Transforming Lives with BlueSky Surgical Brigade- Sept 2024 (La Entrada, Honduras)

Throughout my ten-year involvement in medical missions, this current trip stands out as particularly fulfilling primarily because I had the chance to genuinely engage with the underprivileged population in Honduras. 

Our BlueSky Surgical team of 40 volunteers included Jefferson Abington Hospital physicians, residents and nurses who made the trek to the remote town of La Entrada, which is in the northwest corner of Honduras. And we welcomed the new leadership of Dr Seth Newman, and gave a sad farewell to Dr. George Trajtenberg, a retiring, inspirational surgeon who has led many brigades to this part of the world.  

The Manos Amigos Clinic is owned and operated by Serving at the Crossroads, a US based charity whose founder, Dr Robert Sumner, a former medical mission volunteer, was overwhelmed by the gargantuan poverty and lack of adequate medical care for the poor. The people of Honduras have some of the worst medical care in the world. So, in 2010, construction was completed on the Manos Amigos Clinic. Its initial focus was eye care, dentistry and primary care, but it has evolved to include surgery. 

The BlueSky Surgical brigade worked in collaboration with local medical teams to provide obstetrics, gynecology, pediatric, surgical and primary care services to patients in need. The teams traveled to remote villages, rural communities and local clinics and provided care to more than 1,000 patients. During this week, the general surgery brigade performed more than 100 surgeries and our OB/GYN doctors provided more than 50 ultrasounds. 

It was true excitement that I felt to be selected among the volunteers to venture into the opulent mountains surrounding La Entrada. My mission: to photograph the primary care pediatrics and OB/GYN teams in action as they worked inside of an abandoned monastery in a remote village somewhere up in the hills. As we drove up the eroded hillside on treacherous and washed-out roads, we encountered numerous tiny blue 10 x 20-foot dwellings, which are lined up in rows as if standing at attention. These are the homes of families with meager existence. All of them are survivors. In fact, terrible flood completely devastated the village in which we are stopping at today. All homes were lost and had to be rebuilt. Even with the travesties that have plighted their community, the people do not complain and feel sorry for themselves. They are cheerful and happy to see us and quickly make us feel welcome. Many of these people never venture out of the mountains let alone to seek much need medical care. This is why our brigade of doctors is here. 

We set up our makeshift clinic in an abandoned monastery with no electricity or running water. And there was a latrine close by in a shed, its footprint teasingly close to the edge of the cliffside. And the patients lined up. So many people are here today! The line snakes down the hillside. 

Our doctors and intake people spring into action because they want to try to see everybody who turned out today. It’s very important to them that they help as many patients as possible because it may be a very long time before another team ventures this way again. 

I unpack my camera looking cautiously for opportunities to shoot, as I am unsure if these patients will take well to me snapping their pictures. So, I tiptoe through the crowd of people. I am carrying stickers and hard candy in my pockets. My Spanish is poor but does not hold me back from interacting. I approach the older ladies. They are endearing and graciously accept my candy treats giving me in return their gratitude. The little children in line are not as trusting.  They are watching me curiously but are hesitant to interact with me. I am of course an outsider, and I look very different from them. And they are not sure of the camera device which I have strapped to my chest. 

But I work the line to hand out candy and stickers to as many little pequenos as I can find. Soon, they realize that I am the treat lady and even the shyest warm up to me. They want to give me hugs and permit me to take their picture. So, this opened the door for a sweet interaction for the entire team. And soon the news of me reached the ears of all the children including the teenagers in the village. They poured up the hillside to seek me out. With so many now, I decided to have the children line up and I threw the remaining candy into the air. They shouted with glee as the candy rained down on them, as if smashing a piñata. 

I still remember the radiant smiles of the little girls who followed me around. They told me that they wanted to grow up to become doctors, a university professor, and a cop. I hope that all their dreams and aspirations come true.  

So, mission accomplished by BlueSky Surgical brigade!!! The team brought much needed care to +1000 patients this week in La Enstrada, Honduras. The team unrelentingly performed over 100 operations with 750+ patients seen in the villages by Family Medicine, Pediatrics and Ob/Gyn, and 170 Ob/Gyn office/clinic visits. And the volunteers accomplished all this work with huge smiles and showing endless gratitude for the opportunity to serve the poor of Honduras. The patients we helped were truly grateful for all the loving care they received. Even though we return home to our comfortable lives, we are definitely changed for the better. The C14 Foundation wishes to thank all the partners involved:

Serving at the Crossroads and Bobbi Hess
Summit In Honduras
Manos Amigas Clinic
Clinica Materno Infantil Maya Chorti
The BlueSky Surgical brigade volunteers

And a special thanks to Dr Seth Newman, brigade leader, whose leadership skills are paramount.