1 November 2009

Dear Family and Friends—

We have now been safely back in Hershey, PA for two weeks! It was a great trip and an answer to all of our hopes and prayers regarding our time in Honduras.

In Honduras, we were pleased to find ourselves a part of a fantastic team of three orthopedic surgeons, one anesthesiologist, two pediatricians, two medical students, and our two daughters. We all lived together in quarters above the operating rooms on the hospital compound guarded by two armed guards and a high wall with barbed wire. We were well fed by the hospital cook who made all our meals. After a long clinic on Sunday to evaluate patients with upper extremity problems, some of the children were selected to return later in the week for surgery. Each morning of clinic/surgery began with a time of singing and a short message given by the hospital spiritual director. And, while the team worked, the girls and I enjoyed meeting patients—playing with them, sharing small gifts, and simply making friends. As the week progressed, I saw Abigail not only developing a love for the children in hospital, but also a sense that she was a part of our team whose job it was to serve and care for the kids. She even asked if she could take our laptop down to the inpatient ward so she could share her cartoons with the kids spending the night. We saw absolutely no political unrest, although there was quite a raucous celebration when Honduras qualified for a World Cup berth for the first time in over 20 years during our visit. The eighteen surgeries performed were interesting and successful—so far, there have been no complications reported.

As hoped, we had some great times to spend with Ruth and Danny Castro, the couple that serves as the brain and heart of CURE Honduras in their roles as executive director and spiritual director. Ruth took the girls and me out to visit several schools in the city as a part of our introduction to the country and exploration into the educational options for Abigail and Lillian. Not only are there good choices for bilingual schools that will mainstream children with disabilities, there is also a Down Syndrome Foundation that runs a center providing adjunctive therapies. Driving around the city with Ruth also gave me lots of time to interview her about the ministry and the country.

Although we were efficient and worked hard as a team, we also had a great time in our free moments. As a family, we saw Jay throughout the day and each evening—quite a change from our regular life. Abigail celebrated her sixth birthday with all the patients and families in the waiting room with a piñata and cake. And we went as a team to the beach on Columbus Day when the hospital was closed for the day.

During our trip, Abigail commented several times, “I wish we could live here in Honduras.” And now, armed with lots of positive information, we will need to pray about whether God wants us to live and serve in San Pedro Sula at CURE Honduras. Our rough timeline sets a departure date for sometime in 2011—so we have a little time yet to ponder and pray.

Thank you for your love, support, and interest in our journey. We will continue to keep you updated along the way.

Love,
Pauline for all the Bridgemans

Last Post from Trip!

Well, it's our last real day in Honduras. It's been a great trip. We could definitely live here-- and I believe the school options for the girls are such that they would have a good education. My main worry is that Honduras is VERY HOT! It was about 95 degrees every day-- and this was one of the cooler months. But, I imagine that if we lived there, we would have AC in our home-- and probably in the schools and clinics where we would work. Pray for us as we process it all and pray about it. No imminent decisions are necessary-- but we didn't see any glaring reason not to go-- so we want to pray about whether we should go.

Here's a photo from a few days ago... Lillian playing at Jay's feet while he is rounding with the team.

The girls really had a great time here. They loved participating in the hospital work and making friends. Even the heat didn't seem to bother them by the end of the week. Here they are in their bunkbeds! Jay and I actually slept together on the bottom bunk of another bed instead of in separate twin bunks-- it really helps that we are both skinny.

I was so pleased that there was a washer and drying in our quarters. We came home with clean clothes!

On Saturday morning, Ruth took us to the local city market where we were able to shop for souvenirs. Lillian picked out a pair of leather sandals for herself. Abigail decided on the same plus a few postcards. Jay wanted a Honduran soccer shirt.

One last photo of our team from the night we went out to eat-- Abigail is asleep in Warren's lap. The DeMuths left on Friday. Sally Green, Gary Updegrove, and the Bridgemans all left on Saturday. Only Warren Terry (peds ortho) and Jared O'Leary (Vanderbilt med student) are left.

And a special treat on the way home. Abigail and Lillian were invited into the cockpit!

Last Full Day in Honduras!

The team did two short surgical cases today. Usually no surgeries are performed on Friday so that there are no overnight patients over the weekend due to staffing issues, but the cases done today were outpatient procedures.

Our girls would prefer to watch children's programs in Spanish than one of our English videos.

Here is the nursing station in the inpatient ward.

The hospital has a very impressive warehouse of supplies-- both for the running of the hospital and for specialty "brigades" of medical personnel. The warehouse is very clean and incredibly organized.

This is Dido, the hospital maintenance man. He showed me his meticulous records of what he does each day, the supplies he uses, and the supplies he needs. At the end of each month, he provides an impressive spreadsheet showing the allocation of his time. He was formerly a bricklayer and has three children.

This is the the lady that works in laundry.

This is Gina, the head cook. She and one helper have prepared three meals a day for us during our week here. She arrives very early and leaves very late. She previously worked in catering and is an excellent cook. She says she does it all for the glory of God.

This is Gina's helper.

This is Sandra-- the jack-of-all-trades. She finished three years of med school before quitting when she became pregnant. Now she is training as a nurse as well as running the pharmacy. She was the one who did all the decorating for Abigail's birthday. She also act as a child life staff, distributing crayons with coloring pages and bubbles as needed.

At 9:30am, Ruth took the girls and I to visit our first regular school-- the Francisan School. The preschool and kindergarten years there are montessori-style. This is one of the younger classrooms. The serve kindergarten through ninth grade but add one additional year annually to their school. The school has 250 students-- the largest classes have 26 students with two teachers.

We had a chance to observe a physical education class do relays. Lillian wanted to join right in with the hopping relay.

We were referred to the school because they have three children with Down Syndrome who are mainstreamed into their classes. The school is bilingual with some classes in English and some in Spanish. The special needs kids receive special aid during the English classes.

This was the outside gate to the international school of Honduras which has the highest academic standards and the most elite population since the tuition is very high for Honduras. Their teachers come from the US to teach for one year. Most of the cars we saw leaving were nicer than our cars at home. We couldn't get an appointment to visit this school-- so we just looked from the outside.

Next we visited Discover Corner, the school that Ruth's grandson attends. It is on a gated street but it is priced to be very accessible to "all." This is the front of the school which serves preschool through kindergarten at this time. But, in two years when their new building is completed, they will open up an elementary school as well.

Here is Lillian saying "Ola" to one of the teachers. (She surprised us today by really saying "Ola" to someone--- and has continued to greet people that way.) Mrs. Elena has a child with autism and a child with Down Syndrome in her class. Wendy is the school founder who was educated in Ohio and takes great care to attend conferences in the US so that she can keep her school at an American standard.

The classrooms come off of a central area that is lit with natural sunlight and features a child sized kitchen where they have a cooking class every week. They also have a weekly movie, music and art classes, and physical education. There is a school nurse and psychologist who tests the children. There is also an outdoor play area.

This is also a bilingual school.

Having a refreshing popsicle with Ruth's grandson Serjillo (I don't have any idea how to spell his name.) on the front steps of the school. The director Wendy's mother also runs an AIDS orphanage in town.

We will be packing up to leave tomorrow morning. It has been a great week for us to see how we would function as a family overseas. Our hosts have been marvelous-- and our team has gelled well. We will all be sad to leave! I think this one will probably reappear as our Christmas card this year.

Tomorrow we will go to the local market for souvenirs before heading to the airport.

Last Full Day of Surgery

Last night, Honduras beat El Salvador in a soccer match qualifying them for a World Cup spot (with the help of the US who tied Costa Rica) for the first time since 1982! We could hear cheering late into the night.

Although Abigail's heart was broken when Myrah was discharged, she did recover when she discovered another friend from Sunday's clinic in the ward for surgery today. This is Scarlett Juliette who is having surgery on her right elbow to correct a poorly healed fracture in the past.

Abigail enjoyed playing Mr. Potatohead with Scarlett, acting as an unofficial child life helper.

Because we had some time in the morning, we brought our laptop down to show videos to the kids again. The loved Scooby Doo and Pink Panther. Otherwise there is absolutely nothing to do while waiting for surgery or recovering from it.

While the girls were watching videos, I assembled the four shower shelf towers that our family brought as a gift to the hospital. They look very nice with the help of some extra woodwork by handyman Dedo-- and now the patients and OR team won't have to keep the soap on the floor.

Later in the morning Ruth us back to the Integrar school for Down Syndrome to see the children Lillian's age-- but the school was not in session because the president declared it a national holiday after the soccer team won last night. We did visit some more with the administrator Victoria who explained that they have the land and the foundation built for the amazing new school building-- but they need to raise an additional $100,000 to match a donation from the Japanese embassy.

We got back just in time for a lunch of a light bean broth with pork and veggies and a plantain with a plate of rice and pineapple-orange juice. Of course, both girls loved it. Abigail suggested that we get a Honduran cook for our house.

No surgery photos for today-- but one of Jay's surgeries was particularly tough. He did a lot of dissecting of a teenaged boy's forearm trying to release a contracture that prevented good hand function. After a long time of searching for the tight tendon, he had success! This is the tiny surgery lounge.

And here is the big room that leads to the two ORs.

What do we do while Daddy operates? Watch some TV and play games and work on projects up in our living area (very hot with only fans and no AC which is only in our bedrooms), visit with kids in the clinic waiting area and on the ward. Here is Abigail practicing piano on the hospital keyboard.

Because we don't leave the compound unless we are accompanied by a Honduran, I packed both girls' scooters so they can ride around the compound on the paved walks. It has, however, been very handy for this trip to be so close to Daddy and have access to all the things we brought from home since we are just staying upstairs from the clinic and ORs.

Here is Lillian playing with a little girl in the waiting area.

This evening, our anesthesiologist Sally Green took us all out for dinner at a seafood restaurant Linda Mar. From the left, Lillian, Vanderbilt med student Jared O'Leary, Danny and Ruth Castro (spiritual director and executive director of CURE Honduras), Warren Terry (ped ortho surgeon here for four months), and Abigail and Jay.

From left: Penn State med student Gary Updegrove, Sally Green, Cindy and Bill DeMuth.

We hit the jackpot with two excellent and fun med students who are adored by our girls. Here they are with Jared from Vanderbilt.

Abigail with Danny Castro.

And Abigail totally asleep at the end of dinner and being carried out by Gary.

Serving As a Family, Eating, and Visiting our First School

One last photo from yesterday. Lillian found a little corner in the waiting area to eat her cake-- right in front of the doorways for the pharmacy and the xray area.

This is the reason for our passion to serve overseas as a family. The people to love in Jesus' name.

It's great to have a chance to be here together, serving. Jay's job here is, of course, operating. Here he is operating with Bill DeMuth on a child with arthrogryposis.

My job for this trip is to foster a positive experience for our children as we expose them to overseas medical missions for the first time. We want them to feel that they have a vital role in our mission so that we can really serve as a family. I want them to develop a connection with the children here-- and to serve them.

Here is Abigail serving pieces of her birthday cake yesterday with one of the children in the waiting area.

Yesterday she wanted to walk around the inpatient ward and personally blow up balloons for each of the children.

Going on post-op round with Daddy in the afternoon, handing out pencils and stickers as we go.

Even Lillian is excited to be able to peel off little stickers to give to the children in the waiting room.

And one last visit with Myrah before she was discharged home. After dinnerlast night, Abigail asked to bring our laptop into the ward to show a video to Myrah-- but we ended up showing it to all five kids and their parents due to popular demand. It was great to see Abigail and Myrah whispering to each other all through Scooby Doo even though neither really understood each other. Abigail even told me she would like to live here because she now had a friend in Honduras. And she cried herself to sleep tonight because she missed Myrah.

The hospital cook feeds us breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the screened in cafeteria where the entire hospital staff eats the big mid-day meal-- not all at the same time. You can see water cooler in the foreground. Water coolers are located all over the hospital compound.

Thankfully there is a handwashing station in the cafeteria. It's probably saving Lillian's life because she is just filthy most of the time, insisting on going barefoot and spending a fair amount of time on the ground, indoors and out.

Gina fthe cook feeds us VERY WELL! Abigail and Lillian LOVE the food. For her birthday there was a special meal of rice with shredded chicken, spiced baked chicken breast, cheesy potatoes, and salad. The meal shown was homemade tortillas, salad of tomatoes-cucmbers-beets-radish-lettuce, bean, a tasty rice, a chopped beef dish with lime juice, and a beef broth with veggies made from cooking the beef.

Two of the more interesting fruits we have eaten. The spiky red fruit is a type of lychee brought by Asians to the country. The solid fruit is called a mangosteen-- inside it resembles a sugar apple or cacao pods.

Each day begins with the patients, families, and hospital staff having a devotional chapel service. A few songs are sung, a short evangelistic message given, and then our team (including the girls) are introduced.

After devotions, we go on rounds with the whole team on the inpatient ward-- discharging patients who stayed overnight and then checking on the patients scheduled for surgery that day. There are twelve regular beds and a few "ICU" beds. One parents stays with each child on a mattress on the floor next to their child.

Dr. Vasquez is the Honduran pediatric orthopedic surgeon on staff with CURE Honduras; he's standing in the middle.

One of the surgeries that Jay did today was on a child with seven functional toes. He removed the second and third toes and the associated extra bones in the foot.

A post-operative photo.

After lunch, Ruth took the girls and me on our first school visit. The Integrar School is a private school specifically for people with Down Syndrome from birth to whenever (the oldest student is 37). This was the reading and mathematics room where three students who were more severely affected by DS worked independently with close supervision from the teacher. At the time of our visit, the older children were in school session.

The school strives to teach the students to become independent. To that end, they have a carpentry shop where the teacher uses carpentry to teach concepts like colors and numbers as the students work on projects like wooden puzzles, wooden blocks, and marble runs.

They have a little computer lab where the students work on interactive programs that teach concepts like reading and math.

The children aged 3-6 attend the school Monday-Wednesday from 10am-noon. We visited in the afternoon, so we didn't get to see the little ones. But, this is the gross motor room where they do physical education.

The school is funded by a non-profit foundation begun by parents of children with DS. Although they are in small house at this time, they have plans to build their own complex with 10,000 square meters! It was really an amazing place considering where it is.