La Paz, Bolivia, 2011

Hands That Make History

La Paz, Bolivia – Liliana Vazquez, ReSurge International associate director of marketing and communications.

After working 12-hour shifts for five consecutive days, the team gladly welcomed the weekend. With endless possibilities of what to do, some of the team decided to visit famous reed boat builder Paulino Esteban.

Don Paulino, as most people call him, helped build the famous Ra II expedition boat for notorious adventurer Thor Heyerdahl.  Heyerdahl wanted to prove that ancient civilizations could have migrated across oceans in ancient vessels.  During our visit, Don Paulino proudly showed us the 1971 National Geographic magazine about the historical expedition and his involvement in it.

As I stood there listening to Don Paulino, taking in his amazing story, I noticed how worn and aged his hands were. Don Paulino is almost 80 years old, and his sturdy hands represented a lifetime of skill and experience that continued to make him proud. I couldn’t help but think about our patients and the work that we’d come to do in La Paz.

Our team trip to Bolivia is considered a “hand trip,” meaning we focus on surgeries for the hand, including injuries, congenital deformities and other conditions. After a week of providing surgeries, we all felt that we were making a difference. However, it was not until I met Don Paulino that I gained an awareness of the true impact our work could have.

We have known for some time that restoring our patients’ hands can allow them to work again, to feed their families, to hold their kids. For some patients, the surgeries allow them to do these things for the very first time in their lives. What had never occurred to me before was that, with our team and local partners’ help, our patients’ restored hands might one day also allow them , just like Don Paulino’s, to make history.

Teaching New Techniques

La Paz, Bolivia – Liliana Vazquez, ReSurge International associate director of marketing and communications.

Teaching and collaborating is always a big component of all ReSurge trips. Bolivia has not been an exception. Two of our team’s anesthesiologists, Duke McMillan (pictured far right) and Jennifer Szerb (pictured far left) spent time with a local anesthesiologist and his resident explaining how to perform a relatively new type of anesthesia technique called “ultrasound guided regional anesthesia.” Its main benefits are that patients don’t experience as much pain after surgery and the risks traditionally associated with anesthesia are lowered.  It was the first time the local anesthesiologists got to watch the technique performed.

Unamused

La Paz, Bolivia – Liliana Vazquez, ReSurge International associate director of marketing and communications.

Our surgeon, Dr. Jonathan Rausky, came in to see his next patient. After looking over the patient chart he noticed his next patient’s name was also Jonathan. Enthusiastically he asked him (in Spanish), “Can you believe we’re both named Jonathan?” To which unamused, 8-year-old Jonathan responded “yes”.

I thought it was hilariously cute.

Valuable Teammates

La Paz, Bolivia – Liliana Vazquez, ReSurge International associate director of marketing and communications.

Last week, two of our key team members had to depart Bolivia due to a previous engagement. Carl Kravetz, ReSurge board member and Dr. Aliza Lifshitz (known as “Doctora Aliza”) volunteered with our team during the first half of our time in La Paz, Bolivia.  Carl and Aliza helped interview patients, create medical charts, translate for fellow team members and were always willing to help wherever needed.  After putting in more than 12 hours on their first day with the team, they returned the next day ready to do more.

Their kindness towards our patients, teamwork and Spanish skills are greatly missed!  From our team here in La Paz and ReSurge International…Thank You!

Language Barriers Fade Away

La Paz, Bolivia – Liliana Vazquez, ReSurge International associate director of marketing and communications.

Our team’s chief surgeon, Dr. Anthony Sudekum, has been consistently collaborating with our local partner Dr. Jorge Terrazas. Although Dr. Terrazas speaks enough English for them to communicate, it’s amazing to see the language barrier fade away once they walk into the operating room and get to work. Their common goal to serve and their passion for reconstructive surgery is evident in the work they do together.

Two Different Surgeries, Two New Possibilities

La Paz, Bolivia – Liliana Vazquez, ReSurge International associate director of marketing and communications.

From day one Esther has been one of my favorite patients.  Ok, ok, she’s my favorite!

The youngest of four children in her family, Esther is described by her mother as the most outgoing among them. Esther is six years old and was born with a cleft lip and syndactyly of the left hand (when the fingers are fused together). Her cleft lip was repaired a few years back. However, she still needed surgery to release her fingers and allow her to use her hand.  I took this picture a day after her surgery. As usual, Esther smiled at me while wearing her new Hello Kitty pajamas, specifically purchased by her family for her recovery. Esther was born with two congenital deformities both correctable by surgery. Reconstructive surgery made this cute smile possible. Today, reconstructive surgery will allow Esther to use her hand for the first time and open a world of opportunities for this adorable outgoing child’s future.

Working Together A Year Later

La Paz, Bolivia – Karen Pitbladdo, ReSurge volunteer hand therapist.

My return trip to La Paz is particularly productive as the two physical therapists I worked with last year have returned to help. We have picked up where we left off last year. With very little guidance, they are evaluating and making splints for patients who are not surgical candidates and observing surgery of patients they will be following. Discussion of follow-up rehabilitation and exchanging techniques for treatment is ongoing. It is delightful working with them.

Starting Over

La Paz, Bolivia – Liliana Vazquez, ReSurge International associate director of marketing and communications.

Last night during evening rounds we stopped by to see Fabio. His surgery was done a few hours earlier yet we found Fabio eating soup, watching Los Simpsons and smiling.

A year ago Fabio survived a terrible car accident on one of Bolivia’s infamous dangerous roads.  After the accident, Fabio was unable to use his right hand. Despite having a year left to complete his engineering degree his professors would not let him take his exams because he could not write and was unable to attend classes. Fabio fell into a deep depression. It’s hard to imagine that now.

With the support and encouraging words of his doctors, physical therapists and family, Fabio gained the strength necessary to put the accident behind him. He learned to write with his left hand, not well, but legible enough to return to school. This July he will be graduating!

Despite making strides in his recovery Fabio still chokes up when he thinks of the accident and came to us asking we help correct his right hand so he could hold a pencil, a spoon and tie his own shoes again.  After his surgery and with the hand therapy he’ll be provided with, we’re confident he’ll be able to do so.

ReSurge and Doctora Aliza On TV

Bolivia’s third most watched television show, “El Noticiero Bolivisión,” invited Dr. Jorge Terrazas, ReSurge’s surgical outreach director in Bolivia, and Dr. Aliza Lifshitz, ReSurge volunteer and celebrity doctor popularly known as “Doctora Aliza,” for an interview regarding our team’s work in La Paz.

The interview lasted 20 minutes, during which both Dr. Terrazas and Doctora Aliza spoke of Dr. Terraza’s foundation, Fundacion S.O.S Mano, and ReSurge International’s work in Bolivia and around the world.

One hour after the interview, the hospital, where ReSurge was working, was inundated with families who had watched the show and wanted to be seen by our team.  We had already seen nearly 60 patients during our clinic day (earlier in the week) and scheduled 50 of them for surgery,  but more patients continued to appear. This was a true testament of the tremendous need for the work we, with the help of Dr. Terrazas, do in Bolivia. 

 

Angie The Seamstress

La Paz, Bolivia – Liliana Vazquez, ReSurge International associate director of marketing and communications.

The first time I saw Angie she was sitting next to her son in the hospital waiting room. She was anxiously holding her cane.  She gave me a gentle smile as I walked by and then she continued her wait. I assumed she was a shy, quiet older woman; boy was I wrong.

Angelica, who made it clear she would rather be called “Angie,” used to be a seamstress -- and a very good one, she added. I was saddened to hear she could no longer cut fabric and create the beautiful clothing she once made.  Angie now suffers from severe arthritis.

Although there was nothing we could do for her surgically, Karen Pitbladdo, our team’s hand therapist, made Angie some splints so she could find comfort at night when she goes to bed. 

While they were being made, Angie talked to me about her past, how shy she was as a young woman. She told me about her passion for making clothes and about every soap opera she had ever seen. Angie came to us for splints, but I got the impression she also wanted someone to listen to her life story. I was glad to listen.

Once Karen was done, Angie kept calling her new splints “hermosa” (beautiful).  She then took her cane and slowly made her way out of the room.  With Angie gone, I was left with the image she had painted for me during our talk: one of a young, shy, talented Angie, who spent her days immersed in fabric.