Jim Dirck, Interplast staff: Our team trip to Bolivia is one that has special considerations for our equipment and supplies to clear inspections prior to use by our volunteers at the host facility. Detailed documents are prepared by Interplast staff and then sent along to be "authenticated" by governmental agencies. Once all the paperwork is in order, Bolivian Customs requires an inspection quarantine clearance period of 3-5 days. During this time, equipment and supplies are matched to the detailed documents and various signatures from local officials are needed to release the items for delivery to the hospital where our team will use them to perform the surgeries...
Anna Maria and I arrived in La Paz at 5:30 AM and there to greet
us was our host surgeon and some of his team... Our documents
were collected and the 17 containers of equipment were released after a
brief review of the paperwork with the 15 boxes of supplies held
pending inspection...
Later that day we are off to accompany our host surgeon, Jorge
Terrazas, to a TV station where our volunteer surgical trip is publicized and an 800
number is
given out to the public to provides free access to more
information for potential patients... The 800 number and a cell phone
was donated by a local provider for the duration of this surgical team
trip to Jorge...
We
do a total 3 TV interviews and the 800 number rings continuously with
patients given days and times to attend one of the pre-screening
clinics where their conditions are assessed and cases prioritized for
further review by the Interplast team...
The Thursday clinic is busy with children, teenagers and adults
arriving to be examined. It is during this time that a 4-year-old boy
by the name of Jonathan is ushered into the room by the nurse with his mother and father. He tugs on the sleeve of his
sweater to uncover his hand and holds up badly burned fingers which are
stiffly contracted. He rises on his toes in order to be seen by
the doctors seated around the screening desk. Since he is still too small to
place his arm on the table top, he is scooped up and placed on his
mother´s lap and his hand is placed on a small pillow. Jonathan´s hand
was burned about two years ago and the family could not afford to
have surgery. His little hand and fingers are moved about and reviewed
by the group... Some good news for Jhonatan: his parents are handed
a slip of paper with the letter "A" written across it and stamped with a
small seal... He is going through to the next step...
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