Dr. George and team calming child before tooth extraction.

Tuesday, we traveled to Llana Verde where over 85 medical patients and 30 dental patients were seen and 37 accepted Jesus, including the President and Vice President of the village.  And this is following a simple inquiry as to whether they have a spiritual life, believe in God, and want to hear about Jesus.  The people of the town asked for a pastor to come and minister there.  Between Pastor Miguel and Carmella that will be arranged.  Toothbrushes and toothpaste were distributed and some education attempted (though it was a chaotic scene).  Sofia, a Mexican woman with the James River team, was a tremendous asset as she organized some games for the children (mostly boys-girls tended to sit out the games), and tried to keep them in line (ie taking turns, no hitting). 

Team members teaching kids to jump rope

We repeatedly wonder at how God takes a diverse group of 40+ people who love Him, and fashions them into a dynamic body that works harmoniously through hardships, across cultures and languages, and accomplishes good things, leaving its members often in tears as we debrief later.  He is indeed an awesome God.

Dave and Mary Kay with El Mosco children.

Team members on departure day; note workers on roof.

Her name was Maria, and she was 64 years old, though she looked much older.  She was stiff as a board.  At first we thought she was simply awkwardly seated in the sling chair they had given her.  But when her son and son-in-law helped her get out of the chair, they braced her feet on the ground and pulled her up as if she were a board.  They “walked” her by kicking her feet straight ahead (like pegs), one at a time, as they supported her weight.  She lay very stiffly on the bed, and we could see that her teeth were clenched tightly shut, and her neck muscles pulled as taut as steel wires.  She was unable to speak, but could make some noises that her son was able to interpret.  She was Chatino, so they had to interpret for her in any event.

Prior to 3 weeks ago, Maria was very active, did all her own household chores, carried wood and water, and was the Senora of her family.  Suddenly, one evening during the meal, she clutched at her throat, and said she was unable to swallow anything-even water came back out.  Furthermore, she was in a great deal of pain.  Over the next few hours to days, her jaws became clenched, and the rest of her became stiffer and stiffer and she suffered severe, painful spasms spontaneously, and whenever she was moved.  They were able to dribble small amounts of water into her with cotton balls soaked in water.  She saw a couple of doctors who did blood tests and x-rays and were told they could not find anything wrong.

Her sons were very attentive and worried.  She was clearly mentally alert, but unable to communicate very well except by moving her lips a bit.  When we tried to slip a tongue blade through a 1-2 mm space between her teeth, she bit down on it even harder.  Periodically, she would stiffen out her whole body and cry out in pain.

We were looking at “Lockjaw”, or tetanus.  We had never seen it before, but knew it could not be anything else.  Lockjaw is almost unheard of in the US.  However, in 3^rd world areas where immunizations, especially of older people, are often lacking, and hygiene is poor, and shoes are not always worn, tetanus is more common.  It is treatable, but requires special medication, and often ICU care, including intubation and artificial ventilation. The person has to be paralyzed because the spasms can become so intense and severe that the chest wall becomes rigid and will not expand and contract to let air in and out.  Artificial nutrition is also necessary.  That sort of care is available in only a few large cities in Mexico, and needs to be arranged.  We spent a long time with the family, and asked them to bring their other records in the following day while we explored what arrangements could be made with a hospital (closest one being 8 hours away), and how to get her there.  They seemed completely committed to that plan.

We were devastated when they did not show up the next morning.  We had no way of knowing what had happened.  Had she died overnight?  Did her family (with or without her consent) decide that they could not afford the time or money to transport her and have someone stay with her?  Had they not understood how serious her condition was because of our communication shortcomings?  Had they decided to see if she would get better on her own?  Did they seek yet another medical opinion, or perhaps the counsel of a witch doctor?

Are you up to date on your tetanus and other immunizations? Don’t take protection for granted.

We were not allowed to take pictures of this woman.

Mary Kay with Yarita, reading Children’s Bible Stories

When we arrived in Roca Blanca, there was a team from a church in Tulsa, OK that had been doing some medical outreaches prior to our arrival. Their last visit was to an orphanage in Puerto Escondido that we have visited at least once every year for 6 years. They had brought with them Bibles, one for each child with his or her name engraved on it-a gift that took some forethought and planning. The orphanage has had 17 children for several years, though recently added 2 sisters, 2 and 3 years old, as well as a 4 month old infant. The “parents”, Vicki and Octavio, are incredibly loving and caring parents who have instilled the love of God as well as respect and caring for one another. We have seen most of these children grow up from being youngsters 5-10 years of age, to 10-16 years old. One girl will be going off to college next year and is learning English as well. Can you just imagine having 17 adolescent or preadolescent children living under your roof, and keeping your sanity? They are blessed with the equanimity to do so. And now, they are taking on an infant and 2 toddlers as well. They confess they need prayer for stamina and good health to continue their ministry.

We have also seen the facility expand from one story 6 years ago to 3 stories now to accommodate better quarters for the parents, and a class room with computers (some donated by the Tulsa team) for the children to use when doing their homework. They have been very good stewards as well as excellent parents.

After we shared pizza and soda with the kids, the Tulsa team handed out the Bibles to the children, one at a time. They were very handsome Bibles, not all identical, but all engraved with the child’s name. It was very touching to see how pleased, thankful, and yes, reverent, each child was. They also provided 3 children’s Bibles for the little ones.

Children with their Bibles

The trip down – 2009

Greetings to all from warm and sunny Mexico where we have arrived safely, although faster and perhaps more tired because of driving through the night for 34 hours.  The details: We reached Louisville Sunday night and Waco, Texas Monday night.  Freezing rain between Memphis and Little Rock was a threat.  It coated the mirrors, wipers, antenna, road signs, trees – but thankfully the roads did not freeze, even on the bridges.  While driving, we were always anticipating a slide or a spin-out.  We saw ice on bridge railings even south of Dallas.

On Tuesday morning, we left at 7 am to meet 3 other people also bound for Roca Blanca.  They had come from Tulsa, OK and had tried to nationalize a truck (unsuccessfully), and agreed to wait half a day for us so we could convoy to Roca Blanca.  About 3 pm, after getting visas and registering the truck, we set off for Roca Blanca.  They were bent on getting to the base ASAP – including driving through the night in order to hit Mexico City (the world’s largest) in the early morning hours.  We agreed, praying for the stamina to keep up with the younger folks.

Our first worry was soon behind us as both vehicles were granted green lights as we went through customs.  Therefore, there was no scrutiny of our cargo, or even our papers.  Our next challenge  occurred right after a toll booth, when a (friendly) federal police officer pulled us over.  He only wanted to check that we had the proper sticker on our truck windshield and then sent us on our way.  The next challenge occurred in Mexico City about 2 am when we were pulled over again, this time by less friendly city police.  They wanted to see Dave’s license and the truck papers, and then informed us that we had been driving illegally on the inner ring around the city with a truck with cargo.  Between our limited Spanish and their meager English, it became clear we were destined for the police station where our vehicle would be impounded for some indefinite period of time.  We had lost touch with our friends (a blessing in disguise) as the walkie talkie batteries were dead and the other person’s phone had been turned off.  The police had seen them and inquired about the Mexican who was driving an American-owned car (illegal in Mexico).  We told the police he had dual citizenship, and they lost interest in them but seemed determined to take us in.  Finally, we said, “Can’t we just give you some money?”  They quickly responded “yes”.  Since we had just enough pesos to get to the Base, we offered American dollars.  They accepted all our American dollars ($80.00), considerably less than the $300.00 they originally wanted.  Later, at the Base, folks said we had gotten off very well indeed, as Mexico City has the most expensive bribes.

Thankfully, our friends in front of us had kept on driving, but apparently turned off on a side street so were able to see us drive by when we finally were released.   We were blessed with light traffic, and we also had with us the Microsoft “Streets and Trips” program with a built in GPS and we were able to get back on track fairly quickly when we got lost twice, and also to find the poorly marked turnoff to Acapulco.  We soon climbed to our highest altitude, almost 10,000 feet, and the temperature was 33 degrees.  Our gas tank was nearly empty when we finally rolled into the Pemex station.  We wound our way across the mountains with vistas, twisting roads, and beautiful bridges down to the coastal road, and eventually arrived at the base about 5:30 pm.  We had been alternating drivers and becoming increasingly tired, so it was wonderful to arrive and discover that our room was ready even though we were two days early.  We were asleep within a very few minutes of our heads hitting the pillows.

CPR class

Welcome to the Brand New Blog from Drs. David and Mary Kay Ness. We recently returned from Roca Blanca, Mexico where we served for three months with medical outreach teams.