February 2017 Team finishes on Tuesday getting ready…

Tuesday is the last day of surgery. The week has gone so amazingly fast. The team needs to finish up and also plan for their day of culture. They are quite aware also that a team of 47 is coming in the same planes they leave on Sunday. That team will do over 1000 medical evaluations and perhaps 100 plastic and ENT surgeries. That team will be hosting 80 students for a pizza party at Blues Restaurant next to Tonys where the team stays.

Our fun day means a chance to really appreciate the beauty of the country. While we work in the northern planes, most American tourists go straight to San Pedro Island, or get off a cruise ship to take the boat ride to Lamani Ruins in Orange Walk District, or cave tube. The Cave tubing can only be done in New Zealand outside of Belize. The reef for snorkel, scuba and snuba is second only the Australia. The Coral seems more resistant to global warming and thereby is still so amazingly beautiful.

The fish is abundant and the little town of San Pedro on Amberquis Caye is sometimes described as the Gatlinburg of the Carribean. Lots of small shops and hotels and restaurants.

We have made some new friends for sure, and are thankful for the chance to serve safely and help with surgery for people who in most cases would never be able to get access to the surgery.

Surgery here is done,but normally the tonsils taken out and the hernias repaired are many years past the time that they would be taken care of in the US. Many patients schedule these at low cost government clinics but experience cancellation after cancellation. If they cannot afford a year’s wages to do surgery in a private clinic, the surgery goes undone. They wait and hope for visiting teams to fill the gap with free services.The level of appreciation expressed by patients is what motivates our doctors and nurses to come back year after year.
The sunrises and sunsets are not bad either. We love the people and country of Belize.