Friends of Honduras Medical Mission Report
July 2024
As we left the United States, our anxiety levels were high. Because of the huge rains that had preceded our arrival, we were worried about unpassable roads and a failed Mission. Happily, instead we had the driest days and the longest work days, in the villages, that I have had the pleasure of experiencing in my thirteen years of participation with Honduran medical missions. Our summer is Honduras’ rainy season, but we had glorious weather!
We had the smallest Team we’ve ever brought—just two doctors and no nurse practitioners—but we had great weather and were still able to serve over 1000 patients. Our work was bolstered by Barbara Scott, an excellent R.N. who also saw patients in our makeshift clinics, and by three of our Honduran partners who are now Medical Students and brilliant self-starters. Dr. Michael Donovan and I both provided the Medical Students with supervision.
When in Honduras, we use United States standards of management and prescription writing, and all care providers adhere to the rules.
We started our work in Guanacaste—our village that we have been serving for thirteen years. We continued our chronic management of illnesses, including bringing Seily, who is now 12 years old, an annual supply of her thyroid medicine. Throughout the year, our in-country director, Miguel Manueles, helps me keep track of Seily’s thyroid levels. She goes twice a year to La Esperanza and gets her blood drawn. Beatriz Lorenzo has Rheumatoid Arthritis and takes the Methotrexate and Folic Acid we provide. The poor woman gets such terrible motion sickness, that it is hard to get her to La Esperanza for her blood work. This year, we brought the tubes, syringes and needles needed to draw Sra. Lorenzo’s blood. Katie Ligon, R.N. was able to get the sample with one stick and Miguel delivered the blood to La Esperanza.
Our dentist this year was again Claudia Berrios, who has a private dental practice hours from Guanacaste and Aguacate. This is Claudia’s fourth year with us and she, again, extracted over 200 painful teeth. Claudia’s anesthesia is excellent and her pain management is impeccable.
Dental health is an important part of our work in Honduras. We provide every patient with two new Oral-B toothbrushes and toothpaste; we do fluoride varnish on each child’s teeth.
Nutrition is also an important part of our mission. When we first started work in Guanacaste, childhood malnutrition was significant. Our poultry project has provided eggs for the children and we bring rice, beans and milk into the communities. Before the work of Friends of Honduras, the amount of water borne parasitic illnesses was also chronic in our villages. Thanks to our clean water project, and the excellent work of Marilyn and John Hock, diarrheal illness has become almost nonexistent in both Guanacaste and Aguacate.
We are so grateful to be able to continue our work in both Guanacaste and Aguacate. Both communities treat us like family, and participate in the work. They help sort through our patient charts, and help our Honduran drivers with the details of Registration.
We are grateful, also, to Fernando Ugarte and his team of drivers. The roads into the mountains are treacherous, and they are instrumental to our returning back to the States, safe and sound.