Mammoth Medical Missions - Chiapas, Mexico 2015
I(Jayce) traveled to Chiapas, Mexico in May with a group called Mammoth Medical Missions. The purpose of the group is to respond to disaster situations in need of medical help as a fast and light civilian forward surgical team. They are based out of Mammoth lakes, California. I'm extremely grateful to have crossed paths with this group. They are effective, efficient, and doing a lot of good wherever they go.
TRAVELING
My adventure began with a flight from Salt Lake City to the Mexico City airport, where I was then supposed to catch another flight to Tuxtla, Mexico. The flight went smooth. I arrived in Mexico city to meet a customs line the length and width of a football field for Non-Mexican citizens, while the Mexican citizen line was the length of a typical Walmart checkout line in midday. (Too bad I don't have dual citizenship) I wasn't too worried because it was a decent layover and no one around me seemed to concerned. I saw a few other people that I recognized from Mammoth in the line and they also didn't seem concerned. Once I reached the customs desk and was given my stamp of approval it was like a scene from 'Home Alone', I started running and all the other people heading to the same plane were running; only imagine a scene where everyone is directing you to do things in Spanish and the last time you thought about Spanish was in high school. I found myself looking at people and thinking, "Now, I know you are trying to communicate with me. Focus...Focus....Nope, I have no idea what you are saying." So, I just followed the frantic crowd, blindly.
During the frantic dash, everyone was told to put their bags on this conveyor belt that was supposed to take everything to the plane. Without thinking, I put my carry-on bag(the only bag I had) on the conveyor belt. Yep, you probably realized it sooner than I did. After getting through the next security check I had a sudden realization that I put my carry-on with no identifying information on it, no baggage stickers, no nothing onto a random conveyor belt. Bye, bye bag. When the realization occurred, my brain and heart just about exploded right there in the airport. Good times. To make a long story short, all but 2 of us missed the flight. This was a blessing in disguise. I was able to track down my bag, due to the great help of a member of the team. We caught a later flight. All turned out well. The flight home was considerably more smooth.
CONDITIONS
We were operating out of a small hospital in Larrainzar, Mexico which is a principality of Chiapas. We stayed on site at the back of the hospital in tents. This made things way more efficient for getting things done at the hospital. The tents were comfortable. All of our facilities were located right within the hospital. Water had to be trucked in, but we had running water and hot showers. It was great. A local restaurant owner was employed to prepare meals for us while we were there, and they were fantastic! I love mexican food! The last two nights we stayed at a hotel in San Cristobal, and had a great time.
PEOPLE/PATIENTS
First off, what a wonderful people! Most spoke Spanish, but a common language for the area was called Tzotzil. This required sometimes a double translation from english to spanish and then to tzotzil. The people were humble. Medical care was not something that was readily available to them and it was obvious by the severity of some of their ailments. Triage started on Monday and those that had medical conditions that could be fixed by a general surgeon or an OB/GYN doc were brought in to see if they were appropriate surgical candidates. I was at the triage table for the morning and got to see everyone as they came in and check their paperwork. We were seeing patients mainly for chronic pelvic pain and bleeding, large hernias, and gallbladder pain.
The hardest part was seeing people turned away. Either they weren't healthy enough for surgery, or the case was too complicated, or not severe enough. Two in particular stand out to me. Both were little boys probably 2 or 3 years old. It's even harder when they are around the same age as your own kids. Both of them had a condition called syndactyly, it's when the tissue between your fingers doesn't breakdown as it's supposed to while you are in utero. One boy had involvement of the bones in his hand as well. The webbing involved 3 fingers on each of these boy's hands. What left such a lasting impression was seeing the parents and family of these kids wait so diligently in a waiting area for hours to get help for their children. Their aren't too many things stronger than the love of a parent for a child. These parents demonstrated that principle well for me that day. Despite being turned away, the people continued to be so gracious and kind.
SURGERIES PERFORMED/WHAT I GOT TO DO
In total, 30 surgeries were performed by a team of about 15 people in 3.5 days. Many grateful women had hysterectomies(removal of the uterus), removal of ovarian cyst, and a tubal ligation performed by an all-star gynecologist. Our general surgeon also repaired inguinal and umbilical hernias, removed gallbladders, and removed concerning lumps and bumps. Most of the patients were in their 40's and 50's, some middle-aged and four or five of the hernia repairs were on children.
I had the privilege of getting to be the jack-of-all trades throughout the surgery days. I was able to assist with the general surgery cases, gynecologic cases, and help with the anesthesia throughout the week. I was taught by amazing Physicians and given the opportunity to perform procedures that I likely wouldn't be able to perform until residency. It was an incredible experience! I learned some great medicine and procedural technique. I can't say enough good things about the things I learned and the experience I had.
OUTCOMES
As I mentioned earlier, the dearth of medical access for these people results in the severity and symptoms of the disease being far worse than anything one would typically see. One patient had a hernia that was so bad that she wasn't able to walk, could only eat one tortilla a day, and thought she would die from the amount of pain she was in. Another little boy couldn't walk normally because of his hernia. Many patients shared that they were unable to work and perform their usual daily activities due to the pain and discomfort. The majority of the patients we worked on went from having a condition that hindered their ability to care for themselves and provide for their family, to a new future without their ailment and return to full function.
CONCLUSION
The trip was a wonderful experience! I cannot thank enough those who contributed to the funding of my trip on Crowdrise. Thanks for making this all possible! I worked hard everyday to not only learn a lot but to help those around me have the best experience possible. This trip has inspired me to seek after future trips and pursue this humanitarian work further in my career.
The hospital where we worked, with some of the local staff.
TRAVELING
My adventure began with a flight from Salt Lake City to the Mexico City airport, where I was then supposed to catch another flight to Tuxtla, Mexico. The flight went smooth. I arrived in Mexico city to meet a customs line the length and width of a football field for Non-Mexican citizens, while the Mexican citizen line was the length of a typical Walmart checkout line in midday. (Too bad I don't have dual citizenship) I wasn't too worried because it was a decent layover and no one around me seemed to concerned. I saw a few other people that I recognized from Mammoth in the line and they also didn't seem concerned. Once I reached the customs desk and was given my stamp of approval it was like a scene from 'Home Alone', I started running and all the other people heading to the same plane were running; only imagine a scene where everyone is directing you to do things in Spanish and the last time you thought about Spanish was in high school. I found myself looking at people and thinking, "Now, I know you are trying to communicate with me. Focus...Focus....Nope, I have no idea what you are saying." So, I just followed the frantic crowd, blindly.
During the frantic dash, everyone was told to put their bags on this conveyor belt that was supposed to take everything to the plane. Without thinking, I put my carry-on bag(the only bag I had) on the conveyor belt. Yep, you probably realized it sooner than I did. After getting through the next security check I had a sudden realization that I put my carry-on with no identifying information on it, no baggage stickers, no nothing onto a random conveyor belt. Bye, bye bag. When the realization occurred, my brain and heart just about exploded right there in the airport. Good times. To make a long story short, all but 2 of us missed the flight. This was a blessing in disguise. I was able to track down my bag, due to the great help of a member of the team. We caught a later flight. All turned out well. The flight home was considerably more smooth.
CONDITIONS
We were operating out of a small hospital in Larrainzar, Mexico which is a principality of Chiapas. We stayed on site at the back of the hospital in tents. This made things way more efficient for getting things done at the hospital. The tents were comfortable. All of our facilities were located right within the hospital. Water had to be trucked in, but we had running water and hot showers. It was great. A local restaurant owner was employed to prepare meals for us while we were there, and they were fantastic! I love mexican food! The last two nights we stayed at a hotel in San Cristobal, and had a great time.
The tents that we stayed in.
A typical dinner with Fajitas. Yum!
Dinner in the city one of the last nights.
First off, what a wonderful people! Most spoke Spanish, but a common language for the area was called Tzotzil. This required sometimes a double translation from english to spanish and then to tzotzil. The people were humble. Medical care was not something that was readily available to them and it was obvious by the severity of some of their ailments. Triage started on Monday and those that had medical conditions that could be fixed by a general surgeon or an OB/GYN doc were brought in to see if they were appropriate surgical candidates. I was at the triage table for the morning and got to see everyone as they came in and check their paperwork. We were seeing patients mainly for chronic pelvic pain and bleeding, large hernias, and gallbladder pain.
The hardest part was seeing people turned away. Either they weren't healthy enough for surgery, or the case was too complicated, or not severe enough. Two in particular stand out to me. Both were little boys probably 2 or 3 years old. It's even harder when they are around the same age as your own kids. Both of them had a condition called syndactyly, it's when the tissue between your fingers doesn't breakdown as it's supposed to while you are in utero. One boy had involvement of the bones in his hand as well. The webbing involved 3 fingers on each of these boy's hands. What left such a lasting impression was seeing the parents and family of these kids wait so diligently in a waiting area for hours to get help for their children. Their aren't too many things stronger than the love of a parent for a child. These parents demonstrated that principle well for me that day. Despite being turned away, the people continued to be so gracious and kind.
These are two of the local midwives. Don't you want them to deliver your next baby? :)
SURGERIES PERFORMED/WHAT I GOT TO DO
In total, 30 surgeries were performed by a team of about 15 people in 3.5 days. Many grateful women had hysterectomies(removal of the uterus), removal of ovarian cyst, and a tubal ligation performed by an all-star gynecologist. Our general surgeon also repaired inguinal and umbilical hernias, removed gallbladders, and removed concerning lumps and bumps. Most of the patients were in their 40's and 50's, some middle-aged and four or five of the hernia repairs were on children.
I had the privilege of getting to be the jack-of-all trades throughout the surgery days. I was able to assist with the general surgery cases, gynecologic cases, and help with the anesthesia throughout the week. I was taught by amazing Physicians and given the opportunity to perform procedures that I likely wouldn't be able to perform until residency. It was an incredible experience! I learned some great medicine and procedural technique. I can't say enough good things about the things I learned and the experience I had.
Side-by-side operations
Suturing a patient up after surgery.
Helping with a hysterectomy.
Another hysterectomy.
OUTCOMES
As I mentioned earlier, the dearth of medical access for these people results in the severity and symptoms of the disease being far worse than anything one would typically see. One patient had a hernia that was so bad that she wasn't able to walk, could only eat one tortilla a day, and thought she would die from the amount of pain she was in. Another little boy couldn't walk normally because of his hernia. Many patients shared that they were unable to work and perform their usual daily activities due to the pain and discomfort. The majority of the patients we worked on went from having a condition that hindered their ability to care for themselves and provide for their family, to a new future without their ailment and return to full function.
CONCLUSION
The trip was a wonderful experience! I cannot thank enough those who contributed to the funding of my trip on Crowdrise. Thanks for making this all possible! I worked hard everyday to not only learn a lot but to help those around me have the best experience possible. This trip has inspired me to seek after future trips and pursue this humanitarian work further in my career.
The hospital where we worked, with some of the local staff.
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