Reflections from District 6000 Governor Elect Chris Knapp
Sunday was the first day of medical procedures at the hospital for Iowa MOST. The surgeons and nursing staff had an excellent day of surgeries and recoveries. The patients had excellent care from our expert team. Additionally, the dental team was also busy with patients. Their patients often require extractions of rotting teeth and replacement with dentures. The results of their work when completed is wonderful.
While we had the majority of our patients for this week register on Saturday, we had two families come to the hospital on Sunday in hopes of being seen. We didn’t hesitate to visit with them and have our teams examine them. A father and son were both scheduled for care. The father would have several extractions and be
fitted for dentures. The child was scheduled for follow-up surgery from last year. Finally a young infant boy was scheduled for minor oral surgery. The relief that the families showed for being helped is seen immediately in their faces.
A special note must be made. The interaction between the MOST staff and the many patients we see would not be possible were it not for the skills of the several dedicated translators that provide on-site translation for us. What is challenging in Guatemala is that Spanish is not necessarily the primary language of all inhabitants. Mayan or a Mayan or Spanish dialect is often the only language of the patients. Sometimes it takes two translators to communicate between
patient and doctor. Though we have several translators on our team, we’re fortunate to also have several youth translators who are the children of local Rotarians and the hospital staff.
One of the special treats that our child patients can have is body painting. Neinke from the Netherlands, a former employee of Johnson & Johnson, paints adorable images of animals and designs on childrens’ arms and faces if they want it done. The girls especially like the painting because it is so colorful and often has sparkles mixed into the paint. And we’ve seen many growling tigers and Batman transformations on the young boys.
Now the excitement of the day. The Super Bowl Party. The hotel staff with the help of Poco were able to set up a large screen and project the 50th Super Bowl game for 
all to see. There was a small pool and the winners were: First Q – Brian, Second Q – Libby, Third Q – Giselle and Fourth Q – Poco.