Third Day of Clinic in Chivay
This was the day my alarm didn’t go off — never the best way to start the morning! Fortunately Sara’s alarm did, so the day was saved.
Faith led devotions and shared from Micah 4, speaking about the mountains. It felt very fitting as we are surrounded by the beauty of the Andes. The passage reminded us that God is sovereign over all the earth, from the smallest village to the highest mountains.
Today our clinic was in Chivay, which meant that after breakfast we were able to walk the 15 minutes into town. It was a lovely walk, although we passed a few rather angry dogs along the way! When we arrived, the town square was beautiful and full of life.
The clinic was set up in a large stadium, with tents for the different stations. It was really nice to have everyone together in one place. Today we were also joined by Manuela, a physiotherapist, and Dr. Bob Rice, an ophthalmologist who runs the eye project.
Because the clinic was all in one large space, we were working alongside the optometrists, the pharmacy team, the wheelchair fitters, and the dentists. It was actually quite fun to be in the same area together and created a real sense of community as we worked. There was a steady flow of patients moving between the different teams, and it was wonderful to see so many different needs being cared for in one place.
My usual translator, Veledor, was translating for Dr. Rice, so Sebastián — Adrianna’s brother — translated for me. He did a great job. Phoebe also sat in with me. She didn’t really want to do anything clinically, but she was very helpful throughout the day.
I saw several children, including a 12-year-old with scoliosis whom I was able to refer to Manuela. She had come up for a couple of days to help fit wheelchairs and assist patients with mobility problems. It was wonderful to have her expertise available.
Many of the patients I saw were dealing with sciatica, back pain, and sore knees. The patients here were incredibly grateful for our help, which is always very humbling.
During the clinic we also received an alert on our phones that the nearby volcano — which we had seen puffing smoke throughout the week — was erupting more actively. Thankfully it was far enough away that it felt more exciting than frightening, and it certainly added a memorable moment to the day.
After the clinic finished, we were taken to the local hot springs — free for us since we had been providing healthcare for the surrounding communities. It was fun to relax and feel like tourists for a little while.
Back at the hotel it was time for supper. The menu included guinea pig and alpaca, but I decided to stick with the chicken!
After supper we played another lively game of Spoons. I managed to make it down to the last three players before being knocked out.
Then it was back to the room to pack and get ready for the next part of the trip.