holy hours and fun evening activities when time allowed.

John with his daughters Kate and Jennifer

The orthopedic case that generated the most interest and prayers was that of a 20 year old young man named Noe (Noah).

Noe giving a thumbs up after surgery...shown with Kate and Jennifer

He grew up in the neighborhood and the Friar’s have known his since he was a youngster. He was always a great kid- cheerful and joy filled. About two years ago he was working in the capital city and somehow got struck with a stray bullet that left him paralyzed below the mid chest. Sometime after that he developed (as paraplegics sometimes do) a calcification around his hip that fused his hip in an extended position making it impossible for him to sit up. Noe developed a large bedsore that Br. Damiano has been treating for the last year and a half- but has required him to lay on his stomach. The Missioners of Christ’s physical therapy program has been working with Noe to help him develop his upper extremities over the last few months. When I first met Noe 14 months ago, I visited him in his one room house where he has been confined for the last two years. We started making plans to see if we could do something to make it possible for him to sit.

The plan was to remove a section of his upper thigh bone and create a “false joint” that would allow his leg to bend enough to be able to sit in a wheel chair. Because of the possibility of significant blood loss during this type of surgery we decided we should have blood available. In Honduras the blood bank is really a bank- in order to make a withdrawal you must have previously made a deposit. After some investigation it was determined that only one of the anesthesiologist and Noe’s girlfriend had compatible blood types and they went to the local hospital to donate blood. (This doctor has what I call a “missionary heart” (and blood)- ask him what it is like to try to donate blood in Honduras during the World Cup soccer game.

When the day for Noe’s surgery came there were a ton of folks praying for him and us. His surgery went well and although he has a long way to reach our goal of being able to travel in a wheel chair- including getting used to being in an upright position, finding a proper wheel chair and a special gel cushion for the wheel chair and continuing his physical therapy to maintain his strength and balance- we are hopeful. What amazes me most about Noe however is that he remains a cheerful and joy filled young man. Please keep him and all out patients in your prayers.

On Thursday night I saw a patient with a knee who really needed knee surgery- but our OR schedule was already full for Friday, our last surgical day. She came to the hospital Friday morning and we looked for a brace that might help her till the next surgical mission. We asked her to wait “just in case” a spot opened up on the schedule. The ophthalmologist room finished a little early and the two surgical teams “bounced” me from room to room. At the end of the last case the teams were tired but happy to have accomplished what we did in a week. I told them there was one more patient who needed surgery if they were willing to do one more case- to a person they said, “That’s why we came here.”

Thanks to all involved in this mission- benefactors, co-workers, prayer partners, and our trusting patients. May God Bless you and yours.

Dr. John Kelley