THE TRAVELING POD

July 2022

The opportunity to stay in the city so close to the Amazonian basin of Beni was such a fun experience!

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After my trip in Santo Corazon, we were back in Santa Cruz to restock the van and organize our trip to Trinidad. In Santa Cruz, Joey connected me with his friend Lily who runs a day program for street kids. I was able to spend a day with Lily, and we went around visiting some of the street kids. We took one of the boys out for lunch for his birthday, and when we visited some other kids on the street. I noticed these kids were literally climbing out of a little hole in the ground near a water way. These kids were acting quite strange until I realized they were as high as a kite. They were not influenced by drugs, but they were sniffing glue in soda bottles. I have heard of this glue sniffing problem in Bolivia, but I had never seen it as evident as this. One of the kids looked like he was seven years old, and this image haunts my mind, it was so sad to see. The question that most people would think is why, why would you start a habit like that. I was told that a lot of kids sniff glue because it can suppress their hunger. From a medical point of view, I was told by a doctor that regular glue sniffing can provide irreversible brain damage, and early mortality in young adulthood. I had many conversations with Joey and Phil about this problem and what has been done to help these kids break this deadly habit. Unfortunately, any ideas I had went down the drain with my time in Bolivia, and I realized that any established program would require time to start. This idea I have will have to wait and see if Bolivia is the place where I apply for a visa in the future.

On the way to Trinidad, we picked up some other people, and one of them was the doctor who was volunteering in the clinic too. Trinidad was a long drive from Santa Cruz, and on the way we stopped for many photos including a beautiful valley of sun flowers. I was so amazed how every single flower was facing towards the sun, 100’s to 1000’s of flowers.

Sun flower fields

We arrived in Trinidad at night, and that is where I met Phil for the first time. Phil is a doctor, the coordinator of the Samaritans Purse Ruth Bell Clinic Boat. Also, Phil is Joey’s brother (general director of Medfund). Joey slept in the van, and the girls slept in a bed, whilst I slept on Phil’s couch. The next morning, we gathered all the medications that Medfund provided to be handed to the people of Trinidad. We had to mix all the medications into bags as little gift packs for people, and we also included some extra stuff, like a Christian picture book and toys.

Trinidad was a little city, and the climate was fantastic. It was nice and hot, and perfect for singlet weather. A lot of people drove motorcycles or scooters to get around. There were a lot of young people in Trinidad, and I was not expecting to see so many young adults. I thought most young adults would move to bigger cities for better work and study opportunities.

At clinic, we were all crammed into a little room with curtains to separate the professionals. I am sure it was the living room from on of the local families, but hey, it worked. The small room worked in my favor, I was close to Phil who speaks amazing English and Spanish. I was able to lean over and ask questions that my language barrier stopped me from asking. One of my patients complained of a sore big toe, and she reported it being a chronic issue. Later on, we found out that she has neglected her health because she was so busy looking after her grandchildren whilst her own kids are absent. Her toe was larger in size, swollen and leaked fluid. Her nail plate was destroyed and underneath was a small hole, in which I could get a positive probe to bone test. Lastly, she generally did not feel well, she felt fatigued and weak, and displayed signs for a systemic infection like sepsis. I was convinced that she had peripheral neuropathy because she was a diabetic and could not feel my probing during the procedure. We recommended her to go to the hospital for an examination of her bone health, and for the investigation for potential sepsis. She was scared for her health, and became emotional with all her responsibilities that she had. We had a lady in our team that was able to listen to her concerns, and pray for her. Also, explained that Medfund would help raise funds for her medical bills that she could not afford.

This trip like all the others makes me appreciate how my skills can play in an important part in people’s wellbeing.