Third week in Guatemala

Clinic

School for children with special needs in Xela

On Wednesday, we went to a school for children with special needs, where we set up a clinic in a classroom and a classroom and the principal's office.  Of the 17 or so children we saw, a handful had Down's syndrome, one was mute, and some were mentally delayed.  All the children seemed genuinely happy to see us except for the one who had just gotten his tooth pulled by the dentist (also part of the outreach team).  I observed for the first time a structural heart murmur on a child who has Down's syndrome.  Heart defects are a common comorbidity of children with Down's.  This little girl was seven years old, and her parents are aware of her heart condition but may not be knowledgeable of the long term - fatal - impacts of not treating it.  According to Meg, this is one of the challenges western doctors face in a developing country like Guatemala:  how do you educate the parents and once they agree that treatment is necessary, how do they obtain funding?
I also saw for the first time, a child who had been treated for cleft lip, a boy with scabies, and a brother and sister, both who have mental delay, with a tiny insect in their ears (common for kids who play with farm animals).

The Weekend
Fellow student Shuvani and I went to the town of Todos Santos Chuchumantan.  It is about a 5 hour bus ride northwest of Xela, with the last hour being on gravel road.  We hiked in the morning on Sunday, explored the small town, and then returned to Xela in the afternoon.

Here is a view of Todos Santos during our hike.  You can see the clouds roll over the ridge and hear the music from town. 

Here are pictures from the weekend.