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The Week That Changed Me
By
Brendan Crowley In the shadow of Celaque, Honduras´ largest mountain, sits the village of Gracias,  once
a major city in the Spanish colonial empire. Local folklore suggests that
enraged priests cursed this town and abandoned it after a mob killed a
man seeking refuge in a church. His crime? He cheated in a game. (Ironically,
in Mayan history, the captain of the winning team would be killed as a
sacrifice to the gods! Can you picture the time-out huddle: "Ok team, I
have a hot date tonight, don't you dare catch that ball. We've got to lose!")
This once flourishing town languished without the support of the church
and priesthood.
In modern times, Gracias still languishes from poverty and lack of medical resources. Today, another story can be found in the hills of Gracias. But this time, it's a story of hope. CAMO has recently initiated a ground breaking program providing colposcopes (a magnifying device used to look at the cervix and detect cervical cancer) and training to Honduran physicians working in the rural communities. While most American women have easy access to screening and treatment for cervical cancer, Honduran women are still dying from this fairly silent cancer. In fact, it is the number one cause of death from cancer in Honduras. In February 2006, the CAMO team of US and Honduran doctors provided equipment and led teaching sessions in 4 communities, Santa Rosa, San Marcos, La Entrada, and Gracias. I had the opportunity to accompany the CAMO team on the trip to Gracias for the initial teaching session. While driving the curvy roads toward the town, Dr. John Weeman M.D. told me a little bit about his first colposcopy experiences in Honduras. "Three years ago, I looked through the hospital colposcope lens and all I saw was a white blur." He added this was the only functional colposcope in the Santa Rosa area, but also, "…this colposcope had a lens that was frosted over, making it useless." No biopsies were being done either. These services were not available in the private or public sector. But CAMO is changing this. When we arrived in Gracias, several women who'd had abnormal pap smears were waiting to be seen. We started the morning by teaching the local doctor and nurse how to use the equipment. Then the patients were seen. Again, the view through the colposcope lens showed white, but not because the machine was malfunctioning. This time the white represented a clear view of pre-cancerous changes on the cervix. These were not the findings we hoped for, but they do prove that this project is essential to the health of these rural women. Now, because of the CAMO supported equipment, training, and perseverance of the Honduran doctors, these women will have access to the appropriate diagnosis and treatment. Many roadblocks remain in making these services accessible to the many women who need cervical cancer screening and testing. The new pathology lab that CAMO is currently constructing will be a huge benefit in standardizing the readings of the pap smears and biopsies, as well as improving follow up. Currently, women have to travel for hours to reach Santa Rosa where they can get treatment for pre-cancerous changes. CAMO hopes to bring the elements necessary for treatment, as well as diagnosis, to these rural communities. The cost to CAMO is $5,000 per clinic set up. We would like to see two more clinics equipped by the end of 2006. If you know of any group that would be willing to sponsor this, please contact the CAMO office
It takes time For any of you who know Dr. Paul Potter, an anesthesiologist from northeast Ohio, you would know that he is a bit of a perfectionist. He is certainly an expert in anesthesia and handling critical situations. CAMO has been working for 10 years now developing and educating the staff at the public hospital in basic life support and coronary pulmonary resuscitation. At times many of the volunteers who have been giving the classes have felt a bit of frustration and that the training was not sinking in. I would like to shed a ray of great hope on your unselfish giving of your expertise. During his 2 weeks of service to us here in Honduras, Dr. Paul Potter was called to a  pediatric
code. An infant had aspirated oil into its lungs. Unfortunately, in an
attempt to help her child, the mother had given it oil, a common but potentially
fatal folk remedy for cough or pneumonia. When Dr. Potter arrived, he saw
the one-month-old infant being treated by the Honduran team. He watched
in awe, remembering that just two years ago he watched an unorganized attempt
to a pediatric code. Now he was standing in the same Hospital, watching
the same scenario, but things had changed drastically. On Wednesday morning
during the morning devotional/sharing Dr. Potter told us about this case,
and he ended his sharing by saying he couldn't have asked for a better
or more efficient response in the United States.
The outcome of this particular story is a sad one; this infant could not be saved. The miracle of this story, however, is that many other children are surviving because of the equipment and training CAMO has provided. Over the past 14 years, CAMO teams have trained Honduran medical professionals in Basic CPR, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, and Neonatal Resuscitation. Their efforts have paid off. Honduran doctors are now empowered to save lives that would certainly have been lost before. The data for last year is 233 children under the age of 2 had to be resuscitated. Of that number, 115 survived. So you see, change does not happen over night. It is a diligent process, and I hope that all volunteers and donators over the last 14 years give yourselves a big pat on the back, because you are the reason that these little ones have gone home to loving families. Thanks.
Changing a Life, Changing a Face, Changing the way society treats you We are so privileged to have outstanding physicians and surgeons work with us. We have the highest quality of individuals, and they are truly what make us an exceptional organization. There are many cases that stand out this years but I would like to share four special ones with you. CASE I The first is of Jose, a 78-year-old man. He was found out in the mountains during the CAMO Honduran Medical team brigade, which happens the last Friday of every month. Jose presented to the Honduras eye surgeon who coordinates theCAMO eye programs. Knowing that Dr. Les Mohler, the plastic surgeon,was scheduled to come to Santa Rosa, an appointment was made. The deformity of tumors and cysts had made this man's face extremely difficult to look at. The difference after being treated by Dr. Mohler and his team is nothing short of remarkable. It is not just Jose's life that was touched, but 30 other individuals left with lifechanging facial repair. It takes a great team of people to donate their own vacation time, pay their own way and then work 12 hours per day. But at the end of the day they can say with confidence, "I made a difference in the lives of many." For the babies with cleft lip and palate, several cases this year were so malnutrious that it was life threatening. We were also able to save these little ones' lives.
CASE II -An urgent call - just one more
CASE III -- The Return
CASE IV
Our diverse group of 70 volunteers worked for three weeks. Together with our Honduran counterparts we saw 800 patients, logged in many hours and served those that otherwise could not have afforded the type of treatment we provided for them. Our volunteers came from all over the USA. Below is a chart and some photos of our teams activities, specialties' services and their value if the same service had been provided in the USA.
Strategic Planning Session We are at the end of our last 5-year plan. Our meeting in May 2001 brought up many dreams and a vision for the future. We have kept to that plan and have in so many ways exceeded our 6 goals for the past 5 years. It is again time to think about the next 5 to 10 years. We will have our strategic meeting of the Board of Directors of CAMO Honduras and Board of Directors of CAMO USA in Wooster, Ohio on May 17-21. We are honored to have outstanding Board members leading us. All of our board members, whether they are from the USA or Honduras, are people with vision, character, ethics and strong Christian principles. These qualities have helped us and will continue to lead us in successful development of services to the less fortunate in Honduras. In attendance will be 10 board members of Honduras and 9 board members of the USA. The mayor of Santa Rosa will also join our session, along with the Secretary of Emergency Service (Minister of COPECO) and the Vice Secretary of the Department of Health (Minister of Salud) of Honduras. We also are honored to have the Cabinet Secretary of the State of Delaware on our USA board. This is the group of people who have been and will continue to be the reason for our success. Women's Shelter  The
western part of Honduras has the highest instance of domestic violence
in the entire country. Every day many families suffer the result of unrestrained
violence. There is often nowhere to escape to in a country with no funds
for basic help, this is a grave social issue, for which the need is very
great. Today a photo was shown to me of a 22-year-old woman. She had lost
her right eye, and her head was split open from her forehead to the base
of her skull. I asked what kind of car accident she was involved in due
to all the bruising and trauma, and the response made me want to throw
up. She had been beaten by her husband. I asked, "Is he in jail?" The response
was, "No, nothing was done." Another woman came to our attention. Thirty-six
years old with six children, she did not have enough food for her husband
when he arrived to heir adobe home after a night of drinking. He went after
her with his machete, and in defending herself, both her hands were cut
off. Again, nothing was done to his man. The problem is not simple, nor
is the solution; it is a project of many facets. It includes the police,
prosecutors, pre-trial, trial, caring for the needs of the woman and her
children, teaching them how to protect themselves, and most of all a men's
program to stop the cycle of violence. We are working with the Duluth Model,
which is known throughout the USA as one of the top programs for abusive
men. Trainers are willing to come to Santa Rosa to help train the key people.
Land has been donated for the building of a women's shelter. A volunteer
women's commission has been set up. The plans for the structure have been
donated by Wooster's Every Woman's House.
We are on our way. The Congress of Honduras is reviewing our request for support. The total project, including funds that would secure the future operational cost, is $600,000. This is an urgent project. I feel like it is almost impossible to raise this type of funding, but the need is sickening. I could throw my arms up and say it is too big of a project, but then one never knows if you have faith how far that can go to help so many people. So I will continue to have faith that if it is supposed to be, it will happen. Changing of the Guard Elections for Honduras were held in November 2005. On January 26, 2006, the officials took office. By mid-February the President had appointed his cabinet. I was honored to be invited to the inauguration of the officials for the western hemisphere of Honduras. It was interesting to see and hear the previous leaders turning in their position to the new person, their speeches about their last 4 years and their advice to the newcomer. I have been to several of these ceremonies before, but this one took me by surprise. Ten people spoke, and each leaving and incoming individuals mentioned the help that CAMO had been to them and how fortunate this region is to have CAMO. As I sat there, I could not recall this ever happening before. I was thinking how hard it was to get an appointment with former leaders of the past 14 years, and how mistrust was always at the core. I would work the rooms to build relationships and set up meetings every single year before. This time I thought, "Well, if they were really telling the truth they would want to set up a meeting with CAMO." During the social hour that followed, each person in the new leadership came to me with his or her calendars and asked me for a meeting. I smiled and scheduled them gladly. The outcome? Only God knows. The Minister of Health, Dr. Orison Velasquez, visited our facility in Santa Rosa. We anticipated a quick 20-minute meeting. He brought with him his delegation of 30 other people, and they ended up staying for 3½ hours. He has requested to have a work session with us the entire day on April 29th. We look forward to a working relationship with the public health system in Honduras. I believe great things can transpire in the next four years.
New Emergency Department 
This subject is near and dear to my heart. Those of you who know me already
know this; others need to know that I was an emergency department nurse
for 10 years. When I founded CAMO one of my personal goals was to improve
the Emergency Department. Soon I knew that this was not one of the priorities.
If you saved someone, and than had nowhere to keep them well during their
time of crisis, what was the point? So first, the basics had to be met:
food (kitchen), shelter (repair of roofs), clean bedding (laundry), and
education of the staff (library and continuing education). The old electrical
system was replaced in 2005 by CAMO and the lack of water for basic hand
washing was resolved by a project done by an organization called Water
International. Fourteen years and lots of sweat and tears later, we now
can think about a functional ER.
The structure is just about finished, and we will need $50,000 to complete it. We also will need Emergency Department carts, monitors and other equipment to be donated. Emergency Room Certified Physicians and Registered Nurses will be sought out as volunteers to travel to Honduras to help us get the new Emergency Department off to the right start with training of protocols and triage techniques. Following this comes for the first time ever the development of the EMS system for this community. It feels like it has taken forever to get to this point, but in many ways it is just the beginning. Growing from dependency to interdependency The addition to the facility in Honduras is a greatly needed development.  This
new facility will provide needed services, and this will be for-profit
programs. These programs will be under a separate for profit structure.
All profits will be given to the non-profit so that we can assure the future
of the programs that are costly but are saving and changing countless lives.
Our desire is that someday all the operational and administrative costs
will come from the for-profit sector. Please keep us in your prayers during
this new venture. We will be providing a pathology lab for the western
sector of Honduras; medical equipment sales and repair; and a generic pharmacy
to help get medicine to those who need it at a lower cost.
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picked
up a starfish, threw it into the sea and replied, "I made a difference
for that one."
Question anyone who has been traveling to Honduras with CAMO for a few
years and they will speak of the great changes made in Santa Rosa from
year to year because of Tschiegg and CAMO. The changes are not only in
the medical care of individuals. CAMO also instructs Honduran doctors,
provides better technology and equipment, improves a local daycare and
opened the Community Center with major funding from the Noble Foundation.
There is a trade school for street boys who want to learn a trade. There
are also plans for a woman's shelter. While in Honduras I was on a team
composed of myself and three other students from Wooster, Megan Pycraft,
Taylor Grenert and Carleigh Breneman. Annie DeSantis, a high school student
from Delaware, and five translators from the ninth and eleventh grades
at the Bilingual school rounded out the children. My father, Grenert's
mother, Breneman's grandparents and DeSantis's mom were the adult members
of our team. <
painted
three large rooms at the daycare, painted a mural on the wall of the room
where the children sleep and painted all the interior hallways in the daycare.
It was special to volunteer my time to improve the daycare. I enjoyed painting,
but the best experience at the daycare was interacting with the children
their parents. When we arrived the children were at first wary; however
after a few chocolates and some kind words all of the children befriended
us. After the second day, the children rushed up to us when we arrived
and shouted a happy, "Hola!" whenever they saw us. One of best moments
of the trip for me occurred when I was leaving the daycare on the second
day. Earlier in the day I had given some of the children Snickers bars
and one young boy had told his father. When I walked by the boy and his
father the boy pointed me out. I saw the boy's finger pointing at me and
turned to see his father, obviously a very poor man, with the most grateful
smile I have ever seen, say, "Gracias." That smile and thank you made the
entire trip worthwhile for me.
In addition to painting at the daycare, we traveled with the translators
to see the hospital 
that
CAMO primarily works with; we went to San Augustín, a small village
high in the mountains, to watch the dental team work; and we visited the
Bilingual school. At the hospital and San Augustín, it was very
refreshing to see patients who, even after waiting all day in the sun,
were very grateful toward the doctors and weren't threatening malpractice
lawsuits. At the Bilingual school each class greeted our group with smiles
and waves. Both the patients and students reflected what I feel to be the
gratitude and welcoming of the people of Honduras toward the volunteers
of CAMO. The CAMO organization amazes me. To think that all the work that
the organization has completed was started by one person amazes me, and
that one person, Kathy Tschiegg, truly amazes me. The effect that the organization
has had on me, the other volunteers and the people of Santa Rosa can never
be summed up by words on paper or even pictures. I am very grateful to
be able to experience and take part in CAMO's work and encourage others
to get involved with CAMO either with a donation, or if presented with
the opportunity, by traveling to Honduras. One must travel to Santa Rosa
to see the organization's work to fully comprehend the blessing that CAMO
and Tschiegg have been to Central America.
patients
from years before. Not for chronic problems, not for more treatment, but
for a pilgrimage back to us just to say, "Thank you - you really made a
difference in our lives." This year while spending some time with Dr Ron
Pycraft and the volunteers who worked with our eye clinic, they shared
with me the diligence of a waitress in one of the restaurants the team
frequents. The story unfolded: the waitress's little girl at age two had
severe cataracts and could not see. She came to the local counterpart Hector
Robles, and he scheduled surgery with Dr. John Thomas. Her child's sight
was fully restored. This was five years ago. Every year this hard working
single mom brings her daughter, along with a small gift, to hug the team
and say "thank you" one more time. It would be a better world if
we all remembered our blessings and said "thank you" a little bit more.
The orthopedic
team also had this experience with Franklin, a 6-year-old boy who had rickets
so badly that he could not support his weight on his legs; he walked using
his arms and his legs. The public health system told his parents he needed
surgery and would have to travel to Guatemala to get it. Two years ago
our teams first saw him. We recognized he had a vitamin D insuffiency(rickets)
and the ortho team provided a one-year supply of the necessary supplements.
Guess what? Today Franklin is a normal 8-year-old little boy. His father
shared that Franklin did very poorly in kindergarten two years ago and
he felt the child had a mental disability. But now the father proudly reported
that Franklin is doing great. His mom and dad brought him in to say "thank
you" and to say that they did not believe us two years ago, but thought
the vitamins would not hurt. Today they hugged the team and said "thanks"
one more time. Franklin smiled and walked upright with an unhindered stride.
Keep walking Franklin . Keep walking!
