Musings on the Mountain

Some people who have been following our blog, or have received emails or Whatsapp messages from us, may think that all we do is hike and enjoy the countryside. Today we share some musings from Jon as he reflects on his work at the hospital:

“I sit here under the outdoor canopy at Diospi Suyana on a beautiful, sunny Sunday in Curahuasi, Peru, enjoying a brisk breeze, but needing a coat, as is normal here. The mountains in my view are majestically snow covered, and without the clouds that sometimes hide their beauty. Gorgeous flowers reflect the sun’s brightness, making them even more brilliant. But all is not beauty and light here in the middle of the Peruvian Quechuan highlands. From here, I can hear the huge fan that runs 24 hours a day to pump air constantly out of the isolation COVID unit at the hospital, and the groan of the oxygen generator as it constantly cycles, making life-giving oxygen for the patients at the hospital.  Both noises are constant here, and reflect the growing need for treatment of COVID in this country. Currently, there are 13 patients in the hospital with COVID, and 4 or so that are critically ill and on ventilators around the clock.

View from the outdoor terrace behind the hospital, where this blog was written

When one goes around the back of the hospital, as early as 4 o’clock in the morning, people are lining up to be seen at the hospital outpatient center. Since the number of appointments is limited, one realizes that many of them get turned away to come back another day to try again. 

It is not unusual to see patients set up a little tent on the road by the hospital entrance.

Some patients wait more than a week, trying to get the coveted ‘cupo’ that entitles them to an appointment with the doctor. When they finally get in to see us, the pathology that is encountered is staggering.

This past week was an example. I had too many patients that I had to give very bad news to, a task that is even a bit more daunting when you know that our hospital was their one hope.  There was a 40-something-year-old patient that came from Puno, (about 12 hours away from here) with severe weight loss, and abdominal pain. We can obtain CT scans here, and his scan unfortunately showed a large mass in the left abdomen, interpreted as some type of carcinoma. He was going to be the first patient of the day, to give him his results. As I came to the waiting area to call him, they were still finishing up the morning devotions in the adjacent chapel. Two of the missionaries were singing "The Blessing Song" in Spanish, a particularly moving rendition, and as I looked over the crowd of the morning patients, I saw that several were crying. I thought about the news that I had to share and was overcome as well. Another patient that same day had a dangerously low platelet count, with an abnormal CT scan of the brain that suggested cancer. The closest oncology department is 16 hours away by taxi and bus, a daunting ride when you are totally healthy. Thinking of him riding all that way without having any bleeding was a difficult task as well.  One lady of about 60 had been losing weight, having abdominal pain, vomiting, and little appetite for a couple of months. Her ultrasound showed a mass around the liver, and a CT scan showed cancer of the gallbladder with spread to the liver and to the entire abdominal organs. Even in an advanced country, that would not be a treatable condition, and with difficulty I broke the news to her and her son who had brought her.

And then another man with abdominal pain and bone pain came to our facility when a previous workup at another health facility showed nothing out of the ordinary. Our abdominal ultrasound was also negative, but a chest x-ray showed a lot of fluid on the one lung. Once again, the CT scan showed the grim news—a cancer called mesothelioma that had formed in the lung, and also once again, had spread to other organs. There was no good way to break the news to the patient and his son. But this patient’s response surprised me. His first response was that he was a Christian, and that he was in God’s hands. So if he was here on earth, and living, he was in God’s hands, and if he was no longer here living, he was in God’s hands as well. But as he talked, the tears were flowing from his and his son’s eyes, as they realized that life had changed for them forever.

Despite the pressure and sadness of patient interactions like these, I am grateful to have the opportunity to serve at this hospital – a place that clearly expresses hope and trust in a God who is and always will be faithful, whether patients receive healing or face the end of their life’s journey.”

One thing we appreciate about Peruvians is that many of them seem to appreciate the beauty of our country as much as we do....

One recent Saturday we were able to visit some old Inca ruins in Ollantaytambo, an old town in the Sacred Valley

And last Saturday we climbed about 3,000 ft over a distance of 3 miles (yes, that is quite steep!) to see this magnificent mountain lake. 

Here we are resting our legs by the lakeside; with Vera, a German medical student who came along and even swam in the lake, which was extremely cold! The dog adopted us for the time of our visit :)

Our latest Sunday walk..

This week we celebrate six beautiful years together!