Over the last 5 years there has been a dramatic shift from mostly burn wounds to diabetic ulcers. Currently, we have no burn patients almost all diabetic ulcers with a few skin injuries and 3 of our 4 house-call patients have bed sores.
One of the saddest cases I've ever seen is a 20-something year old man that broke his neck 4 months ago in a motor cycle accident. He is now a quadriplegic and is in chronic 'full body' pain. His wife and family care for him but there is much more that can be done: physical therapy, a soft foam mattress, a bed or device that can move his body preventing him being in one position too long and for God's sakes pain relief medication. All this is just a dream and what would be done for an insured person in the US. His sacral (lower back) bed sore is healing, thanks to Don Sergio, but this probably won't be the last. Without the proper care, he will probably have many as long as he lives.
The past week Don Sergio and I have had the pleasure of working with Amethyst, a Reiki and Massage therapist from Cozumel, Mexico. So many people have musculoskeletal complaints that she was kept quite busy this last week especially at the museo clinic. She also helped me with interpreting, she did blood sugar finger stick testing, bandage changing and Reiki on almost all our house call patients. This was her annual 3 week vacation (from the heat in Cozumel) and she spent her last full week working with us. She said she enjoyed helping those that would not otherwise be able to have access to her services: pure giving of herself and con mucho gusto. Don Sergio and I, and his patients, really appreciated her being with us this week and we look forward to her coming again next year.
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