Back in the spring, I applied to be a member on the medical mission team to Guaymas, Mexico. I found out in late summer that I was selected to go. It was nice to (1) have more of a heads-up of selection than last year's 3-week notice since I had been waitlisted and (2) to know what to expect having participated in this amazing program last year. The program is called "Ayudame A Escuchar" (Help Me To Hear) and sponsored by the Mesa Baseline Rotary Club of Mesa, AZ. Each year a group of specialists volunteer to go and conduct hearing tests & medical examinations, fit & dispense hearing aids and earmolds, fix hearing aids, and provide consultations on matters related to aural rehabilitation & education of students with hearing loss. All services are performed at no charge. Donations of hearing aids, batteries and supplies have come from various manufacturers and audiologists, as well as patients of audiologists in the United States. Donated hearing aids are reconditioned before being taken to Guaymas, Mexico.
This is the 18th year that this medical mission has taken place, and we just went two weeks ago. Of the 28-person team of audiologists, student audiologists, otolaryngologist, and translators, only 6 people were new to the team this year. I don't know if that was why we were perhaps a well-oiled machine...meaning we saw nearly 400 patients in 2 days this year!!! That's over 100 more than we saw last year! Incredible! Last year the otolaryngologist unfortunately did not make it on the mission due to illness, so it was nice to have him on the team this year along with the medications he dispensed to those patients needing them for ear infections and such.
Once again, I did not bother to take my camera with me on this trip since I came to work and help. But below are some pictures I either took with my phone or got from another team member. I've captured all that I needed to visually in my mind and in my heart (call me corny but it's true!). I've seen humankind at its worst (combat in Iraq) and at its best (Mexico medical mission). From giving out candy ("Quiere dulce?") to those patients traveling long distances & waiting hours to be seen to doing hearing tests on children & adults ("Cuando escucha los sonidos, levanta la mano. Esta bien?"), the people I encountered in those 10+-hour long days will stay with me forever.
Pictured are the roadside chefs of carne asada and what not. We ate lunch at this cafe after crossing the border into Mexico by bus. 
One of the audiologists took this picture...clearly without me knowing. He had written the caption on his Facebook page of "Tammie - not sure what she just ate!". Ha ha. No one got sick on the trip this year so that's good. Last year we had 3 people with gastric ailments, to include me. Note to self if I go next year: bring fiber supplements (in addition to Imodium AD & Pepto Bismol). Enough said.
Look! I do know how to smile! :-)
The view from the condo I was staying in...how gorgeous!
Too bad we only had a half hour in the morning each day to enjoy the beach before going off to work. Some team members even saw dolphins swim by! I saw some from afar one morning. Very cool.
I worked in "Audio Area #1" again this year. Pictured is the 4-person team that made up that work station. We conducted diagnostic tests. On Day One of work, I knew that we'd only be seeing children, so I am donning my SpongeBob scrub top that I had bought last fall when I was in the Pediatric Audiology course (refer to http://hear4u-always.blogspot.com/2009/10/who-lives-in-pineapple-under-sea.html). My very last patient that day also wore a SpongeBob shirt - - instant bond! ;-)
This year I primarily worked outside of the "shag booth" (the sound-treated booth seriously has red SHAG carpet on the walls, ceiling, and floor!). But when I did have to test in the sound booth, I made sure to not get dinged by the door like last year in which I got what I coined my "Guaymas souvenir" (large bruises on my backside).
This picture was again unknowingly taken by a fellow team member. I believe I'm in the middle of saying "si" which occasionally was said to let the patient know that "yes" they indeed did hear a very soft sound (test conditions outside of the booth was only "moderately quiet"; "quiet" of course is ideal). 
If you would like to read up on last year's medical mission to Guaymas, Mexico and view some more pictures, please refer to http://hear4u-always.blogspot.com/2009/10/ayudame-escuchar.html and http://hear4u-always.blogspot.com/2009/11/thank-you-gracias-merci_26.html.
1 comments:
Looks like you guys did a great job and helped a lot of people! Great work, it always feels good to help those in need, to make a difference.
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