Day 3 – Exciting… if you’re a medical professional

I have never seen a group so excited about poop. Then again, this is the same group that shares photos of gall stones. Not pleasant over the dinner table… and a bit twisted!

Yesterday’s big news was that Wilfredo pooped. As you will remember, Wilfredo is the two-year-old boy that the MedMissions surgical team reversed a previous ostomy procedure, “re-plumbing” his intestinal track so he could go the bathroom like anyone else.

Well, the big moment arrived the next morning. I was not there to see what apparently was a diaper parade through the recovery room. One member of the medical team described it as a “golden nugget.” Exciting, yes, but perhaps a bit over the top.

The rest of the day was more surgical procedures. Another sequence of gall bladder removals, hernia repairs and a couple of non-cancerous breast tumor removals.

The real excitement came late last night. Around 10:30 PM, Dr. John Alley received a call from Dr. Tun, the Medical Director at Hospital Obras Sociales. A woman had arrived in their rudimentary emergency room with the clear indications of appendicitis and would require immediate surgery.

If MedMissions had not been in town, the alternative would have been a jarring 1 ½ car ride to the nearest available hospital with surgeons on call. The jolting alone may have ruptured the appendix.

A surgery team was quickly assembled, many jumping out of bed. Vans were called to take the team to the hospital. The surgery was relatively simple. The appendix had not perforated. The surgery team was back in their beds by 12:30 AM.

Now, that is excitement I can relate to.