Honduran

Transitioning back to life in the States

/ EsperanzaHFTC / Leave a comment
Honduran Students

It has been less than two weeks since I returned from Honduras, and my mind continues to be in overload as I reflect on all my experiences. I always have a difficult time transitioning and this is certainly the case, even after a one week visit.

Ofcourse I am thrilled to have arrived safely home and to be surrounded by family and friends, but my heart is once again torn in two as I leave my friends, past and current patients, and new aquaintances.

My week was actioned packed and filled with tears of joy and sadness. The first day I visited with “Baby Bee” and met her family for the first time. They are an incredibly loving and thankful family and welcomed me with gifts and a new nickname, “Mamasita Emily.”

We held a birthday party for former patient, Stefany who turned nine years old. She was one of Esperanza’s first patients and arrived at our home as a 17 month old, seeking treatment for bilateral clubfeet. Watching her run on the “slip n’ slide”, jump in the pool and swing at the pinata was so very gratifying.

I had the opportunity to attend Astrid’s kindergarten graduation ceremony. Despite the fact she missed four months of school while receiving medical treatment, she still graduated third in her class. Oh, how proud she was to receive her medal!

I visited with ongoing patients and new ones to Esperanza including: 13 month old Adriana (awaiting a heart catheterization), and two people with leukemia, 14 year old. Gerardo, and 39 year old, Maricela. It is heartbreaking enough that they are facing these serious health issues, but not having the financial resources for treatment is so unjust.

Fortunately, my spirits were lifted visiting “our” patients who have been successfully treated including 13 year old, Iris, who has cerebral palsy. In the past, she was hunched over, not wanting to bear weight. After operations and physical therapy, she is happily playing and attending school with big dreams of the future. I also had the chance to see soon-to-be eight year old, Martha Cristina. She is absolutely a miracle…diagnosed with kidney cancer 3 1/2 years ago, she is now in remission after extensive chemo and radiation therapy. She is a bright eyed, beautiful girl who is full of spirit.

One of the highlights of my week was attending a dedication service at one of the public schools in Flores. Our church (Pilgrim Congregational, UCC of Lexington, MA) had raised funds for a building project. Although it was a Saturday, the students (in uniform) and their teachers gathered at the school to welcome me with songs (including the national anthem). I had the honor of placing the first brick into a space that will become their outside eating/gathering area. This is an incredibly impoverished school, offering me a reception of gratitude….another tearful moment.

Ana and I met with representatives from Plan USA. They are a group assisting us in the process of bringing clean water to Flores. This has been an incredibly slow process (several years)…our latest hurdle is getting the new lawyer for SERNA to turn over the ownership for the project to the town of Flores. Next, a technical study will be completed. We are getting closer to our dream of bringing clean water to Flores…it will be one of the best ways to prevent many illnesses.

I returned to the states with 9 year old, Noel. He is a patient of Esperanza’s who had successful heart surgery five years ago. Noel will be spending the summer with us.

Tom and I look forward to returning in the middle of October for a month long visit.

Update on Berenice

/ EsperanzaHFTC / Leave a comment

Berenice in Honduras

Berenice will be 15 months old on June 10th. She returned to Honduras nearly two months ago (following open heart surgery), and is growing well both physically and developmentally. Berenice is now walking and so much more active with her improved heart. After returning home, she was hospitalized with dengue fever, but thankfully has recovered. Looking forward to seeing “Baby Bee” in 7 days!

Living In Two Worlds

/ EsperanzaHFTC / Leave a comment

Noel Two Worlds

How do they adapt to living in two different cultures? We have hosted a baby as young as 11 months, many school aged children, a 19 year old young woman and a middle aged man, while they have received medical treatment. They have stayed for as little as six weeks and as long as six months. We often wonder how they acclimate to life in the U.S., and how they re-adjust to life back home in Honduras.

Recently we hosted 11 month old Berenice. She arrived to us with a serious heart defect. I cannot begin to imagine what her parents went through emotionally, handing her off to a nurse who would transport her to us…a family they had never met, living in a foreign country. People often question, “how could they let their child go?” My response is, “this is there only hope for keeping their child alive.”

Berenice arrived to us having been solely breast fed. Those first few days were quite challenging, offering her every type of formula and milk in all types of bottles and sippy cups. At last we discovered juice in a glass was what she’d tolerate…she loved the way her new teeth clanked on the glass! Soon we began introducing every type of food…so much for one new item at a time, this was full immersion.

Not only was food a new thing to become accostomed to, so was sleep. No longer was she snuggled in bed with others or perhaps sleeping in a hammock. She was now offered her own crib, in a room by herself. It became my husband’s nightly routine to sing her to sleep with a Willie Nelson tune.

Along with food and sleep, we all looked different, spoke in a different language and lived in a much different climate. It was amazing to see how quickly Berenice acclimated. Soon she was calling me “Mama” and learning to wave “bye bye” and play “peek-a-boo!”

The other children have adapted equally as easily. I am astounded how quickly they try new foods, master electronics, and even learn that it’s safe to flush toilet paper! It is a rare occassion that they become tearful and express missing their families back home. I often reflect to being a six year old girl, attending a week long day camp, in the next town over, and being extremely homesick!

Pleasantly, eveyone who has stayed with us wants to go home. They miss their families, friends and culture. It certainly has made our “farewells” easier, knowing they are returning to someone and something they love.

The Inequities

/ EsperanzaHFTC / Leave a comment

Honduran Children Outside

I grew up blissfully believing that “life was fair.” I have many memories of my grandmother giving my brothers and me equal amounts of gifts, wanting everyone to have the same. It wasn’t until I was an adult, and more notably, after visiting Honduras that I really became aware of the inequities of life.

After visiting Honduras, I realized how blessed I was to be born in the United States. I don’t always feel proud, but I certainly feel blessed.

Others often question why we volunteer in Honduras, saying there’s so much need in the U.S. We certainly don’t discredit this and don’t believe it should be an either/or choice of involvement. But, there is a huge disparity. Honduras doesn’t have the “safety net” that the U.S. offers. They do no not have a medicaid system, homeless shelters or food pantries which we have. When you are admitted to a public hospital, you are responsible for everything from your own medications and blood to toilet paper. If you are accompanying a patient, don’t think you’ll be sleeping on a pull-out chair, you may have the chance to sleep on the blood stained floor.

Attending schools in Honduras is often a priviledge, not an expectation. In the U.S. we  deal with truancy, in Honduras, they are grappling for the opportunity