We established the Iowa MOST Guatemalan connection nine years ago. It is through our Rotary relationship that we were able to establish the reliable partnership we have enjoyed during eight mission trips. Rotarians in Guatemala are our working partners and our friends, and they always invite us to their weekly Rotary meeting. The meeting is an opportunity to…
Read MoreSome of us are lucky enough to have the Iowa MOST experience in person. We have the satisfaction and joy of being with the patients and their famlies and of being the recipients of their gratitude. However, there are so many partners, both organizations and individuals, who make the Iowa MOST mission possible, but who…
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Tomas was born with a disfiguring cleft lip. Superstitious friends and neighbors who were frightened by his appearance warned his parents that he would perhaps not survive infancy. In a small, out-of-the-way place, such can be the mistaken belief of those who have no knowledge of the cause and effects of clefts, but who are looking for…
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It may be hard for the reader to imagine a whole hospital being turned over to people from another country who want to carry out a cleft lip and palate mission, but that is what happens in Huehuetenango. For a whole week each year, Dr. Oscar Marroquin and his partners take emergency cases only in order…
Read MoreOne of the outgrowths of the Iowa MOST presence this year has been the opportunity for some of our doctors to provide educational presentations to various groups. Dr. Jeff Hammond discovered that firefighters would appreciate some workshops concerning burn treatment and crush injuries and obligingly prepared talks, which were very well received. Constant training and education of…
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Working in the Hospital de Especialidades is particularly pleasant because of the valuable support we receive from the staff of the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital last Saturday, we were greeted by familiar faces and our Guatemalan teammates, old friends who are also volunteering their time to make this a successful mission. We are…
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Katie is the Pied Piper of the pre- and post-op wards. I asked her for ten of her favorite pictures and as you can see by the number of photos below, that was an impossible task.
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Nine-year-old Gladys and her mom came from Panajachel on the shores of Lake Atitlan. Gladys was very quiet, and she spent lots of time doing artwork showing Lake Atitlan full of boats and three volcanoes in the distance. She generously gifted this writer with one of her pieces of art, which I will take home and frame and keep…
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