Guerrero Clinic

GUERRERO MEDICAL CLINIC Oct 2008
(Please send me your experiences for inclusion - including pictures. Send no more than 600 words, along with your name, and contact information (in case I have questions) to Robert Yudkin at robert@guerreroclinic.org)
Last updated Saturday 11/9 5pm One of the neat things about volunteering for our clinic is that you work hard while you are at the clinic and then you are done until the next one - except for a few people including me. Updating this web site takes time and energy and generally takes place around the normal everyday chaos in my life. Consequently, I apologize for the delay. Please consider this a work in process and check back regularly.
My sincerest apologies to the dental team. You've been neglected on the web site up until now. The team was awsome. Here are a few pictures (and I'm trying to locate more). You gotta be tough to work on the Dental Team !!
Every once in a while our lives are touched by unsung heroes. Three of these people quietly and humbly came into the volunteers' lives during the clinic. While there is a small orphanage in Guerrero where inidividual volunteers have long visited, brought items for the kids and occassionally taken them into town for ice cream, there is a relatively new orphanage called "Casa Hogar" in LaJunta that serves as home for 71 children. During dinner on Tuesday night, we heard about the love, care, shelter, clothes, food and other necessities that they provide and that we often take for granted. We also heard about their limited resources. These inidividuals touched our hearts with their words and deeds. The volunteers of this clinic unofficially adopted the orphanage with many from both the US and Mexico pledging money to help the orphanage over the next few months. Imagine having no hot water. They don't - or should I say did not. At the peril to all of us riding in Walter's van back to the airport (and to my cell phone bill once Walter's battery got low), he was on the phone locating a water heater in El Paso that was purchased and is now installed at the orphanage at Walter's own expense. With 75 people, I can't tell you how many needs there are including food, clothing, utilities, books, etc... They have some land nearby that was donated. Now they are trying to raise funds to build on the property in addition to their daily needs. Click here to see pictures of the children and orphanage. Contact Dayna or Walter if you are able to help the orphanage.
I received some wonderful pictures from Natalie today. Thank you for sharing. Enjoy.
Every patient creates memories for the volunteers who see them. Here is a young boy whose vision was so bad that it presented a challenge to the team to measure it and make glasses strong enough for him to see. Notice the thickness of the lenses. Bernie, our master lens maker (a city manager for his "day" job), had the honor of placing the glasses which he made on the boy.
Here are some candid pictures of our volunteers All Rotarians
Here are some of our patients that we treated during the week
Our Optometrists are a phenomenal group of individuals. They range from actively practicing to retired to about to finish Optometry school. In Training Almost real doctors
Tuesday and Wednesday A Success Story: There are so many patients who come through the clinic and touch the lives of those of us at the clinic. This gentleman is one. He hobbled into the clinic on crutches Tuesday morning with a social worker from the government. He could not see at all - only differentiate between light and dark. He sat patiently but with a worried look on his face. He was tested and identified as a candidate for cataract surgery. I happened to be near pre-op when he was brought in on a wheelchair. He was very agitated and upset - inclined to leave without the operation. A number of the caring medical personnel patiently talked with him and eventually calmed him down. He was brought into surgery to Dr. Clariday and his team. Following surgery he was sent home to return the next morning to have his eye patch removed. Once the patch was removed, he could immediately see for the first time in years. But how successful was the operation? Dr. Morales checked our patient. The day before he could only differentiate between light and dark. Today, after surgery, he could now read the 7th line of the eye chart. He was elated and it shows as he can see once more for the first time in years. I don't know the patient's name. However, I will remember his face, his story and his joy from being able to see again. His story is what the clinic is all about.
Tuesday 4pm This has been a busy and eventful day. The early morning breakfast crew seems to be getting smaller as each day passes. I suspect last night's cookout may have influenced people's decisions to sleep in (pickup for the clinic is 7am rather the 6am for the breakfast crew). Since I did not post yesterday's breakfast crew's pictures and I did not take any today, I will post some of yesterday's today. The first stop for patients is check-in at the front door. Our first class group of local volunteers work this function and organize the chaos. Once checked in, patients wait in our waiting room and are taken care of by many. Tonight we are having a dinner hosted by the Minster of health. Consequently I need to finish up. The last area I will highlight is the optical shop. We measure, fit and make glasses for patients. Our "A" team was again at work doing the necessary paperwork and shuffling the patients all the way through the process.
I was once blind, but now I can see… Yesterday, Consuela came in for care. She has been almost completely blind for 4 years. She could see the motion of a hand waving in front of her face, but little else. When she made coffee, she had no way to tell whether the cup was full, so she would stick her finger in the cup to find out whether it was full. Her grandson brought her into the clinic. One of our volunteer doctors, Javier Morales from Odessa, TX, brought her and her grandson into his office for an exam. Our doctors see a huge number of patients, and the volume of the work makes it difficult for people to make an impression. But this case was different. In a moment of pure humanity, her grandson just said to Dr Morales: please help make my granny see. From far away, sitting in Dallas, it’s hard to picture what goes on here. This mass of people, constantly in motion, with a company of doctors and non medical volunteers swirling around to ensure this place operates with machine-like efficiency. It’s a numbers game. We’re here only a few short days, and we provide care to 60% of the state. The statistics… an abstract knowledge of this place… it makes you feel good to know that people can make a difference. But when you see a case like this, up close… when you see the wrinkles of a face weathered by life suddenly crease in a smile that comes straight from the heart… It causes a feeling that wells up from the depths of the soul and sticks in the throat and becomes part of you. Consuela’s case was the result of severe cataracts. For a person of means, with access to modern surgical technology, this is a pretty easy fix. But here, there are little means and even less technology. With technology and supplies we brought, our volunteer surgeons led by Dr Greg Clariday were able to remove her cataracts with precision and elegance and all the efficiency we’ve come to expect from the best of our medical profession. Today, Consuela returned for a post-op checkup. Her grandson was with her again, this time with a smile on his face that shined through the entire building. Dr. Morales gave her an eye exam, starting with the giant E that has become the fixture of an optometrist’s office. Lower and lower he went, and she could read everything. Her grandson was cheering during the exam, like a Cowboys fan watching Romo move his team down field one first down after another. Finally they finished. 20-40. Better vision than me! It is amazing to see the impact these doctors have here. The simple act of giving here is far from simple. They must uproot themselves and leave the practices at home, pay their own way to get down here, raise funds for medical equipment and supplies and everything from food to rent and utilities. The logistics involved in setting up a small field hospital for 5 days in the middle of nowhere would impress a MASH unit Colonel. But these volunteers put in the time and commit the resources and dedicate themselves to the task. And Consuela, and hundreds like her, can see as a result.
The day started slow but by lunch time we were back to full speed. We had some long distance patients this morning. Six patients from Zacatecas, a 14 hour bus drive, were seen this morning. Patients were seen and surgeries started. Here are some pictures of our medical professionals in action. While we work hard and long hours, we enjoy the camaraderie. We also were visited today by Lic. Cesar G. Orozco Acosta, the Coordinator General Administrator of the office from the Secretary of Health. We appreciate your support and your visit. Lunch today was fantastic - soup, chicken, and tres leche cake. We eat in our lunchroom - what I call the room of love. It is my favorite room at the clinic as the walls are filled with names and notes from all the volunteers who preceded us. Finally, I will take parental privilege to brag on my younger son, Ross, who decided to follow in his brother's footsteps and volunteer with me in Guerrero. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to do this with both of my sons.
Good morning. It is a beautiful day in Guerrero. Last night the group ate a late dinner together at LaCava in town and turned in early - or at least tried to. It seems there was another group partying at the Cabanas last night that went early into the morning. Despite that, we had the largest early morning group show up for breakfast duty since I've been coming. The rest of the group (i.e. medical teams) showed up about 30 minutes ago and are having breakfast before the chaos begins. I had planned to post more pictures and share more information this morning but Amie usurped my computer so she could get her paper written to turn in on time. For now, here are pictures from last night. Time for a quick breakfast. More later.

It is Saturday evening and I'm not sure what time it is as I'm not sure of Guerrero's time zone. My PC says 9:15 Dallas time. Ross, Mike and I made it to Houston this morning and met up with the group originating there. It was good to see old friends and meet new ones too. After a rapid drive to the clinic we started to get it ready for patients. We are just finishing and heading out to dinner. Got to go. More later.
It is much too late at night (or should I say the early morning) and I've just finished packing and getting the computer ready to travel to Mexico. My younger son, Ross, will come with me for his first trip to the clinic. Another member of my Rotary Club, Mike Morath, will also join the group for his first time. This is my fourth trip to the clinic and I'm excited to get underway. I'm Robert Yudkin, the keeper of this site. I will try to regularly share the happenings of the clinic with you from beginning to end. However, since I've got a 7:30am flight, I will end here for the night. Please check back often. I expect my first posting will be either late Saturday or Sunday morning.

GUERRERO MEDICAL CLINIC Oct 2008

(Please send me your experiences for inclusion - including pictures. Send no more than 600 words, along with your name, and contact information (in case I have questions) to Robert Yudkin at robert@guerreroclinic.org)

Last updated Saturday 11/9 5pm

One of the neat things about volunteering for our clinic is that you work hard while you are at the clinic and then you are done until the next one - except for a few people including me. Updating this web site takes time and energy and generally takes place around the normal everyday chaos in my life. Consequently, I apologize for the delay. Please consider this a work in process and check back regularly.

My sincerest apologies to the dental team. You've been neglected on the web site up until now. The team was awsome. Here are a few pictures (and I'm trying to locate more).

You gotta be tough to work on the Dental Team !!

Every once in a while our lives are touched by unsung heroes. Three of these people quietly and humbly came into the volunteers' lives during the clinic.

While there is a small orphanage in Guerrero where inidividual volunteers have long visited, brought items for the kids and occassionally taken them into town for ice cream, there is a relatively new orphanage called "Casa Hogar" in LaJunta that serves as home for 71 children.

During dinner on Tuesday night, we heard about the love, care, shelter, clothes, food and other necessities that they provide and that we often take for granted. We also heard about their limited resources.

These inidividuals touched our hearts with their words and deeds. The volunteers of this clinic unofficially adopted the orphanage with many from both the US and Mexico pledging money to help the orphanage over the next few months.

Imagine having no hot water. They don't - or should I say did not. At the peril to all of us riding in Walter's van back to the airport (and to my cell phone bill once Walter's battery got low), he was on the phone locating a water heater in El Paso that was purchased and is now installed at the orphanage at Walter's own expense.

With 75 people, I can't tell you how many needs there are including food, clothing, utilities, books, etc...
They have some land nearby that was donated. Now they are trying to raise funds to build on the property in addition to their daily needs.

Click here to see pictures of the children and orphanage.

Contact Dayna or Walter if you are able to help the orphanage.

I received some wonderful pictures from Natalie today. Thank you for sharing. Enjoy.

Every patient creates memories for the volunteers who see them. Here is a young boy whose vision was so bad that it presented a challenge to the team to measure it and make glasses strong enough for him to see. Notice the thickness of the lenses. Bernie, our master lens maker (a city manager for his "day" job), had the honor of placing the glasses which he made on the boy.

Here are some candid pictures of our volunteers

All Rotarians

Here are some of our patients that we treated during the week

Our Optometrists are a phenomenal group of individuals. They range from actively practicing to retired to about to finish Optometry school.

Tom Pruett Bob Slider

Merlyn Harger Javier Morales Tim Planty

Natalie Lindsey                 In Training Amie Montazari and Laura Vondra
Almost real doctors

Tuesday and Wednesday

A Success Story: There are so many patients who come through the clinic and touch the lives of those of us at the clinic. This gentleman is one. He hobbled into the clinic on crutches Tuesday morning with a social worker from the government. He could not see at all - only differentiate between light and dark. He sat patiently but with a worried look on his face. He was tested and identified as a candidate for cataract surgery.

I happened to be near pre-op when he was brought in on a wheelchair. He was very agitated and upset - inclined to leave without the operation. A number of the caring medical personnel patiently talked with him and eventually calmed him down. He was brought into surgery to Dr. Clariday and his team.

Following surgery he was sent home to return the next morning to have his eye patch removed. Once the patch was removed, he could immediately see for the first time in years. But how successful was the operation?

Dr. Morales checked our patient. The day before he could only differentiate between light and dark. Today, after surgery, he could now read the 7th line of the eye chart. He was elated and it shows as he can see once more for the first time in years.

I don't know the patient's name. However, I will remember his face, his story and his joy from being able to see again. His story is what the clinic is all about.

Tuesday 4pm

This has been a busy and eventful day. The early morning breakfast crew seems to be getting smaller as each day passes. I suspect last night's cookout may have influenced people's decisions to sleep in (pickup for the clinic is 7am rather the 6am for the breakfast crew). Since I did not post yesterday's breakfast crew's pictures and I did not take any today, I will post some of yesterday's today.

The first stop for patients is check-in at the front door. Our first class group of local volunteers work this function and organize the chaos.

Once checked in, patients wait in our waiting room and are taken care of by many.

Tonight we are having a dinner hosted by the Minster of health. Consequently I need to finish up. The last area I will highlight is the optical shop. We measure, fit and make glasses for patients.

Our "A" team was again at work doing the necessary paperwork and shuffling the patients all the way through the process.

I was once blind, but now I can see…

Yesterday, Consuela came in for care. She has been almost completely blind for 4 years. She could see the motion of a hand waving in front of her face, but little else. When she made coffee, she had no way to tell whether the cup was full, so she would stick her finger in the cup to find out whether it was full.

Her grandson brought her into the clinic. One of our volunteer doctors, Javier Morales from Odessa, TX, brought her and her grandson into his office for an exam. Our doctors see a huge number of patients, and the volume of the work makes it difficult for people to make an impression. But this case was different. In a moment of pure humanity, her grandson just said to Dr Morales: please help make my granny see.

From far away, sitting in Dallas, it’s hard to picture what goes on here. This mass of people, constantly in motion, with a company of doctors and non medical volunteers swirling around to ensure this place operates with machine-like efficiency. It’s a numbers game. We’re here only a few short days, and we provide care to 60% of the state. The statistics… an abstract knowledge of this place… it makes you feel good to know that people can make a difference.

But when you see a case like this, up close… when you see the wrinkles of a face weathered by life suddenly crease in a smile that comes straight from the heart… It causes a feeling that wells up from the depths of the soul and sticks in the throat and becomes part of you.

Consuela’s case was the result of severe cataracts. For a person of means, with access to modern surgical technology, this is a pretty easy fix. But here, there are little means and even less technology. With technology and supplies we brought, our volunteer surgeons led by Dr Greg Clariday were able to remove her cataracts with precision and elegance and all the efficiency we’ve come to expect from the best of our medical profession.

Today, Consuela returned for a post-op checkup. Her grandson was with her again, this time with a smile on his face that shined through the entire building. Dr. Morales gave her an eye exam, starting with the giant E that has become the fixture of an optometrist’s office. Lower and lower he went, and she could read everything. Her grandson was cheering during the exam, like a Cowboys fan watching Romo move his team down field one first down after another. Finally they finished. 20-40. Better vision than me!

It is amazing to see the impact these doctors have here. The simple act of giving here is far from simple. They must uproot themselves and leave the practices at home, pay their own way to get down here, raise funds for medical equipment and supplies and everything from food to rent and utilities. The logistics involved in setting up a small field hospital for 5 days in the middle of nowhere would impress a MASH unit Colonel. But these volunteers put in the time and commit the resources and dedicate themselves to the task. And Consuela, and hundreds like her, can see as a result.

The day started slow but by lunch time we were back to full speed. We had some long distance patients this morning. Six patients from Zacatecas, a 14 hour bus drive, were seen this morning.

Patients were seen and surgeries started. Here are some pictures of our medical professionals in action.

While we work hard and long hours, we enjoy the camaraderie.

We also were visited today by Lic. Cesar G. Orozco Acosta, the Coordinator General Administrator of the office from the Secretary of Health. We appreciate your support and your visit.

Lunch today was fantastic - soup, chicken, and tres leche cake. We eat in our lunchroom - what I call the room of love. It is my favorite room at the clinic as the walls are filled with names and notes from all the volunteers who preceded us.

Finally, I will take parental privilege to brag on my younger son, Ross, who decided to follow in his brother's footsteps and volunteer with me in Guerrero. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to do this with both of my sons.

Good morning. It is a beautiful day in Guerrero. Last night the group ate a late dinner together at LaCava in town and turned in early - or at least tried to. It seems there was another group partying at the Cabanas last night that went early into the morning. Despite that, we had the largest early morning group show up for breakfast duty since I've been coming. The rest of the group (i.e. medical teams) showed up about 30 minutes ago and are having breakfast before the chaos begins. I had planned to post more pictures and share more information this morning but Amie usurped my computer so she could get her paper written to turn in on time. For now, here are pictures from last night.

Time for a quick breakfast. More later.

It is Saturday evening and I'm not sure what time it is as I'm not sure of Guerrero's time zone. My PC says 9:15 Dallas time.

Ross, Mike and I made it to Houston this morning and met up with the group originating there. It was good to see old friends and meet new ones too. After a rapid drive to the clinic we started to get it ready for patients. We are just finishing and heading out to dinner.

Got to go. More later.

It is much too late at night (or should I say the early morning) and I've just finished packing and getting the computer ready to travel to Mexico. My younger son, Ross, will come with me for his first trip to the clinic. Another member of my Rotary Club, Mike Morath, will also join the group for his first time. This is my fourth trip to the clinic and I'm excited to get underway. I'm Robert Yudkin, the keeper of this site. I will try to regularly share the happenings of the clinic with you from beginning to end. However, since I've got a 7:30am flight, I will end here for the night.

Please check back often. I expect my first posting will be either late Saturday or Sunday morning.