HONDURAS CATARACT MISSION

Arizona Visionaries

MARCH 2013

Basic facts :  http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0107616.html

The team consisted of:

Michelle – Anesthesiologist  - bilingual – creator of AZ Visionaries

Todd – Michelle’s husband, pre-screened patients and helped with whatever was needed

Cindy – Nurse

Janet – Nurse

Carol – Nurse

Larry – Tech

Alex – Tech - bilingual

 Mike Deppenbusch – Ophthalmologist

Allison – a pre-nursing student who was there for the experience

Aaron – Videographer provided by BDP to document the trip

Mat – Surgical rep who kept machines working  - bilingual & kept everyone entertained.

Me – I got to sterilize equipment

5 LDS Bilingual missionaries who translated for those that didn’t speak Spanish

Elders – Buffet, Floisand, Giles, Roper and Berquist.

Our contact in Honduras was Jorge Mealer. He is a resident of Honduras, but received his college degree in the U.S. and then served in the U.S. military for 25 years. He and his wife Betty have returned to their homeland where they have Palm groves and a portion of a Palm oil processing plant. They have a beautiful big colonial style home  filled with antiques. Betty has transformed the grounds into beautiful gardens with a myriad of flowers and plants. She also has a peacock, colorful parrot, geese and other birds.  Jorge is instrumental in serving the poor through an organization called Bless the Children of Honduras.  http://blessthechildreninc.org/

One week after returning to Honduras Hurricane Mitch hit the country and destroyed the area. Jorge took his boat and gathered people in trouble. Due to his service he quickly became well known and respected. Many people know and love Jorge.

We flew into San Pedro Sula which is in the North West corner of the country.  Honduras is very tropical, lush and green. It is humid and hot, although while we were there the temperatures were very nice.  The people are poor compared to the U.S. but not as poor as what we saw in India. It appears from what I saw that most people in in small block homes. They dress in modern western style clothing.  Most people are shorter than me. I’m told the there is a well to do class and a poor class. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.  One missionary said that it is common for gangs to extol money from the rich in turn for protection from violence.

We drove less than an hour to El Progresso where we stayed in a quaint motel called La Cascada. The manager and his wife were very friendly. They served us about half of our meals in a screened in pavilion. The majority of our meals included yummy tortillas, refried black beans, queso, mantequilla and eggs.  We also ate at El Tejas which included the items above but also a large plate of meats- steak, pork, chicken and sausage.

The surgeries were performed at a small Catholic birthing hospital in the town of Negrito Yoro. Catholic Sister Lilly was in charge, but my interaction was with Catholic Sister Sarah who was from India where she was raised Catholic. As a nun she has spent two years in Madrid and now is assigned to the location in Honduras. Her English is good but her Spanish is better.

Five Elders have volunteered to help translate. They rotated through two at a time. They are fun to have around and it is a good opportunity for them to visit with the locals, give service and let the medical team experience working with them. It was great to see how as the time progressed the medical team became more comfortable around them and asked questions.

On Saturday they took the opportunity during a slow time to talk with three of the medical team. As they were teaching about Joseph Smith Mat walked through the room to the rest room. When he came back through he stopped and told them that 40 years ago he was in Guatemala doing the same thing these Elders were doing, teaching the same story of Joseph Smith and he wanted them to know what they were being told was true! Mat is always a missionary.

Speaking of my sweet husband; he is always “ON” when he is in a group of people. His cheerful, helpful attitude keeps everyone amazed that someone can be that “UP”. They are impressed that he was able to get such great translators and amazed at how well he speaks the language. Michelle Minta will say things like; “Don’t be surprised, Mat likes to offer grace before each meal!” She says Mat is indispensable and I agree! He is the guy that makes sure all the medical equipment is running smoothly. He is a detail guy taking care of the stuff others prefer not to worry about but want it to perform in a specific manner.

The Elders said referrals and interest in the church has sky rocketed due to the building, and now dedication of the Honduras Temple. The cultural celebration was happening Saturday night and the dedication on Sunday. The Elders got to watch it via satellite since it was in the other end of the country. They said it was awesome hearing President Uchtdorf and Elder Holland.

We arrived Friday afternoon and got set up. This left time to do two actual surgeries. Saturday was a good day in which 22 surgeries were performed. Very few problems arose. I had a couple of mishaps with my sterilization equipment but nothing that prevented the work. The Honduran people have been very patient. On Sunday 13 surgeries were completed.

The best part of the mission is the Post-Op when the bandage is removed and the patient can see much better than before. They are very grateful. Overall the trip was a success. The goal was optimistic goal was 60 but 37 successful surgeries completed total is not too shabby. The equipment worked well and the group worked together fabulously.

Monday the group did Post-Ops, loaded the equipment & headed to the airport. After getting everyone off Michelle, Todd, Mat & I headed for the beach in Tela. The ocean and beach were breath taking! The water was nearly as turquoise and clear as in Turks and Caicos. There was a strong breeze blowing so the waves were big and strong. We had lunch at a lovely resort right on the beach then spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach under the shade of some palm trees.  The surrounding community had a few high end resorts and homes; however the majority was small, simple homes and appeared to be quite a poor area.

We boarded our plane Tuesday morning and headed home. The part of our group that left on Monday encountered weather restrictions and long delays. They were diverted to Georgia and because they were an international flight they weren’t allowed to de-board.  I haven’t gotten the entire story yet but they didn’t arrive until 24 hours after their original arrival time.

We had a wonderful time. Mat & I feel it is such a blessing to be able to be involved in this type of mission and we love being together 24/7! Adios