If You Are Lucky
Santa Rosa de Copan , Honduras
April 2007

I pondered as to whether to blog about this, loyal readers. Some people might think me writing about my trip to Honduras last week might be an attempt for me to try to toot my own horn as some kind of huge altruist. In the end I decided to take that chance because you need to know about some people whom I am privileged to have as friends. In that spirit, here is a list of things that might happen to you if you are lucky.

CAMO

If you are lucky, you will encounter people in the world associated with groups like Central American Medical Outreach. CAMO is the brainchild of a remarkable Ohioan named Kathy Tschiegg. Her passion for the medical well-being of the people of Western Honduras is inspiring and at times a little intimidating. Down below I'll show you some of the work she and the people of the beautiful town of Santa Rosa de Copan have accomplished together.

CAMO and I met under fortuitous circumstances in 1994, a young organization and young doctor. I do not presume to say that I have made anything but a sporadic, microscopic contribution to the works of this group over the years, but I have been around long enough to appreciate the changes in Santa Rosa. Many incredible people have traveled to Santa Rosa over the years through CAMO to deliver both sophisticated medical intervention like cleft lip repairs and more mundane (but probably more important) services like hospital laundry repair. They have a good website. You can check out all the stuff there.

Let's start with the ER. I do believe Dr. Doug Ross (remember George Clooney from ER?)himself would find little fault with the ER at the Hospital de Occidente. It's brand new. Gracias, CAMO.

Here are the vestiges of the old one. I have seen patients in that ER over the years. Trust me, you just don't want to know.

The streets outside are being redone by the amazing craftsmen who cut the stone and place each cobble by hand.

An important need is for prosthetic limbs. I have never seen a prosthetist at work until the other day.

CAMO has built a large building down the road that houses an enormous warehouse with all sorts of donated medical supplies sorted by folks in Ohio so that they can be properly shelved.

It will not surprise you to know that wheelchairs are the difference between life and confinement for those who need them. A good wheelchair mechanic is totally necessary.

How about a fully stocked and staffed pathology lab? Was that there 13 years ago? I think you know the answer.

My friend Dr Robles (ophthalmology in Santa Rosa)

If you are lucky, you know a colleague with the good humor and immense skill of my friend Hector Robles. He and wife Lourdes have been my friends since 1994. It isn't easy to communicate since we are not fluent in each other's languages, but this does not matter. Hector loves to tell the story of our first meeting back then when he thought I was the student and this other guy, who really was the student, was the professor. I am a little proud to have taught him a few tricks over the years, but mostly proud that he allows me continue to be a small part of ophthalmology in Western Honduras.

Kids in Honduras=cute!

I must tell the story, in some detail, of one little dude. I quote herein that fine bloggist Roxie, who chronicles the exploits of our office, and my assistant extraordinaire Angie. I cannot have put it better, much to my chagrin.

"It seems that a little six year old boy and his sister were "jousting" on bicycles using umbrellas as lances. The sister tallied a bittersweet victory when Dr. A had to repair her brother's torn (eye) muscle from a last, fateful umbrella joust. Dr. A admitted this was the first jousting injury he had seen since he was an intern back in medieval times."

That's a very rare injury. We did our best to fix him.

Here is a picture I took of the town while I was under the mistaken impression that I had some time to kill before surgery.

The tireless staff waited patiently for the dumb gringo roaming the streets with a digital camera when he should have been in surgery. Really, I need to learn Spanish someday and not just fake like I can understand.

This is Mirna, a remarkable woman who has worked incredibly hard as a nurse in the public hospital to put her daughters through bilingual education, and now into medical school.

You might think that gringos who volunteer for service in "medical brigades", as they are called, do good work. Really, though, you should admire the people like Mirna. The increased volume of patients that are seen and have surgery during these times means many extra hours of work for the staff at the hospitals and OR. They also have to deal with a different way of thinking that we, the North Americans, bring with us. I suspect, regrettably, that we sometimes do not carry humility in our suitcase of good intentions.

The Family Bueso

If you are lucky, you will travel to another place and encounter a host family with the generosity and gentility of el alcalde (the mayor) and his incredible crew. Melo is obviously a great mayor.

The day I left the president of Honduras was coming to town to dedicate a water treatment plant that will provide good water to everyone on the city. What percentage do you think had drinkable water 13 years ago? I think you know the answer. The First Lady of Santa Rosa, Melida, is an amazing mom, cook, and drives through big city traffic to drop a nervous North American at the airport like she is a Formula One champ. Wow, what a ride! I am privileged to have spent my week with them, feeling like one of the family.

Melito is one paciente valiente! Gracias por la anesthesia magnifica, Nathalie!

Si ustedes estan leyendo, muchissimas gracias por todo

Other things about Honduras

If you are lucky, you will have the opportunity to visit Western Honduras in your life. The tourist highlight is surely the Mayan ruins at Copan. If you can go, you will probably find it hard to believe how incredible the buildings, art, and geography are. On this field they played baloncesto, that famous game with the rubber ball.

These temples and pyramids were built to honor the gods and god-kings of the Maya.

My amazing guide Rodolfo picked up these fluffy fibers off the ground. Kapoc, if I have spelled it correctly. His ringtone is "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". I suspect the Maya would have dug Green Day.

Did you know kapoc was used to make life vests in WWII? I most assuredly did not.

They made scary skulls.

My understanding is they aren't meant to be macabre, but to represent ancestors in the watery underworld (not evil, that's just where everyone ends up, if I got it right from Rodolfo). Mayan cosmology is really interesting. I'm not going to describe it all here. That's what Wikipedia is for, my friends.

Around the ruins is a variety of wildlife. In this enclosure, I was bitten by a toucan (not painfully). Did you know that toucans have a feather for a tongue? I, for one, did not.

They grow awesome coffee there. I just took a sip. You can buy it at Copan Trade. I just took a sip of some right before I wrote this sentence. Their economy is largely dependent on coffee growing. You might want to buy some. OK ad over.

The horse culture thrives in this part of the world.

There are real cattle drives on the highway.




To some extent, the bicycle has begun to replace the horse for transportation. You should see these athletes trudge up these serious mountains fully loaded with wood, food, and a lot of other things I wasn't sure of. I am sure any of them could dust me in a time trial.

Near Santa Rosa there is a big hot springs area. Those aguas thermales are an awesome place to party. They're open until one AM. If you see the First Lady of Santa Rosa there, do not bother declining her offer of vodka. You will eventually accept, trust me. Hey, there's Kathy Tschiegg from CAMO.

How's that elbow, Doug Stern?

Flying is no fun. Getting a ride to the airport from Melida is fun, though. Another thing that is fun is riding in the tram at DFW. Some of you know that I love public transportation. Especially when you can take awesome pictures out the window. Maybe you think that's weird. Maybe you're right.

A Final Thought

Here's a story from 1994. I, the young harried doctor in an unfamiliar place, left my wedding ring in the pocket of my scrubs. It was found by a laundry worker who returned it to me right away. I am sure that selling that ring would have been worth several months' salary for her. Maybe more. Maybe you will have the opportunity to feel at home in another land among people like this. If you are lucky.