Local doctor serves poorest, neediest: Letter from Guatemala

Dr. Sarah Beekley of Palo Alto, a Kaiser Permanente pediatrician, is on her fourth medical mission to Guatemala, working with a team of caregivers assembled by Faith in Practice (FaithinPractice.org). For more than 25 years, Faith in Practice has organized and facilitated volunteer US medical teams to Guatemala bringing health care to thousands of poverty-stricken villagers. Dr. Beekley and many of her Kaiser Permanente colleagues have joined these medical missions, raising donations for supplies and paying their own way to Guatemala and on to the remote villages. She writes from Peten, a tiny mountain community in Guatemala:

I met Spencer today. Spencer had been born to an unwed mother in another village, and the family planned to abandon the newborn until a villager offered to take him. At 2 days of age, Spencer had a new father.

Our medical team with Faith in Practice (FIP) had set up our mobile clinic in a grade school in Poptun, a municipality in El Peten Department. Spencer and his father had traveled 40 kilometer by bus the day before and then slept on the ground overnight in order to be first in line to get a "drop in " ticket to the clinic. Most patients had been given tickets by the local health worker many days in advance, and the line stretched around the block. Spencer was the last patient seen today.

Now 6-year-old, Spencer was bright and gregarious, full of smiles and chatty. His father's pride in his son was obvious. But Spencer was also unable to walk, sit straight, or even fully hold his head up. He had always been weak, and though he had received physical therapy until the money ran out, no doctor had given his family a diagnosis or long-term prognosis. His father had to carry him everywhere. He was bullied at school.

When word about Spencer's situation got out, people converged on the Pediatric clinic. The Mobility team came to fit him for a custom wheel-chair. The Referral department entered him into FIP's network to set up a consultation with a Neurologist in Antigua, and with money donated by the Pediatricians the coordinator set the family up with a hotel and meals so that they could return the next day to the see the dentist. After our team goes home, the local Guatemalan coordinators will follow up to ensure that Spencer gets his wheelchair, to arrange transportation to Antigua, and to coordinate any other referral appointments. None of this would have been possible without the generous donations of time and money by our sponsors and both the American and Guatemalan volunteers.

Spencer probably has a form of muscular dystrophy causing his muscle weakness. His long-term prognosis is not good. Nevertheless, our team was able to contribute to his medical care and the quality of his life in tangible ways. Spencer's family appreciated our help, and we appreciated the opportunity to know them. We were grateful to be able to be of service. It is this kind of human connection that keeps us coming back.