Condors and Choquequirao

Two friends recently visited me in Peru. We saw the typical sights on the "Gringo Trail" like Cusco and Machu Picchu, but we also did done some different activities. We went to Accha Pampa, a small village in the highlands, where we saw a group of men and women weaving typical blankets and clothing and saw two domesticated condors. The picture is of the male condor, Inca. They took him out of his cage for about 15 minutes and we got to see him spread his wings and walk around a bit. It was too windy to let him fly, but it was really impressive to see a national symbol of Peru up close. Later in the week we went to an isoltated Inca site called Choquequirao. It was a 4 day/3 night trek that was 70km round trip. The hike was really challenging. We hiked into and then out of the 2000m Apurímac River canon to reach the ruins. A guide, a cook, a porter, and three mules accompanied us on the adventure. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were always waiting for us when we reached the campsites. They even set up and took down our tents everyday. It was an amazing adventure with incredible scenery!

¿Imaynalla Kashanki (How are you, in Quechua)? An a American pediatric dentist was volunteering at the clinic last week. Most of the kids were really scared of him because they had either not been to the dentist before or had had unpleasant previous dental experiences. The kids (and adults) have terrible dental care here. They rarely brush their teeth and only go to the dentist when something really hurts. Hence, by the time they arrive at the dentist they have bad cavities, infections in their mouth, and lots of teeth need to be pulled. This picture is of a group of girls from a local orphanage who came for dental treatment. All had the same haircut with pig tails; they were cute, but had bad teeth.

The bottom picture is a town meeting at a highland community called Ccamahuara. My dad was here last week and I wanted to show him a community because the people, language, and culture are completely unique. Unknowly, the community had a large meeting this day and the community president mistakenly thought I had come to inform the people of the Kausay Wasi Clinic (where I volunteer). They invited me to tell the people about the clinic and then we had lunch with the president and other important community members. It was a fun experience and I think my dad enjoyed visiting the community.

Orphans in Siusa

At about 4000m above the Vilacanota River (or Sacred Valley) in a village named Siusa we encountered five recently orphaned children. Two years ago the father died in a work related construction accident and two months ago their mother slipped on a rock in a small river and died from head trauma. The mother fell in the evening while carrying her 10 month old baby and it wasn’t until the next morning when they found the abandoned baby. The five orphans are now living with an aunt (center) because their grandmother (left) is deaf and unfit to care for the children. The aunt already has four kids of her own and is struggling to support the new addition to her family. The rural nurse at the clinic, who I work with, is going well beyond his normal duties by arranging an orphanage to care for the children. At the orphanage they will receive more individual attention, be well fed, and have more educational opportunities. It’s not easy to facilitate this help because the people in the community are reluctant to send their children away where they are unsure how they will be treated. Therefore, it is Amilcar’s (the rural nurse) job to convince the orphanage to care for the children and to convince the community that they will be well cared for. It is a terrible situation, but I’m happy the clinic and the community are working together to find a solution.

Last week I traveled to Chile for three days with a cousin of the my Peruvian family to renew my tourist visa. We took an 18 hour bus to Tacna, Peru, then a taxi across the border to Arica, Chile, and finally a plane from Arica to Santiago. About a 25 hour trip one way. It was a long journey, but well worth the effort. Chile is a very modern country that has very little in common with Peru. There is lot's of Western-style commerce and very little indigenous cultural influence. We visited Santiago for two days and Valiparaíso for one day. Santiago is a city of about five million people and an important financial center for all of Latin America. There is an extensive subway, great urban parks, and many museums. Valiparaíso is a bit like San Francisco, but more disorganized. It's more of a working class city and on several occasions we were advised by the locals to not walk further into particular neighborhoods. We made a poor bus choice on our return trip in Peru. The bus driver and about 10 women were traveling with smuggled clothing from Chile and four times during our trip Peruvian customs agents stopped the bus and pulled out at least 50 bags full of contraband clothing. However, the women didn't give up their illegal items easily. They clawed and scratched with the officers to hold to as many items as possible. Overall, it was great to see a different country in South America and I now have a different perspective on my experiences in Peru.

An orthopedic team for children was at the clinic last week. This is the third time Dr. David Shaw and his staff from Portland, Ore. have come to perform surgeries. It was really an amazing campaign because a lot of children received life-changing procedures and I was finally able to translate with confidence. Some of the surgeries included: club feet repair, reconnection of hips that had been dislocated since birth, separation of connected fingers, and the removal of extra toes. The above pictures are of Emily from Cusco. I am unsure of the medical terminology, but as you can see, both her feet are deformed and her left leg curves upward at the knee. In her ankles and feet, the surgeons released and reconnected tendons and wrapped her legs in plaster casts to maintain the desired position. The casts will stay on for six weeks and then she will receive braces to allow her feet to continue growing correctly. She was really a cooperative little kid and obviously really cute. In Peru, patients come from far and wide to see an American doctor and to receive surgeries they would otherwise not have access to. The people who come from the highland communities and the jungle are especially interesting. They usually have no knowledge of surgical procedures or Western medicine, but they give their children to the volunteer doctors with confidence. Although Emily and her family are from Cusco and more modern, they lacked the means to pay for an operation and were very grateful to the volunteers doctors and the Kausay Wasi Clinic.

I hope all is well. Cuidense.

Baby Shower & Ophthalmology Campaign

My friend, Fredy, the computer technician at the Kausay Wasi Clinic, invited me to his baby shower last weekend. He and his wife are expecting a baby boy in April. They actual call the party a baby shower, but no one knows why. They were surprised to learn that it is actual an English phrase. The message on the cake read "Bienvenidos a mi Baby Shawer". I found the "Shawer" part comical. In the above picture, Fredy, is wearing a diaper and enjoying a Pisco Sour, the national drink of Peru.

An ophthalmology team came to the clinic last week. The doctor examined over 100 patients, but was only able to do about 25 surgeries. He chose to operate on those with the most severe cataracts. Nearly all these patients were eldery and blind. With the help of a high powered microscope he was able to remove the patient's clouded lens and replace it with a synthetic lens. The patients returned to the clinic the next day and nearly all could see again after the doctor took off their protective eye patch. It was really exciting to see the results of the surgery because, as you can imagine, the patients were thrilled to see again.

Churocpata

The Kausay Wasi Clinic has developed a really unique way to care for some of Peru's poorest people through a program called Adopt a Family. For $200 you can provide an indigenous Peruvian family with all their health care needs for one year. I'm working with the rurul nurse at the clinic to search the remote mountain villages for the poorest families who are most in need. These villages are spectacular because they are unlike any place I've ever visited, but also terribly poor. These photos are from a village called Churocpata. We traveled in a taxi from Calca for 45 minutes to Machacancha and then walked up into the mountains for four hours. It's a small community of eight families dedicated to subsistence agriculture. The people speak almost entirely Quechua and only the few males who attended school for several years can understand Spanish. There is obviously no running water or electricity and the villagers suffer from malnutrition and the effects of the cold climate. The males spend the day tending their potato and bean plots while the females take care of the children and the home. Because of the constant rain, the people and their home are consistently dirty and covered in mud. Amilcar, the rural nurse, and I handed out vitamins and informed the people of the services available at the Kausay Wasi Clinic. Several of the families were also inscriped in the Adopt a Family program. The family pictured with me is posing with their Adopt a Family certificates. Several days after we visited they came down to the clinic and all received basic check-ups and medications free of charge.

Pitusiray

Last weekend I went on an overnight camping trip with three Peruivan friends. We left Calca Saturday afternoon and hiked for four hours to a specatular laguna below the peaks of a mountain named Pitusiray. Luckily, we stumbled upon an unused rock house on the shores of the laguna, complete with thatched roof and adobe fireplace, where we spent the night. The next morning we hiked further up the mountain to the second laguna and hunted rabbit-like rodents called viscachas with a .22 rifle. One of my Peruvian friends was a pretty good shot and managed to kill two viscachas. We gutted them on the mountain and had a really delicious lunch when we returned to Calca. The meat is soft and similar to rabbit or guinea pig, if any of you are familiar with these varieties.

Plastic Surgery Team

Hola! I hope everyone is doing well. Last week at Kausay Wasi clinic we hosted a team of plastic surgeons from Portland, Oregon. It was really a wonderful experience for me and I got to be a part of some life changing surgeries. The team included seven doctors and eight support staff. They ran two operating rooms for eight hours a day for five days and did about 30 surgeries. I helped translate between the American doctors and Peruvian patients and I took pictures and video for the clinic. On multiple occasions, the patients spoke very little Spanish, so I translated the English to Spanish and a clinic nurse would translate the Spanish to Quechua. It was really awesome to communicate by way of using three different languages.

The above pictures are of nine month old Cristofer. He and his mother traveled three days to get to the clinic and he was definitely the most memorable case. Early in the week he was diagnosed with pneumonia. The doctors gave him antibiotics and hoped to operate later in the week once the inflamation subsided, but the pneumonia persisted. Although dangerous, the surgeons decided to operate and the result was fantastic. The before and after pictures of cleft lip cases are astonishing and Cristofer provides a wonderful example. This was definitely a life changing surgery!

Coya, Cusco, Peru

I arrived in Calca, Peru safely last Thursday! Located in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, it´s truly an amazing place! The clinic I´m volunteering at is in Coya. It´s a small town about 15 min from Calca where people know each other by name and many of the buildings are made from adobe bricks. This picture was taken on the streets of Coya just outside the clinic. There is a fascinating mix of Spanish and indigenous cultures here. Many people still speak Quechua, in addition to Spanish, and festivals such as Carnaval (Feb 3) and Semana Santa demonstrate how traditional folklore has been incorporated with the Catholic celebrations.

As the picture shows, blue scrubs and tall white guys don´t necessarily blend in with the landscape. People have realized that I´m working at the clinic and their very receptive and friendly. Some think I´m a doctor and have asked for advice about headaches and chest pains. I regret to tell them I have no real medical knowledge and recommend they make an appointment at the clinic. Most seem satisfied with this response and offer a cordial, "Gracias, Papa".

The living accomadations are really nice. The house has five extra rooms for guests and the food is made my the owner's mother, "Mama Gloria", and is amazing. Three little kids also live in the house and are starting to open up to my presence. We watched "Click" the other night and have been getting into water balloon fights with the neighbor kids.

I think my internet tab is up to 1 Nuevo Sol ($0.30). That´s all for now.

Last Day in the Lab

Since graduating from Carleton in 2006, I've been working in a molecular biology research lab at the University of Minnesota. I am most involved in a study examining HIV-2 infection at the cellular level. We use in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to locate and identify HIV-2 infected cells in cervical biopsies from Senegal. These pictures were taken on my last day and show exactly why it's exciting to work in a lab: lab coats, bunsen burners, and E. coli plates!