Days 2: Antigua!

Day 2 was spent in Antigua. Antigua is a beautiful little city full of tourist attractions. We were able to do a little sight seeing and we even played some basketball with locals and hiked to get the best view of the volcano. This volcano has erupted many times with water and flooded the whole city. It is crazy that they are able to maintain some of the old buildings that are there. Later that day we went to an orphanage. I was expecting an orphanage similar to the movie Annie, but this wasn't the case. The place we visited was actually a hospital and an orphanage. They don't do everything a normal hospital does and they run completely off of donations. It was ironic that we went there because about a week later I was talking to one of my prosthetic patients in Guatemala City and he had received a surgery for his leg there. It is a great place and the staff there really try to do all that they can to help and make a difference. We weren't able to take pictures in this orphanage, but I was glad about that. Every child was physically and/or mentally handicapped. It was really sad for me to walk down the rows because it almost seemed like a zoo to me. Walking down, unable to really interact with the children. At the end of the visit I felt a lot better, though, because we were able to sing, play, and blow up balloons for them. They really loved it. One thing that didn't seem as clear to me before this visit is the difference in culture when it comes to handicaps. Most, if not all, of these beautiful children were abandoned because they are seen as a curse. Many Guatemalans believe that either the parents or child sinned to bring this disability. We talked with a man there who had an organization that goes around teaching people from the bible about disabilities. This day was a really eye opener for me to see how much help I can give a person. I sometimes thought, "Why can't we just send our donations to these people?" I know why now. It helps me so much to see and get to know the people I help. I grew a huge love for them and it motivated me to do even more. Maybe it is selfish that I need that, but, for me, the love I gained for Guatemalan people is the best thing I got from this trip. On day 3 we fit 13 people with prosthesis! I can't wait to share that next!

Day 1

Today started on an airplane at midnight. We all slept MAYBE 2-3 hours sparatically and landed in Guatemala City at 6a.m. We found our driver and he took us to the prosthetic clinic. The streets were INSANE. If there were 3 lanes in the road, there would be 5 lanes of speeding cars and motorcycles weaving around everywhere. The first people we met in the clinic were LDS missionaries. This made me feel like I was back in Utah. We talked with Eddie, the doctor there who I was very impressed with. He let us invade his clinic for the next few weeks and helped us with a design he was completely new to. He made me feel confident that the fittings would go well in a few days and said he had a group of ten coming from near and far. They were all people who had a huge need for a prosthetic but could not afford one. Some grew out of previous ones, and some had never had a prosthetic. The clinic could not afford to give away the design that they use on a regular basis, so the design we brought to them is going to be a huge benefit to these people. The difference in manufacturing price is hundreds of dollars. After meeting with him we left for Antigua, about an hour away, to visit an orphanage we collected supplies for. All the details of day 2 will be posted next, but I will give you a hint. It was a huge success, just like Day 1!