A Return Visit

Hola,Yet another day has passed and I am never prepared for what I might see and experience in a day on a Hero Holiday (this is my second Hero Holiday DR). Today was spent at another clinic in Arroyo Seco which is a school/church that the team I was on last year helped to build.  It was so amazing to return to a village I had been to before and see familiar faces.  I was able to reconnect with one of the children I played with last year, and had brought some photos from Canada for her.  I think everyone in the entire clinic saw the photos as her grandmother was so proud to show the gift off.Today we registered over 60 people to see the doctor/dentist, as well we did school checks which would be similar to a physical exam back home.  I saw inside many mouths, as the locals pointed to teeth that had rotted, or broken and needed to be pulled.  I do not think I will ever look at my tooth brush and floss the same anymore.  I thought so many would fear the dentist, yet we saw smiles and thumbs up as they walked away with gauze in their mouth’s and a few less teeth.  The gratefulness of the people here always blows me away as they many have so little but the are so happy and appreciate of what they have and receive.Yesterday I worked in a very small one room church which facilitated three doctors each with an examination chair and a small pharmacy.  We saw over 100 people and gave away a ton of medicine.  I am finding it difficult to think that the drugs are only able to help for 5-7 days and then they will run out and be in a similar position as to what they started in.  I am so blessed to have been born in a country that medical care is covered and medication is so readily available to me when I need it.  Although many of the medications we have brought down are just simple over the counter things like tylenol or multivitamins they mean so much to the people we are working with (the Flinstone vitamins are always a favorite!).  I wish these people were able to have the similar luxuries that we so often take for granted.The smiles here are contagious and I am loving every minute of this trip, even as we have little mango covered hands reach for ours. The special friends we meet and playing soccer when the holler your name to pass you the ball, or being asked when you will return again, makes this trip so worth while.~ Joni, Nursing Student on Hero Holiday Medical Trip DR