Hoping for a better world
The world just became a little bit better thanks to the efforts of some local doctors, nurses and volunteers.
A week ago the group returned from Iquitos, Peru, a city of roughly 500,000 people, situated near the Amazon River.
For the better part of a week they provided needy people with free surgeries, medical attention, medicines, eyeglasses and a helping hand. This was made possible through the Hope Alliance, a humanitarian organization based in Salt Lake City.
In Logan, there is a growing group of humanitarians that have made several trips to Iquitos.
Christy Cespedes, a registered nurse supervisor at Logan Regional Hospital’s Surgical Center, has been to Iquitos three times so far.
“I’m addicted,” she said. “I enjoy being able to put a smile on somebody’s face.”
Cespedes said a long term goal for Iquitos is to have a treated water system in operation so that there isn’t a constant need to treat for “bichos,” or water-borne diseases.
In the meantime, several groups a year travel to Iquitos to try and improve the lives of the needy – one person at a time.
Cespedes says the saddest part is “just knowing some kids are going to die.”
These are children who need operations that their parents can’t afford or that can’t be done in Peru.
The pride of the Hope Alliance right now is a 12-year-old Iquitos girl, Jessica Urteaga Perez. She has a 2.7 centimeter hole in her heart.
Arrangements were made for Perez to come home with Max Gyllenskog, an epidimiologist at the Bear River Health Department. They are currently in California performing open-heart surgery to correct the problem.
Perez is only one of many people who have been given new hope in Iquitos.
Cespedes said one reason they keep returning to Iquitos is because there is good local support and they know people will follow through after they have gone, people like Dr. Joel Rivera.
Rivera is a gynecologist and Rotary Club member in Iquitos. He is the liaison for the Hope Alliance, arranging places for them to work and then following up with patients when the group has left.
Rivera said he works extra in his clinic to be able to have time off so that he can help the Hope Alliance groups.
“I have dreams, and when you have dreams, you have to fight for a better world,” he said.
Lives aren’t just changing in Peru.
Stacey Harker of Logan traveled to Peru for the first time with her husband David, a general surgeon.
She said she now has a new outlook on life. Before leaving for Peru, she began remodeling her house. Now, she said, it’s hard for me to be motivated about embellishing my home after having seen the poor conditions some people live in.
Another important event for her was being able to finally enter an operating room and see her husband at work.
After 18 years of study and mutual sacrifice, her husband became a surgeon, but she never got to see the results, she said.
“It was like a completion,” she said.
“There was a sense of respect that I felt for him that I didn’t fully understand before,” she said.
Whitney Fowers, an eighth grader at North Cache Middle School, traveled with her mom, a registered nurse, and her dad, an obstetrician/gynecologist.
“I won’t complain anymore,” she said. “There’s always someone worse off than you.”
Cespedes said, “I’ve never had anyone go that has said they would not go back.”
The volunteers work hard in less than desirable conditions, but they get to rest each night in a nice air-conditioned hotel, Cespedes said. Also, they are given the option of a travel excursion at the end of the trip.
This time, most of the group spent a few days sightseeing in Cusco and Machu Picchu.
“It’s an experience of a lifetime and the best vacation you can get that is 100 percent tax deductible,” she said.
-scradavi@cc.usu.edu
Shellee Smith, a case manager with the State Health Department, hands a pair of glasses to a woman (left) in the eyeglasses clinic. (Photo by Scott Davis)
Dr. David Harker of Logan and Dr. Luis Valdivia of Iquitos, Peru, both general surgeons, work together on a gall bladder removal operation. (Photo by Scott Davis)
Judy Weston, a registered nurse from Logan, examines a sick boy brought to a clinic that was held at a school in one of the poorest areas of Iquitos, Peru. (Photo by Scott Davis)
Group members are taken on a canoe tour of one of the poorest areas of Iquitos where many of their patients will come from. (Photo by Scott Davis)