From Bolivia

Hey, everyone. We are in La Paz! Tomorrow morning we take a bus to Cuzco, Peru and we´ll spend the weekend at Machu Picchu. The real reason that I started this entry was to post some great pictures that we have made here in Bolivia, but this computer doesn´t seem to like uploading pictures. It is funny, because this is the same computer that last time wouldn´t let me put up a title for the entry. Oh well...

We´re Not Dead!

Sorry about the lack of entries to the blog, especially considering the earthquake in Peru. Thanks for your concern and love! We have really been running around since Jill got here to try and see everyone and do everything that we can. Here is a quick photo update.

This is the head of surgery and I at end of the last surgery that I was able to attend. We took out half of 2 ribs that had a tumor attached to them... that´s right I said we. I scrubbed in and got to stick my hands in. The surgeon used a hammer and chisel to cut the ribs in order to take them out and you could see right into where the boy´s lungs were working. Also, if you look close, you can see that our scrubs are wet from sweat. It is hard work to pry open and hold open a hole in someone. The boy is recovering fine, but since this is his 3rd relapse, his prognosis isn´t too good...

Finally, Jill got here! And we kissed! She also brought me the new Harry Potter and we have been reading it out loud together.

This is the Lopez family that got baptized when I was a missionary here. The first night that Jill was here we went to the temple with them. Since my mission they have a new son in law, a new daughter in law, and two new grandchildren. They have all been sealed in the temple.


Osvaldo Lopez and I worked to get this group organized at the hospital. Osvaldo is the young adult leader of the church in his city and asked the girl to my left in this photo, Irene, to be a representative of the church in the hospital. She is a nursing student and wanted to volunteer, so now she comes twice a week to the hospital and coordinates projects between the youth of the church and the kids at the hospital. I also got around 120 beanie baby stuffed animals donated for them to hand out on Children´s Day last week.

This is the start of our vacation. We snuck across the border to go to Iguaçu Falls in Brasil. Technically you have to pay for a $100 visa, but we didn´t. The part that we are standing on is a platform that is on the edge of another waterfall, as in, you could look over the guardrail and down 150 feet or so. Iguaçu Falls is more of a complex of waterfalls than just one waterfall. It was very cool.


This is the church in Saltos del Guaira, an area on the border with Brazil where I was a missionary for 6 months. The man standing next to Jill is Felix, who is now the leader of the church in that area; he and his family have really been changed by their baptism.

The girl under the blanket is named Liz, Felix´s daughter; all of the girls were in love with Jill.

A friend lent us their little motorcycle to show Saltos del Guaira to Jill.

We have a change in the itenerary... tomorrow we will fly to Cochabamba, Bolivia, instead of riding the bus there. It will cut at least 40 hours of travel time and give us those precious hours to instead focus on Machu Picchu. We will also gain a little wiggle room for any situations in Peru. We are loving life! Once again, sorry about the last two weeks without any entries. We love you all very much.

To Paraguay and Beyond...

Yesterday I felt that I have had an experience comparable to John’s tumor, body cutting, tissue tearing ordeal. At my work we have the opportunity to house not only girls but horses as well. Horses are awesome to ride and fun to watch their teeth being worked on, and add a certain therapeutic element to treatment. Personally, horses are also scary. They are big and get spooked easily. They have metal on the bottoms of their feet and they weight so very much more than me. To me, they are unpredictable. Yesterday morning I went out with the girls to feed the horses. One of the girls, stroking the horse’s nose, began to shout. She had blood on her hand. I rushed over to see horse skin everywhere and a gaping gash through skin, muscle, and who knows what else between the eyes of the horse. Apparently he had collided with other horses in a rush to get his dinner (It looks about the same feeding 14 teenage girls at dinner!). Here is where John and my interests/reactions part. I felt sick and panicked seeing and the inner nasties out. I frantically started calling everyone I knew. One of the girls removed the horse and put him in a separate stall by himself while I was trying not to pass out. I stoked the horse while trying not to focus too much on his bloody head. I don’t know how John likes this cutting of tissues/bloody stuff! Gives me the willies!

On a different note, should anyone be interested I go to see John/meet Paraguay on Friday!!! YEAH!! I’ve been listening to a lot of Spanish and Portuguese music in preparation. I also followed a Spanish speaking family around in Wal-Mart for a few minutes until the kids started to notice me and stand around me speaking stuff I didn’t understand. I really am very excited to finally get why John loves Paraguay so much and learn to love it myself. I won’t be there very long, but I love people and places easily! I love John and can not wait to see his face again! Six weeks is plenty long and I want him back in my everyday life badly. I am so grateful for/to Jack and Pam – you have raised an amazing, smart, kind, thoughtful, hardworking and strong son. I like him a whole lot.

Well there is lots of work to be had and cleaning to do before departing. A bit of exciting news – I do have red tomatoes now along with ripe lettuce and beans!!!!! I originally put just a period after that sentence but realized it deserved so much more! Too bad I won’t really be here to enjoy the feast. None the less I do hold a small amount of pride in my meager accomplishment. :) Much love to all!

Surgery

Well, I got to see another surgery. This time I was there from the very beginning. The patient was an eleven year old girl with a large tumor below her lungs and near her aorta and kidneys. The doctors wanted to do a biopsy and evaluate the extent of the tumor growth, so they opened her up and looked around. I got to look over their shoulder.

The idea is really simple, "something is wrong, so let´s take a look." I mean, we have our insides with us all the time, but we don´t ever get to look at them, which is kind of sad in a way. It´s like being married to someone and living on seperate continents. It would be so cool to see how all our little organs do their thing, maybe we would be nicer to ourselves if we could see all our internal squishy machines working so hard to keep us going.

Simple idea, and they made the procedure look simple. They just cut her open, layer by layer, cauterizing any bleeds, until they had reached the abdominal cavity. Then they stuck their fingers in and felt around, then they stuck their whole hands in and felt around, then they cut a chunk out of the largest tumor in front for the biopsy. They showed me the aorta pulsing to deliver it´s cargo to the bottom half of the body. "Veedy dangerous," says the doctor. They are actually hoping that the tumor is malignant, because it has wrapped and attached itself to the aorta. With malignant tumors, you can do chemo and radio thearapies, but if it is benign, it will continue to grow and strangle that artery; the only option if it is benign would be a risky surgery to remove the growth from the aorta.

I also made a small change to the Mita´i website. It sort of looks cooler, I think. I have also been training one of the secretaries to update it and she has also been making a blog for the hospital itself.

This weekend I am going to Saltos del Guaira to see my friends Felix and Lili. As a missionary, my companion and I taught them so that they could get baptized in 2003. Their 2 sons Fernando and Alejandro were also baptized. I hadn´t heard anything from them since the mission, but it turns out that about a year and a half ago, Felix was put in charge of the church in that town.

One week till Jill gets here!! I am very ready to see her again and for her to see, hear, and taste Paraguay. I was going to put smell too, and Paraguay has a lot of good smells, but there may be more bad smells than good ones.