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Walking in a Field of Corn
Dr. Dona Alvarez and Cindy Harsh returned to the USA; they had found
a special patient and a special mission. They set out to find if
the special-sized knees could be made and if they could get them donated.
Things started coming together. Doug Hawkinds, the company representative
of R & B Orthopedics, worked alongside them and soon became a willing
partner in this venture, so willing that he came to Honduras in March to
assist with the surgery. Wright Medical Supply was Cindy Harsh had also done her homework; she'd spoken to a physical therapist and had all the information translated for the Honduran therapist who would be helping Julio recover. Julio broke another record, because on day three after his operation he had already surpassed where USA patients would have been 14 days post - op. Julio has continued to amaze us. We need to actually keep him controlled -- he is so ready to walk in his field and plant his corn and be with family that he can hardly contain himself. He still has two weeks left in rehabilitation here in Santa Rosa. Then he will make the five-hour trip back to his adobe home and small farm and into the arms of his son and his grandchildren. Someday we will visit Julio and see him walking in his field of planted corn. What an honor to provide services to the Julios of this world.
It might sound like CAMO is in the cosmetic surgery business with a headline like this, but the truth is, CAMO's mission of changing lives in Honduras hasn't changed at all. It was while observing these surgeries this spring in Santa Rosa that I found the answer to the question, "Why CAMO?"
Mario stood in line this spring for a chance to consult with the plastic
surgery team. His eyes were downcast and he nervously shifted from one
foot to the other. Soon, Dr. Mohler, CAMO's plastic surgeon volunteer,
and his team of nurses, translators and anesthesiologist determined how
and when they would repair his mouth. That's when I entered the picture.
Having just joined as CAMO's Assistant Director in Ohio, I was anxious
to see everything I'd been reading about. Having little previous
medical experience, I was excited to observe my first surgery. Dr. Mohler
agreed to let me in the O.R., and I donned my borrowed scrubs that roommate
Nancy Likens had generously loaned me. For the next hour, I watched
in awe as the team reconstructed his face. With Dr. Mohler's quiet expertise,
a beautiful new mouth was created for Mario. In no time, Mario went from
someone who was stared at on the street, to a handsome young man with a
bright future. The next day on rounds, the team took Mario a mirror, and
as he slowly raised the mirror, a look of surprise crossed his face and
then he cracked a smile - the first real smile he'd ever made.
Maria gets earrings  Maria
Elena's story is not dissimilar to Mario's. Born without an outer
ear, the plastic surgery team had seen Maria Elena each year for the last
three, working to construct a new one. After a series of surgeries,
her ear was nearly complete; all that was left this year was one last small
procedure to improve the contour. And of course, the big decision - did
she want her ears pierced? At 19, Maria Elena had grown up hiding
her ears, ashamed of her appearance. Over the four-years of procedures,
the plastics team had developed a friendship with Maria and had even remembered
to pack a specially purchased pair of earrings for her, just in case she
decided to have her ears pierced to celebrate. When asked about the earrings,
she excitedly agreed and the team carried through with their promise -
Maria Elena left the hospital the next day with a beautiful new ear and
two sparkling new earrings.
The immensity of these operations is reflected not only in the time or effort taken, but also in the caring and commitment I witnessed in these two surgeries. The volunteers on these trips did more than show up to do surgery on the nameless. What I witnessed through these two cases, and countless others throughout the three weeks I was in Honduras, is an amazing commitment from the group of medical professionals. CAMO and the community of Santa Rosa have become an important part of who they are. So often we're cautioned to keep our distance so as not to get emotionally involved with the patients - but what I saw in Honduras was 80 volunteers who have become extremely attached to the people. That is what makes CAMO stand out from similar organizations. The CAMO volunteers are committed to treating the patients most in need. Without that extra attachment, no one would have remembered to bring Maria Elena earrings to wear home, and Mario wouldn't have received his new smile. And I wouldn't be as proud or feel as lucky as I do today to be a part of this organization. (Written by Christine Burkhart, Assistant Director)
Give a man a fish, and you have fed him for a day - teach and equip him to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime.
Respiratory
Labor and Delivery Fetal monitor training, led by Lisa Rittenour, is another class that  has
improved the quality of care delivered at the hospital in a remarkable
way. Lisa has spent years training the nurses and doctors in the labor
and delivery ward how to use the monitors to access the health of babies
during labor. The notoriously high infant mortality rate in Honduras makes
this program all the more vital. But getting the doctors and nurses to
use the new equipment was not an easy task. During the second week of class
this year, the nurses seemed to lose interest, so Lisa challenged them
to write down how many blue babies they'd delivered in the past month.
On adding them up, the number was shocking - and preventable with the monitors.
She asked them a series of questions like this, all of which demonstrated
to them the number of mothers and babies that were being lost with current
techniques. One nurse asked her to stop the interrogation because she was
scaring them - but the nurses' attention was captured and so was their
desire to keep learning. Change doesn't come easy but the evidence
is hard to refute, and after the right training and urging from Lisa, protocols
have changed and the fetal monitors are now being incorporated in the labor
and delivery ward. This change gives many mothers and babies a chance
to survive.
NALS
Library Development
Burn Development  As
always, CAMO looks to expand its services into areas of the community that
are lacking appropriate care. Many of these suggestions come from the volunteers
that travel on the annual medical mission. This year, Dr. Robert Morelli
brought to our attention the growing need for a burn unit at the hospital.
Currently, burns are handled on a case-by-case basis in the general hospital
wards, resulting in an increased rate of infection and the inability for
the patients to receive adequate attention. Because electricity is scarce
in the villages, many homes use propane and wood to cook, resulting in
a high rate of burns among young children from kitchen accidents. A small
but separate burn unit, supplied with clean water, burn creams, a whirlpool
and isolation, would drastically improve the recovery rate and provide
a much needed service in the community. Currently, CAMO is gathering
the data to determine the need of the unit and to create a design of the
appropriate size and location. With the help of thorough research, fund-raisers,
volunteer medical experts and CAMO staff, a fully functioning burn unit
for Western Honduras is a real possibility.
Building Blocks of the Future At the technical school around the corner from the  hospital
in Santa Rosa, a dozen young men gathered on Monday morning to start their
course. Unlike the educational classes CAMO is used to providing,
this one had nothing to do with fetal monitoring or CPR. This was a class
on woodturning, and the first in a series of programs CAMO is undertaking
in an effort to expand its role in the social and economic well being of
Santa Rosa. CAMO believes that the health of a community depends on more
than just the physical health of its people, but also in the ability of
the community to care for itself both economically and socially.
CAMO's involvement with the technical school is aimed to address the
growing problem of unemployment among young men in the Santa Rosa area.
With 70% of the population under or unemployed, there is a great need for
job training programs. The match between CAMO and the school is nearly
a perfect one given the amount of local Ohio expertise in technical trades,
and it wasn't long before a team of volunteers had formed to help the school.
Led by Mort Curie and Dan Greaser, plus several generous donations from
local individuals and Lehman's Hardware, a wood working project was on
its way to becoming a reality.
CAMO decided it would be able to reach a larger group of potential carpenters
if the first class were for teachers. The idea was to train the trainers
- a development technique used to multiply the number of people reached
with a small amount of resources. By training future carpentry teachers,
they are able to lead classes themselves at the technical schools, and
so the cycle begins. And in this case, it began with a bang.
By the end of the week, the group had created an impressive collection
of turned items, from vases to bowls, all from local woods. To congratulate
the carpenters and to impress upon them that their skill is a very marketable
commodity, CAMO hosted a city exposition of their goods and auctioned off
their pieces at the CAMO volunteer party at the end of the week.
Volunteer Harold Shetter dusted off his impressive auctioneer talents,
and more than $800 was raised -- money that will be reinvested in
the technical school program to further develop the program.
Quick Uupdates:
*We have not reported here about each area. However, this does not mean one area is more important or less important! We simply have grown so much over the last years that it would be overwhelming to share the many special moments and miracles that occur.
What is the Foundation CAMO Honduras doing when the USA team is not there?
If you are interested in speaking for CAMO, please let
us know. We have a Power Point program computerized with music. The song
was composed and sung by local talent Becca Rossiter. If you need a program
for your group or club, call the office at 330-683-5956.
Calendar of events: April 30 -- CAMO fiscal year end May 3-4 -- Washington, D.C. outreach/development meetings May 2 -- Director arrives in Ohio May 7 -- Presentation-Paradise Church of the Brethren Church May 12 -- Presentation - Northeast Ohio Association of Nursing May 20 -- Presentation -Smithville Ruritans May 22 -- CAMO USA Board Meeting June 15 -- Loading of 48-foot container for July Teams July 1 -- Closing doors of container July 15 -- Dispatch Container to Honduras July 20-Aug 10 -- Director to Honduras July 25-Aug 8 -- Team to Honduras September 11-16 -- Wayne County Fair September 15 -- Loading of 48-foot container for Oct Teams September 18 -- Kidron Folk Festival, Kidron October 1 -- Closing doors of container October 15 -- Dispatch Container to Honduras October 24-Nov 7 -- Teams to Honduras * Thanks you to anyone reading this newsletter who has already sent
support. As always thank you for your conitued prayers and support.
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It started with a glimmer of hope - hidden, but definitely there.
Traveling alone, old and broken, where does hope like this begin?
It is a question only 74-year-old Julio Madrigales can answer. The front
door of CAMO Honduras never knows who will come through it. Like so many
patients, Julio came to CAMO for the chance of being repaired. In July,
without any warning, in struggled Julio, dragging both his legs and using
crutches to support his upper body. He was alone and his face showed
no expression. He had traveled five hours by bus with no money for
food, no place to stay but on our doorstep, and the hope that he would
one day be able to use his legs. Julio first visited our prosthetic lab,
hoping that braces could support him. But on examination, we found out
he had fallen from a tree one year ago and both his knees had been crushed.
No brace could help him; only a bilateral knee replacement would restore
him. He told us that he still worked in the fields and he moved on
his rear end to plant corn, one seed at a time. Then Jorge, our prosthetic
technologist, told him that in October, an orthopedic surgeon would be
visiting and he could speak with her. Divine intervention came into play
on that October day. Julio again traveled to us, alone and broken,
with the hope of walking. Dr. Dona Alvarez and her assistant Cindy Harsh
happened to be in Honduras helping to organize the orthopedic program.
Dr. Alvarez was not excited about this tedious task of organizing screws,
surgical plates and all the instruments. In fact, she attempted to bail
out of the trip and the chore on 
several
occasions. The day she saw Julio, she was amazed by his courage and the
strength he had for his age. As she studied his legs and looked at
x-rays she knew that the only treatment was two mechanical knees. This
procedure had never been done in the public hospitals of Honduras. The
challenge seemed even bigger since the cost of one mechanical knee is $15,000;
and Julio needed two. This would be even more difficult due to all the
instruments needed and the complications, but then there was Julio, with
his big eyes and wrinkled skin, but a strong soul. Dr Alvarez couldn't
say no. Instead she spent over one hour with this simple man, and at the
end of the hour he asked, "You can help me?" Dr Alvarez said, "Yes,
I can help you." In that moment Julio 
smiled,
the first, big and wide, and through his eyes in that moment we could see
his soul. He knew he had come to a place of hope.
the
other company that made Julio's surgery a reality. Julio Madrigales
received two new knees on March 5, 2004.
The
plastic surgery Mario received is something that has changed how he looks,
but his procedure was certainly not a face-lift. Born with severe
birth defects, Mario has spent his entire life struggling to fit into society.
Unlike most cases like his, Mario's condition went untreated because he
lacked the money to obtain medical care. At age 34, his malformed mouth
and teeth left him unable to speak coherently. Not unlike most of the world,
appearance is important in Honduras. The pressure to fit in and appear
"normal" is as visible in Honduras as it is in Ohio. 
Birth
defects make surviving in an already hard-knock place even more difficult.
For Mario, it made school nearly impossible and jobs harder to come by.
the knowledge and training so that the citizens can unlock the door themselves.
Sustainable development of this sort is what sets CAMO apart, and it is
what will make Santa Rosa a healthier place to live. Nena Morelli
and Veronica Iglesias are good examples of this, with their partnership
with the medical library. While the physical library was completed after
two long years of fundraising, there is still work to be done to train
the librarian and stock and care for the books. This year, the team taught
a class on bookbinding and repair, and it is working with the hospital
to secure an Internet connection and a continued supply of medical resources.
and
see vendors, many with a basket on their head, a baby on their hip, and
a toddler at their side. These children lived on the street during the
day because there was no other option. Today you can walk the streets of
Santa Rosa and you rarely see a barefoot, wandering child. The daycare
center has been an incredible influence. There are more than 122 children
enrolled in the day care, all from very poor single moms and dads. You
can always tell the living conditions of the child, by the texture of their
hair, the smell of their clothes from being in a mud home, and a smell
of green wood having been burnt for cooking.
daycare
center is a place of refuge, with three meals a day and a mid-morning snack
with vitamins included. The early stimulation area has babies from 2 months
to 4 years old; kindergarten is for those 4-5 years old, and pre-school
is for children 5-6 years old. I randomly visit, and no matter what hour
I walk in, I see that the children are being loved and cared for.
At times I just want to sit with them, hold them, and tell them they can
have a better life, that things will get better. With the help of people
like you who care enough to take time to read the newsletter, things can
improve. We have much we want to help them with -- a better kitchen,
a dryer to dry all the diapers (cloth diapers are used here, disposables
are too expensive), paint for the walls, children's books in Spanish and
early stimulation toys. The actual cost per child is $1.00 per day. The
poor moms pay 35 lempiras a month, which is equivalent to $2.00 per month.
Of the 122 enrolled, the average attendance is 85 children per day.
Local
interest in the program was evidenced by the number of interested students,
one of whom was so determined to take the class that he walked the 12 miles
from his home on the outskirts of town to attend the week-long program.
His determination is more proof of the desperate employment situation in
Honduras, and his dedication to the program was proof that CAMO was on
the right track.
