Radical Missions January Newsletter |
Radical Missions is a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-government organization (NGO) funded by private contributions. We work solely in the country of Guatemala in Central America. We are not affiliated with any corporation, single church, or other organization. Donations made to Radical are tax deductible.
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We love sharing stories of how God is using us, and the donations we receive for His glory!
Your donation to Radical Missions helps impact lives directly on the ground here in Guatemala. Here is just one of the many stories we love to share. |
4 Year Old Rafael's Broken Leg |
Rumualda stopped by the Clinic Colfax on Monday February 8th. She wanted some cream for her son, Rafael. She would not talk to Nurse Pedro, which was weird but spoke directly to Patty.
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Patty asked her what happened to Rafael, she has a very close relationship with the family and the 4 children. Rumualda said that her birthday was the day before and the kids were playing outside. They heard a scream and ran to the front of the property to see her son, Rafael, had fallen off a 3-story cliff and was laying lifeless. They called a bone doctor (a witch doctor) and he came to the house and yanked Rafael's leg and wrapped it with an ace bandage. He told the family that he was fine, just needed to rest. |
Patty went up to the house with Nurse Charlene to check on Rafael. When they arrived the leg was really swollen above the knee. Rafael was in immense pain and was not able to move his leg.
Nurse Charlene felt that it was best to have an x-ray. Patty called down to the clinic to get Nurse Pedro and Tim come up to take Rafael for an x-ray. The only problem was that in the Mayan culture, they use witch doctors and don't believe in today's technology. So Pedro asked Tim to explain to the family that it is impossible for anyone to see someones bone without an x-ray. |
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After a lot of conversation, the family allowed Pedro and Tim to take Rafael for an x-ray. We always use the same Laboratory for x-rays and blood work. Tim carried Rafael in to have the x-ray taken. Rafael was so tough, never cried one time. Though the x-ray tech had to move his leg around to take the perfect shots. As the image came up on the screen, we could see an obvious break in the femur, the large bone at the top of the leg. Once the x-rays printed out we could see that he had a Salter Harris Fracture. |
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This meant that the bone had a fracture through the growth plate. Though there are 6 types, this type could be treated but only with a full-leg cast and so the bone could set properly. Something that we would never even think about in the US. But as we said before, the Mayans don't believe in this type of medicine. Nurse Pedro and Tim drove back to Rafael's house to break the news to the family. |
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On the way back to the house Nurse Pedro told Tim that he would have to speak to the parents because they would not let him take a child out of the village. When Tim got to the house he, aggressively, told Rumualda that the leg had to be set and cast or Rafael would never be able to walk properly again. When she saw the x-ray with the fracture, she ran out of the house crying. As we were waiting we saw that she was on the phone with someone, presumably her husband. When she returned, she told Tim that he could take her son. Nurse Pedro almost fainted in disbelief, no one had taken a child out of the village without their parents before. |
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We decided to take Rafael to Hospital Hermans Pedro Antigua with Dr. Ruiz, who is a trauma pediatric surgeon. Our normal orthopedic doctor was out of the country. Dr Ruiz took one look at the x-ray, gathered up some supplies, and quickly set the bone and cast it. It was funny because Dr Ruiz was talking to Rafael and he didn't understand much because he speaks more Kaqchikel than Spanish. But Rafael just sat there with his hands behind his head like he was getting his toenails done. |
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When we took him home, there must hve been several hundred people waiting for us in the street. We assume that they were getting ready to hunt us down if we didn't bring their child back. Rafael's dad carried him to the house and then there was a bunch of crying and thank you's for the help. We got a little cart for him to ride around in while he was stuck in a full-leg cast for the next three months. Whenever we worked at the clinic he showed up in the cart. |
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Rafael's birthday was a few weeks after the accident and he was really down about having to be in the cast for several months. One of our supporters paid to throw him a birthday party. He invited all his friends and was able to hit the piñata using the cart. It was not the same but it lifted his spirits and made him feel normal for those few hours. |
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In April, our orthopedic surgeon, Dr Miguel Rodriquez, drove out to the clinic to check the x-rays and see if the cast was ready to come off. Dr Rodriquez said the fracture had completely healed and he was able to take the cast off. He noticed a coin inside the cast, Rafael said that it was itching him so he was sticking things in the cast and the coin got stuck. We had never seen such joy in Rafael's face knowing he would soon be rid of the cast. |
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Again we had a bunch of people come to see the cast removal. They still didn't believe in this type of medicine. And the cast saw used to remove it was a huge hit. As it tore through the cast Rafael never moved, anxiously waiting to get it off once and for all. Once Dr. Rodriguez removed the cast he checked Rafael's leg and said he could start walking. Everyone was on nails waiting to see if he could really walk or not. Rafael's leg was stiff and he could not bend it at a 90 degree angle but he could walk without pain. That moment we gained more trust with the village than all the years we had been working in Chuatzunuj. |
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This is just one of the many stories about the impact the Clinica Colfax has had on these 12 villages in the mountains of Tecpan. We are blessed to be able to work to make a difference in people's lives...
...one life at a time
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