Dias de Capitaciones en Santa Eulalia y Regressomas Al Capital

Morning in Santa Eulalia

Obstetrical Teaching and Workshops with the Midwives of Santa Eulalia and Nurses of the CAP

Lisa Arnold and Dana Gersten have been wonderful colleagues and teachers (not just of things medical but dancing and keeping  "el ritmo" going on this journey. 

Lisa graciously volunteers to author this blog of Santa Eulalia and our meeting with Bal Maria. 

Iglesia S Eulalia

We woke in Santa Eulalia to blue skies and sunshine, and enjoyed the view of the hills from the roof of our hotel before heading to the salon to share our capitaciones.  When we arrived, the room was already filled with many of the comadronas (local midwives) we had come to meet.  They were dressed in traditional brightly colored cortes (skirts) and fajas (sash-like belts), 40-50 brave women who ‘hold the space’ for the laboring women in their care. Bob reprised his now-legendary role as “Roberta”, the pregnant patient who has an ataque (seizure) during her labor, and then we split into groups to deliver workshops on postpartum hemorrhage, shoulder dystocia, essential neonatal care, and complications of pregnancy.  

RN Freddy teaching about placenta remnants causing bleeding

Nurses practicing neonatal ventilation

The language of this region is Q’anjob’al, and many of the comadronas speak very little Spanish.  Thanks to Dana’s language sleuthing skills, we were able to begin our session with a tradition greeting of ‘txajin’ to which they replied to us ‘cai tu’, accompanied by smiles and nods.   

The wonderful nurses from the Santa Eulalia CAP translated our words from Spanish to Q’anjob’al during our workshops.  The comedrones began and ended the session with a prayer; we bowed our heads together – the comedrones, the nurses from the CAP, the staff from casa maternal, and the three of us who had been so warmly welcomed into this exchange of information. 

  We were all moved by the sense of community and common purpose shared by people of many different backgrounds and languages, all working together to support the women and families of this region. We shared a meal together before the comadronas left for their sometimes-long journeys home.  Every comedrone took the time to thank each of us with a heart-felt hug, a kiss on the cheek, or a hand taken in theirs and squeezed.  They are courageous and devoted women, for whom we feel such respect and admiration. Part 2 of the capitaci ones was for the nurses and medical students.

After just delivering Roberta's Baby, Dana helps lead the discussion as Lisa provides respiratory support

This time, poor “Roberta” had the misfortune of a shoulder dystocia while delivering her infant, who did not breathe at delivery and needed neonatal resuscitation, demonstrated by Lisa and Dana.  Fortunately, the resuscitation was successful, and we are happy to report that Roberta and her baby are both doing well. We then repeated our workshops, and sat down with the nurses and students for lunch, before making the windy trip back to Huehue.  

We shared a meal of delicious Abesiada – prepared chile rellenos with our host family, accompanied by much conversation and laughter.  The next morning, we met with Balmaria and the casa maternal team for breakfast, sharing our unforgettable experiences of the past few days and hearing about the far-reaching impact of PCI in improving the lives of women and families in these communities.

Bal Maria and Dali of PCI

On Friday we shared our final hugs for the trip with Abesaida and her family, feeling deeply moved  - yes, there may have been a few tears - by the welcome she had extended in opening her home and her family to us. 

We rode a very comfortable bus back to Guatemala City, and enjoyed a luxurious evening of dinner and salsa dancing.   

Ronald was NO Help!

We had a little trouble finding the perfect place to get our dance on, and had to stop once or twice to ask for directions. 

Salsa Dancing Lisa and Dan (I am solo) at Cadeleria in Zona 10

Ronald McDonald was not particularly helpful, but we did find two young law students who told us that the destination we had in mind was ‘feo’, extremely far from our current location, and who were kind enough to drive us to a better ‘dicso’, where we waited 2 hours for the live salsa band to start.  

It was worth the wait, however, and all three of us danced until we dropped, quite literally, into bed at around 2am.  

Tomorrow, we will venture out on part 2 of our Guatemalan adventure, joining the rest of the PCI team for the ride to Chicaman, where we will provide training sessions for nurses and doctors in the region.  If it fills our hearts the way this first week has, we may not fit on the plane!  Sending some of the love we have shared to each of you, thank you for reading!

Lisa Arnold - renamed by the Lopez-Guerrero familia and my co-workers Bob and Dana as  "La Colibrí Brilliante" (The brilliant hummingbird)