19 June 2026 – Friday – At last !!!
Today is always a short day in the OR. Each room does one short case while those of us who are somewhat available work at packing up unused supplies to be returned to Rochester, the home base of HUGS, and replenished for the next mission. I was packing anesthesia items while trying to leave enough…
18 June 2026 – Thursday – last full day of Surgery
Today is the last full day of surgery. We have 2 cases scheduled in each room as usual. The nasal reconstructions take about 5 hours each. The first stage microtia (ears) take 6-7 hours. I started my 2 rooms and then went to see patients on the floor with Carolina. There are many more male…
17 June 2026 – Wednesday-Half way there !!
The day started off crazy. Neil, the other anesthesiologist, seemed to be stuck close to his bathroom and said he would be unable to start cases. By now we were all on our game so I was pretty sure it would be possible to get going in good time. As I was starting the 4th…
16 June 2026 – Tuesday – A Smoother Day
This morning was easy. Everyone knew the routine. I started 2 cases before 8 am. Once everything was established, I went to visit yesterday’s patients with Carolina, the nurse who runs the PACU(post anesthesia care unit) and who is fluent in Spanish. The patient areas are wards that are many beds in a room. The…
15 June 2026 – Monday – 1st Day in OR
In the middle of the night I remembered that we always need extensions on the IV tubing. For those of you who aren’t medically inclined…the means there is more length (about 12inches) and a 3way stopcock that allows you to inject drugs. Without the extension it’s hard to reach points for injecting drugs. Anyway I…
14 June 2026 – Sunday – First Day of Clinic
We started out with the usual wonderful buffet breakfast followed by a short meeting to introduce the teams. We walked the few blocks to the hospital where we shot the traditional team photo. Then orientation by the OR staff and a video completed our morning start. Clinic began around 9:30. Usually we begin to see…
13 June 2026 – Saturday – Off to Antigua
This morning was beautiful and sunny. Our car to Antigua was scheduled for 11am. We got organized and had help with our luggage. Our hotel was several blocks from the traffic street. We drove through the winding switchback streets out of the lake and up to nearly the tops of the volcanoes. Our peak elevation…
12 June 2026 – Friday – A Thrilling Day in the Cloud Forest
We arranged to meet a private launch at 6:30 to cross the lake to Santiago to meet our guide. We were ready to leave our hotel at 6:20 to walk to the dock, but the front door was locked. We searched for an alternate route jog exit and found one of the early kitchen staff…
11 June 2026 – Thursday – R&R
Predicted cold front and rain arrived this morning. We had already decided to take the day off and relax. We had a late breakfast and hung around our room reading. We plan a very early departure tomorrow for our nature and bird tour. A private boat will take us across the lake at 6:30 am…
10 June 2026 – Wednesday – Panajachel Nature Park
Tropical storm Christina is threatening to come our way. We decided to visit the nature park in Panajachel today before the deluge…although I suspect the only difference tomorrow might be e downpours in the morning and afternoon. Not just afternoons. After breakfast, we walked to the dock to catch a “launcha”. These aluminum boats are…
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The Adventures of Anne 