MEDLIFE

Luis Soria is a patient who came to us last spring during a MEDLIFE Mobile Clinic in the community of Cecel San Antonio del Cantón Licto of Riobamba, Ecuador. During his consultation, one of our doctors diagnosed Luis with inguinal hernias. An inguinal hernia occurs when tissue pushes through a weak spot in your groin muscle. This causes a bulge in the groin or scrotum which may hurt or burn.

Doctors informed Luis that he was in need of an immediate surgery right on the spot. MEDLIFE staff proceeded to take him to the nearest hospital to get further medical examination and care. Doctors and the medical clinic confirmed that his condition was critical and he was prepped for surgery within a few hours.

Luis admitted to us that he had felt discomfort for many years, especially while working long hours as a taxi driver and wore a back brace at all times. “I'm 47 years old and I've been suffering from this condition for over 10 years. I feel like a new man now thanks to the help this organization has provided me,” he shared.

After several lab tests, including uro-analysis, hematology, serology, blood, ECG and echo cardiogram tests, doctors concluded that Luis had two hernias and decided to split the surgery into two procedures -- one on each side. The surgeries went well and Luis was told to spend 60 days recovering at home. Although it was difficult for him to wait that long to work again, he followed the doctor's orders and today he can enjoy life without the pain he had suffered from for so long.

“Now I can work productively on my field and help out with family chores. I couldn't even walk around and enjoy my time with my family of three children and my beautiful wife. Now I have that opportunity and I am forever grateful for that,” he said with a smile.

This week, we received updates from our first spring MEDLIFE Mobile Clinic in Tena, Ecuador. Director of MEDLIFE Ecuador Martha Chicaiza shared some of the highlights from last week's particularly hectic and successful Mobile Clinic. Translated below by MEDLIFE Intern Laura Keen:

During a round of routine Pap smears, MEDLIFE staff and volunteers encountered a patient, Alicia Alvaro, who complained of several days of irregular vaginal bleeding. After an examination, the clinic obstetrician informed Martha Chicaiza, MEDLIFE’s Director of Latin American Operations, that the cause of her bleeding was potentially due to a condition known as endometrial hyperplasia, the rapid reproduction of cells in the inner lining of the uterus. At the end of the clinic day, Martha escorted the patient to Tena Hospital where doctors admitted her and scheduled her for a hysterectomy.  

The lengthy procedure was successfully performed on Sunday, March 11th and Alicia is now resting and recovering in her home.

A day later, student volunteers and doctors visited a community where principal complaints consisted of children with mild flu symptoms, a not uncommon occurrence during clinics. Among them, however, two infants presented temperatures of almost 104 degrees fahrenheit -- a temperature that carries with it the risk of convulsion and which could also be a sign of pneumonia. MEDLIFE immediately contracted a local villager with a van to take the children and their mothers to the nearest hospital where they could be further examined. The children remained in the hospital to be treated for pneumonia.

On the same day at the second Tena clinic site, doctors and volunteers encountered a young girl complaining of pain in her arm. The girl presented a severe fracture and requested immediate help. Riding in an ambulance, Martha raced to the nearby site to find the patient and immediately transported her to the closest hospital for attention.

Student volunteers and MEDLIFE staff members were pleased that they were available last week to assist with such significant cases which may have otherwise gone overlooked or untreated. Thank you to all the participants from the March 4-10 Mobile Clinic in Tena, Ecuador!

*PHOTO UPDATE* April 23, 2012:

Seven days after the emergency hysterectomy that saved her life, MEDLIFE staff and volunteers paid Alicia Alvarado a visit to check on her condition; she is recovering superbly and is happy to be home with loved ones again. Director Martha Chicaizo's photographs from their visit to the grateful family's home who had their lives drastically altered thanks to one of our Mobile Clinics:

Alvarado and her family sincerely appreciate the organization's initiative in helping the poor receive medical care and education.  They urge us to continue our work and keep visiting communities like theirs, that are most in need. 

Whenever a MEDLIFE Mobile Clinic encounters a patient with a medical problem we can’t immediately address at the Clinic, we record their contact information so that our local staff can get in touch the following week. From there, MEDLIFE will do whatever it takes to help the patient receive adequate medical treatment. We have no restrictions on the types of follow-up work we engage in, meaning that we are able to assist individuals and families with any and all medical problems they face.

Our team of interns in Lima recently had the opportunity to visit one of our follow-up patients to talk about her experiences since we first encountered her on a Mobile Clinic. Here’s her story, as written by summer intern Minnie Dasgupta:

Meet Elka – a 23 year old woman living in a small green house in the rocky hills of Pamplona Alta, miles outside of Lima’s metropolitan center. She shares her two-room home with her grandmother, grandfather, mother, and two young children. As is often the case in communities such as Pamplona Alta, Elka’s family has not received a great deal of support from the father of her children.

For three long years after the birth of her first child, she ignored a number of vaginal symptoms and convinced herself that nothing was wrong. But when she heard about the chance to receive a free Pap smear, she took action and visited a MEDLIFE Mobile Clinic in September 2010. (though the local Ministry of Health medical posts also provide a limited number of Pap smears, Elka did not have the government-sponsored insurance plan at this time).