Indian Community, continued...

    When we left the first house on the Indian reservation, it seemed that the whole community had spread the word that we were there.  Finding the second house demanded the help of Mauricio, the father of the first patient, though.  He rode with the Palliative Care car until we reached M.'s house, leading the half-an-hour trip. 

    A small crowd already expected us at the house while the grandmother was taking care of the boy.

    Temperature, heartbeat, oxygenation, and body weight.  Then a lengthy questionnaire about what the boy had been eating and how much, the medicines he had been taking, orientations specifics to his case, to finally schedule the next visit. This was the professional's basic approach, as we had already gotten used to by now.  

    When we were leaving, the kid's mother had heard about our visit and appeared from nowhere, rushing to the house. 

    Another aspect of the Palliative Care staff's work came into play.  The child's mother seemed to be in her late teens, although she could not recall her age,neither could she read.  She was completely bewildered when the nurse Angelita mentioned birth control to her.  

    Cultural barriers became as evident as the need to cross them.

    I had a chance to talk to the psychologist of the group, Marlene, about the difference in culture that they encountered so often and how it affected their work.  How can that relate to Palliative Care? How subtle do they have to be in their messages without losing effectiveness but not bringing antagonism? Isn't that essential to maintaining contact with and therefore be able to help the patients and their families, after all? 

    I could now see that the group has to work together, and make efforts towards building a relationship of trust, not only with the patient and his/her family, but also with the entire community that surrounds them.

    Mauricio, who seemed to be influential in the community, well understood the importance and impact of the professionals' work.  He would share his perceptions throughout the community, assuring that the kids get the care they so well deserve.

Kisses,

Mariana

Forth day!

     We started early to go to the Indian reservations on the border with Panama and visit the patients of the Palliative Care over there.  We took the Carretera Panamericana for three and a half hours before we left it and turned to a rough unpaved road suitable just for a 4x4.

     We lost count of how many times we had to stop at difficult passages of that road (trail would be a better description, maybe) to ponder about the best strategy not to get stuck.  Only after an extra very-shaky one-and-a-half hour have we started seeing the first pueblos, mostly with just a couple of houses each.  

     Then, the routine became familiar again: "Do you know M. Santos?  Do you know where he lives now?" The nurse Angelita has to ask these questions in almost all of their visits, because many of the families move without communicating it to them.  But certainly, they always take all efforts to make sure every kid gets checked once in a while.

   Those questions were again asked to multiple people before we finally reached a wooden house with the expected abuelos and their numerous kids and grandchildren  in the house.

     What was completely unexpected, however, was to find on the lap of the gradma a very healthy looking baby with a tracheostomy and a pediatric colostomy bag on his side.  He was born with cardio-respiratory and intestinal malformations but was doing amazingly well, specially on the conditions he was living in.   By then we had started to get used to not being surprised with how caring these families can be with their special kids and how that care could revert into better living conditions to them.

     All the families we visited had to walk for hours to attend a doctor's appointment, and they had to leave home very early in the morning for that.  The nurses and doctors going to them instead truly made a difference, and enables he parents and grandparents to save the trip to the city just for special occasions (undergo more complicated procedures, for example) and still feel cared for.

    Well, that was the first visit of the day, we still had a couple more kids to visit before heading back!

Kisses, 

Mariana

Something familar to the Indian community!

Third Day!

     Today the day was long, we drove to Pérez Zeledón. 

     On the way here, we stopped at Cartago to visit the "Basilica de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles".  As my mom and I stepped into the cathedral, I thought I recognized a young couple. My first thoughts were, "I can't be recognizing someone here in Costa rica, I don't know anyone here!" but I soon realized it was E.'s parents holding her. They recognized us too. We talked, and her parents told us that 2 weeks before, E. had been interned at the hospital, but she was better now!

     When we arrived in Pérez Zeledón, we went straight to the Albergue. It is much smaller than the one in San Jose, but happily, they're constructing a new one.

    




Don Santana Esquivel, said that "a child's life has no price" and so he decided to donate a 600m2 plot of land to the foundation. Since then, the constructions have been running on donations. 

     
     
     

     Each material has been given from different Companies or people, and that is the only help they receive, since they are a non-governmental organization.

     

     We, then proceeded to visit some patients at home. Pérez Zeledón is a rural area, and because people are more unprivileged here, the program visits takes place mostly at the patient's homes. We visited 3 girls today.

    
    



 


    The first one, the twenty-year old J., was in bed since her birth and clearly receive a lot of support from the family. When the mom arrived home, J. opened a big smile just from hearing her mom's voice.  She has been receiving help from the Palliative Care for a while, and has memories of all the doctors who accompanied us to the house.


     






     Next, we went to A.'s house to find out she was not home. She had been interned with her dad at the local hospital for dialysis. Her dad is a former inmate, and her mom was taking care of three other children they had.  While the doctors talked to the A.'s mom, I painted with her sister.

     

    Last, but not least, we visited Y., a 13 year old girl who was being helped by the Palliative Professionals for the first time today.  She had a tumor when younger, that was treated with chemo. However, the malignant tumor came back much worse now.  A friend of hers was at their house and as doctors talked to her parents, I played with the two girls.  We made colorful bracelets.  Y. is a very delicate girl, who certainly has talent with arts and crafts.  Her mom showed us other ornaments she had made to decorate the house.  What a sweet girl she is. 


    Tomorrow, we will drive towards the boarder with Panama to see how the program reaches Indian reservations here in Costa Rica.


Kisses,

Mariana

Second day!

     Today the day started with us going to the "Albergue," their facility.

     

    





     There, we met J., with whom we painted for a little bit. He liked it a lot, and seeing him smile was certainly rewarding! 








     We, soon went to participate in the visits at home, which I talked about on the last post. 

     First, we visited E., who is a 4 month old little girl and is the first baby of a very young couple. She was born with a very rare syndrome that brings numerous malformations. Babies with the same case are expected to live only two months, however, with the help offered by the institute as well as great efforts and care from her parents, Ema has been able to survive for 2 months over that. Ema is a very strong cute little girl.

   

 After, we visited I., a very handsome little boy who just turned 8 two weeks ago. He has been patiently waiting for a transplant of heart and lungs, even though his family has been warned that this type of procedure is rare. When we arrived in his room, he was sitting on his bed, watching TV. He was very calm. We gave him a stuffed dog, and he immediately smiled. I asked him if he liked dogs, he said yes and pointed at the side of the bed, where there was another little stuffed dog. He, then started playing with both of them. Doctor Irolda, scheduled a session of therapy with dogs for him. The meeting ended with him happy and excited about it.

    All those little kids are precious, and it amazes me that along with their families, they are able to overcome so many hardships that are unimaginable to most people. They're amazing, and most important of all, they are happy, although in their own world!

    Tomorrow, we will head to another area of Costa Rica, where they're building another center of paliative care.

Kisses, 

Mariana

First Day!

     Today we went to the "Centro Diurno Albergue San Gabriel" for the first time!

     Above, a picture of the meeting with Laura, Maria de los Angeles, Xiomara and her son, Marco, who were very receptive and explained us how the program works. Their center helps over a thousand kids throughout the country, including those in Indigenous tribes on the boarder with Panama. Also, the institution is the most advanced in its area, and its group of professionals helps the kids at the hospital, their homes, and at the facility.
   
     At the facility, they try to create a vivid and colorful atmosphere, since the kids are tired of the dullness that comes with their illnesses. 

    The program offers a better quality of life for the patient as well as his/her family, as Xiomara, Marco's mom, told us. We spent the day with them today.
     
    When we arrived in the facility, Xiomara and Marco were already waiting for us to tell us his story. Marco's illness is a very rare one, and only 40 people have been diagnosed with it. Patients with this condition are expected to live only 2 years, but Marco is 27 now. We spent the day with the family today, and walked through downtown! 

     Tomorrow the day will begin early, and we will help the doctor at the patient's houses.

Kisses,

Mariana

City of San Jose Theater

San Jose, Costa Rica

Finally Here!

    We arrived early in the morning today in San Jose, Costa Rica and drove around the city to get to know it a little bit!

    There are many interesting monuments with very pretty architecture, and the nature is exuberant! But what impressed us the most was the how nice and welcoming everyone is here!

    Now I'll rest because the weekend was tiring. My Spring Break started with a regatta before we flew here!

    Tomorrow I'll post about our first day with "los niños!"

Kisses,

Mariana