Back to Work with Don Sergio

October 28, 2011

Our morning started off waiting for Don Sergio at his museo with a patient with his father and grandfather from Amantanango de Valle. They drove an hour for the son, Maurice, to have his bandage changed.

Sergio arrived on time and entered the museo to do the bandage change. This eight-year-old child's injury occurred when the family was burning trash and he was near the fire. Four months ago the child was standing by the fire and a wind whipped up and burned his left arm, left abdomen and chest. These were superficial and deep 2nd degree burns that are now well healed but will leave him with permanent burn scars. There is one area on his left abdomen that is a bit slower than the rest probably due to the depth of the burn and the natural mobility of the stomach expanding and contracting. Originally the patient went to the hospital in Teopisca and stayed for two days with no proper bandage change. A female doctor told the parents to take the child to Don Sergio. Sergio said the burns were cleaned but very dry. After four months of care the child is doing well.

Thanks to Maricopa Burn Center and Pongratz Prosthetics, the donation of the burn garments are put to good use for Don Sergio's burn patients.

Afterwards Sergio showed me the room he made (he says for me) but obviously its for the patients. Previously this room stored extra artifacts and supplies. He cleaned it out, put a partitioned wall, painted the walls and brought in a work table, shelf and a bench: a model clinic room. He feels this will be better for the patients who prefer others not see their injuries.





The new clinic room Don Sergio made. Thank you all for your donations!

After unpacking and sorting we were off to a poor part of San Cristóbal to see a eight-month-old baby that had been burned with boiling coffee on her right arm, abdomen and right leg 12 days ago. These appear to be 1st degree burns as the child's skin is closed and just fresh pink now.




The stairs we had to climb to get to her home.

The way up included rock climbing.

Our next patient was a lady I had seen six months ago while here with Kieu. She had (and still does) profound lower leg ulcers that are healing slowly. She is quite resistant to compression and Sergio is challenged by this, but he continues to provide care as there is improvement. Kathleen showed her some lymphatic drainage techniques the patient can do and we hope this will help.




Our last patient of the morning was a very large man with a healing full thickness injury to the left lower leg. This was quick bandage change but it may take another month for his wound to close.

"Libre," as Don Sergio would say. This means we are free until 4:pm: that's when we have to be at the museo. We returned to Bela's for Manuela's comida especial, mole colorado, sopa de pan (bread soup) and a unique tasty desert - zapote negro (black zapote fruit).




The afternoon started at 4:00pm and Don Sergio's museo was full with patients. Kathleen (who is physical therapist) worked on a 17-year-old woman who reports her left leg started twisting inward since she was four years old. She had gone to a curandero (healer) who used hot herbs on her knee and leg and left her with significant scarring. She had no concern about the scarring but wanted to know what she could do about her knee and leg. Unfortunately, it seems her leg has been in this shape for so long that training her to do PT muscle exercises may not yield the results she is looking for. She could benefit from a brace that would give her support in addition to engaging muscles that need to be strengthened. This is a challenging case.



Sergio and I saw the burn and wound patients. The saddest case I'd seen in a while... well, since this morning, was a 45-year-old Zinacantan woman with her right foot that appears to be gangrenous. She has uncontrolled diabetes and appeared ill. When I removed her bandage, the smell was so bad the waiting patients scattered widely as if someone lit a fire cracker. We should have taken her in the new room but Kathleen was using it for another patient. Her foot was so swollen, infected, malodorous and weeping that I could not see how we'd be able to help. I whispered to Don Sergio, this patient needs to be admitted in the hospital, get IV antibiotics and get ready for an amputation. He said she's been told and she won't go, she's been there and they recommended amputation so Don Sergio as her last resort. He will try to convince her again. The challenges here are mind-boggling. This is an example of the faith people have in Don Sergio. He knows when to send them to the hospital but the continue to come to him.
Sergio's museo clinic was a full house. (Patients faces are blotted out for privacy reasons.)

We had various other minor wounds (in comparison to the Zinacantan woman) to see and our last patient was a young man who had a tattoo on his right arm. He worked for a local company and they told him he could not have tattoos. Tattoos are looked down upon here in Mexico as many people perceive you are part of a gang (it is difficult to get a job with tattoos). This 20-something-year-old male applied a gel that would help him get rid of his tattoo. The tattoos are gone and now thickened unsightly scars. The gel he used probably caused deep partial thickness wound and possibly full thickness. He's lucky he healed this well.


At 7:00pm the museo was quiet, patients were gone and there were no tourists. Our first day of work was very busy and I was glad to see Don Sergio in good spirits and well rested. His energy level is impressive... for a 70-year-old. Tomorrow we start at 9:15am.

Posted by Patricia Ferrer.

Arrive in San Cristobal

October 26th and 27th, 2011

Wednesday was an ‘in-transit’ day that was very long: a taxi to the SMA bus stop, a one-hour bus ride to Queretaro, then a three-hour bus ride to Mexico City airport, a one-hour 15-minute plane ride to Tuxtla Gutierrez, then a one-hour taxi ride to San Cristobal (8:30am-8:00pm). We arrived at Bela’s Bed and Breakfast around 8:00pm pooped. We made it to San Cristóbal without problems and with all the supplies.

Bela’s place is as charming as it was when I walked in over a year ago, like a home away from home. Today, Thursday, is a day of rest for me and site-seeing for Kathleen. Our work day begins in la mañana por la mañana (tomorrow morning) when we will meet Don Sergio at his museum and start seeing his patients.

No photos today, there is a problem with uploading, will add tomorrow.

Posted by Patricia Ferrer

Sergio and Elsa in San Miguel de Allende

Tuesday October 25, 2011

Animated Don Sergio chatting with Ivan.

We all made it to San Miguel de Allende. Kathleen and I met Mary and Ivan at their home where they were hosting Don Sergio and Elsa. After visiting for a couple of hours we met Consuelo, John, Betsy, Jane and the Vice President of Patronato Por Ninos at their clinic. This organization was started 40 years ago by one woman and has become a primary care facility that works with the Mexican government providing care for children. If they cannot provide the care the patients need (specialty services) they find a way by outsourcing care for their patients. The work involved to get this organization where it is today has been tremendous and the children of the SMA area benefit.

A visit to Patronato Por Ninos.

Afterwards we went to El Mirador: a vista in San Miguel. We ran into Consuelo’s parents who were on a tour and just happened to stop at that same place. In two taxis we went to back to Mary’s for comida (lunch). This was a time we all had a chance to visit with Sergio and Elsa and see how we can continue to help support his humanitarian work.

The group at El Mirador. Left to right: Consuelo (director El Andalon), Betsy (My Mexico Tours), Don Sergio, Elsa, me, Jane, Consuelo's mother, Consuelo's father, Kathleen.


After comida, tres leches cake for Don Sergio and Elsa.

The showing of El Andalon started at 7:15pm. Afterward Consuelo, John, Betsy and I went up on stage for questions and answers while Mary and Ivan added information about Don Sergio and the people he serves. Many wanted to know, “Who is going to continue his work after he’s gone?”, “Who helps him with the schools?”, “Why doesn’t the government help these villages with the schools?”, “Why are there not medical organizations from the US coming to help?” We've all had these questions and there are no easy answers. This maverick humanitarian has the trust of the local people of San Cristóbal because he's answered the call when they need help.

The most important question: “How can we help?”. This is a typical response after seeing the film. Our answers were: buy the DVD (proceeds go to Don Sergio), show it to your friends, donate, and join our team in bringing awareness about his work. (Please contact me here if you are interested in helping Don Sergio in any capacity.)

Finally, Consuelo and John had the pleasure of introducing Don Sergio and Elsa. The audience stood in awe, many were to tell me later, “I felt like I was in the presence of a saint”. They were, and so were we. Sergio, in his humble manner, thanked us, Elsa, and everyone for coming and their support and invited all to San Cristóbal. He said his gift is to help people and his humanitarian work is why he is here on this earth.

We stood in the foyer of the theater answering questions as Mary, Ivan and Don Sergio quietly went home. The theater employees finally had to brush us out the door. We ended up across the street to sit and chat with each other and visited until 11:pm and then slowly walked to our respective hospedajes (lodgings).

Tomorrow Kathleen and I bus it to Mexico City to catch our flight to Tuxtla. Sergio and Elsa will stay in San Miguel and there will be a display at the library of Don Sergio’s textile collection where he will be present and answer any questions.

Today felt like two days in one it was so busy and productive. Mary and Ivan did an incredible job organizing the event and our host Louise made our stay very comfortable. After being here two days I can see why people live here: the climate is cool in the evening and warm during the day, the plants lush, the activities many, the aesthetics of the city impeccable.







Posted by Patricia Ferrer

Monday October 24, 2011 – San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato Part II

In Transit to San Cristóbal

Part II

Up at 3:30 am and Bruce got us to the AZ Shuttle stop to catch the 4:30am shuttle to Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. Our flight arrived in Guadalajara on time at 1:50pm. This is where my nervousness kicked in. We have all these medical supplies and I’m always concerned the bags will be searched and confiscated. I had documentation for our legitimate charity support, that these donated items are expected by Don Sergio... all in Spanish... but I'm never sure if it will be enough. When one is carrying many items of the same thing, customs might think you are bringing things to sell under the table. I tried to relax by telling jokes to Kathleen.

The Guadalajara customs is a bit more sophisticated than the tiny Tuxtla Gutierrez airport that I'm used to. They x-rayed all our bags and of course started asking questions like, “What’s in your bags?” I explained our purpose and showed my documentation. Most of the customs people were women and seemed interested in our reason for coming to Mexico. One mature customs official, a man, came over and started asking questions. I showed him my documents and he was the only one that read them. As he looked through our bags a young fellow walked up and barely looked through our papers and started telling me I should not bring these items to Mexico without the consulate's permission (I was later to decipher). He was stern and I thought he was going to confiscate it all. Fortunately, the mature man intervened and brushed off the youngster. Once they went through two of our four bags they let us pass... but not before we pressed the red light/green light button.

In any Mexico customs you have to press a button and a light that's like a street light comes on. If it is green, that means pasa le, go ahead through and you won’t have your bags searched. If it is red, that means stop and all your bags are going to be searched.

I pressed… RED light. Kathleen pressed…RED light! The customs people laughed and went through all four bags and then our personals. I smiled and giggled… for some reason the whole thing was funny. Kathleen, la gringa, held the smoothest poker face you’d ever seen! The power of my mother’s prayers is astounding, no?! Getting through customs was my biggest concern.

Baggage tightly packed and through customs!

Our baggage was collected by a maletero and got us to a taxi and off we go to Central Camionero (main bus station) to catch an ETN bus to San Miguel de Allende. We knew there was a slim chance we’d catch the last bus going to SMA but we had good mojo with us today and we bought the last two seats and the bus was leaving in 15 minutes!

It was a long bus ride and Kathleen and I had to take separate seats; she was up front and I was in the back. Close to the end of our journey I chatted with a young lady from Poland who was visiting Mexico and on her way to the city of Guanajuato. She gave me a good history of Poland and told me that this was her first trip to Mexico. I told her about our trip, Don Sergio, Chiapas, and its beauty. It sounded like she's on a fairly small budget as she's staying in hostels. To my surprise as she gathered her things to get off in Guanajuato she gave me 100 pesos to donate to Sergio. I don't know why but I'm always amazed at the generosity people show spontaneously.

This is not your Greyhound bus... comfy luxurious bus! Five hours to San Miguel.

We arrived in San Miguel safely by 8:30pm. A nine-year-old malatero gathered our bags and took us to the taxi row. The next driver up saw our bags and had a face of "You're kidding... all those bags". I asked if he could take us to our hosts' house and without enthusiasm, "Si quepan," (if the bags will fit). I saw the other taxis and all were tiny cars. We made the bags fit and I had to half sit on Kathleen's lap. We arrived at Louise's house (our kind host) and she had a turkey salad waiting for us. We chatted with her and her friend Leslie and felt right at home. She has a charity, Casita Linda, that she is devoted to that is similar to Habitat for Humanity... again, there are many kind people in the world helping others.

The garden at our host's house in San Miguel de Allende. When I see homes like this I wonder, why we don't live in Mexico.

Posted by Patricia Ferrer

Monday October 24, 2011 – San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato

In Transit to San Cristóbal

Part I

After several months of planning this sixth trip to San Cristóbal – el viaje a San Cristóbal – and we are finally on our way. This last week of packing the medical supplies has been more challenging than ever. Comrade, Kathleen McLoughlin, a physical therapist and fellow Clinica Amistad volunteer, is accompanying me this trip. We have trimmed our each of four unsightly suitcases to just under 50 pounds… a feather will tip the scale into the higher checked baggage range.

Ninety six tubes of triple antibiotic donated by my Mom!


Supplies before packing.

First Stop: San Miguel de Allende

This trip to Chiapas has a side stop in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. Avid Sergio Castro supporters Mary Murrell and her husband Ivan have put together a fund raising event to present Sergio’s humanitarian work to the residents of San Miguel.

The producer and director of the film, El Andalon, Consuelo Alba and John Speyer will be in attendance as will be Betsy McNair, owner of from My Mexico Tours and her friend Jane. And, to my extreme surprise, Don Sergio and his wife Elsa will be there! I once asked Sergio if he would be interested in coming to the US and he flat out said he cannot leave San Cristóbal. This has to be Don Sergio’s first vacation in decades, if ever.

The documentary about Don Sergio, El Andalon, will be showing at the Angela Peralta Theater in SMA October 25^th, at 7pm. Tickets are $150 pesos (~10.30USD). On Wednesday, October 26^th, Mary has arranged a reception exhibiting some unique textiles from his museum. This will be in Sala Quetzal at 7:15 pm and tickets are at the Biblioteca box office for $250 pesos. Profits go to Yok Chij, A. C. which supports Don Sergio's work. Don Sergio will be in attendance for both.

Tucson Friends

Jim and Carol from Tucson.

Since my last trip in May I’ve had the pleasure of meeting two wonderful people: Carol and Jim who love everything about Mexico. They have kindly shared their support for Don Sergio after seeing El Andalon, which was shown to them by their friends Janet and Barbara. Thanks to Betsy McNair, who corresponded with Janet, I sent them a copy of El Andalon and a circle of kindness has been created. Carol and Jim live close to us and Carol, a retired Spanish teacher, has given her time generously with Spanish lessons for me. I am spoiled with one-on-one classes in her Mexican style home. Thank you Janet, Barbara, Carol, Jim and please tell your neighbors thank you por el apoyo también (for the support).

Janet and her sister Barbara.

Our neighbors, Sue and Jerome always make it a point to come by and give a donation for Sergio days before my departure. !Muchisimas gracias!

Our neighbors: The Kings!

Thank you World Care

Again, the success of this trip is in great part due to World Care, a non-profit organization that is basically a recycling center of much needed goods (medical, educational) for third world countries. The medical supplies we are taking have been carefully collected over the last six months. Not everything we need is available at one time so multiple trips have to be made. Lisa Hopper’s staff (referred to as the "Pats" – there being five Pats there, Bernadette, and the gang) have been incredibly helpful in putting aside items they know only we would need and holding them for me. Their supplies and support are invaluable for Sergio and his patients. They also provide supplies for Clinica Amistad. If you live in Tucson and want to donate locally, check out World Care!

Thank you Maricopa Burn Center

This summer and fall I was able to see first world burn care given at its highest standards. I spent two days at The Maricopa Burn Center in Phoenix with the help of their outreach educational nurse, RN Suzanne. Their staff is very supportive in helping to educate providers that go abroad and that are abroad. This is Arizona’s only verified burn center and the quality of care they provide is outstanding. Depending on the extent of burn injuries, when these patients are all admitted a long-term relationship is established. All aspects of burn care are addressed: pain control, proper bandage changing, fluid control, social work, diet, physical therapy, occupational therapy, immediate and post burn surgeries (grafting, burn scar corrections, etc). This has put a light on the limitations Don Sergio faces daily due to lack of resources, however he provides the basics which is better than nothing.

Thank you St. Mary’s Wound Care Center and NW Medical Wound Care Center

There are two wound care centers in Tucson and both offer top-notch care for chronic wounds – the same type of wounds Sergio encounters daily (diabetic ulcers, venous stasis ulcer, injuries etc). Dr. Quick at St. Mary’s and Dr. Bolhack at NW Medical shared their knowledge and the importance of basic healing techniques of chronic and recalcitrant wounds regardless of pricey dressings. This training helped me to know better how to choose the items needed; hence I could order more items that will yield greater benefit to Sergio’s patients. Although in Chiapas we don’t have half of what we need, their shared skill is very helpful.

Gracias a mis padres (A thanks to my parents)

I always sense concern from my parents when traveling to Mexico. Both parents were born in the US and Spanish is their first language. They’ve heard all the unfortunate stories and problems in Mexico from their parents. As a young adult my father made a trip back to Mexico and experienced firsthand the truth of some of those stories. I wish they could see and experience the true beauty of Mexico and their people, in spite of the problems. Their concern is not without reason, but we are careful and safe, and their prayers and blessings are gratefully appreciated.

Summer Work

August 17, 2011

Our May visit with Don Sergio was very productive as Kieu and I are able to expand the "needs assessment plan" for our future visits to better help those that Don Sergio cares for. Several of the patients had medical issues other than burns and wounds. There were children with fever, elderly with joint pain, skin rashes, and a myriad of female issues. Since we are female, the indigenous women are not shy to seek our help. Some of the problems we could address and treat, others we had to refer to the social medicine system. It seems overall we had about 125 patient visits per week (including the wound and burn care patients).

So, back in the US our focus continues to raise funding to keep Don Sergio going. Since returning in April El Andalon has been shown at several film festivals:

Chicago Latino Film Festival
Arizona International Film Festival - Won Best Short Documentary
Santa Cruz Film Festival - Won Best Short Documentary

As of this posting, El Andalon has been accepted to the United Nations Association Film Festival and the San Francisco Latino Film Festival. In addition, avid Sergio Castro supporter Mary Murrell, who lives in San Miguel de Allende (aka SMA), Guanajuato, Mexico, is organizing a screening of El Andalon on October 25th, in the historic Angela Peralta Theater. Don Sergio and his wife Elsa will be in attendance.

Meanwhile, Don Sergio and I want to give a big thank you to the Glenbrook South HS students for their fund raising drive that provided five and a half weeks of much needed medical supplies. Per their teacher, Veronica Reyes, the students saw El Andalon at the Chicago Latino Film Festival and told her, the film gives them "hope that there are those that do good in the world".





Every peso helps. San Cristóbal receives many tourists and a majority are from Europe. Unfortunately, with the global financial crisis, fewer and fewer tourists are visiting this enchanting colonial city and all that depend on tourism are hurting. Hence, your donations are very much appreciated!

Whenever donations are received via Paypal or directly to me, I send the funds and contact Don Sergio and explain to him where the donations come from. He always expresses to me his sincere gratitude to "todos mis amigos de los Estados Unidos". He is so grateful of everyone's support. Also, to the donors, please know ALL YOUR DONATIONS GO DIRECTLY TO DON SERGIO (minus Paypal fees, which run 3% from the US and 4% from outside).

My next trip is planned for the end of October and I will be accompanied by a Clinica Amistad (our free clinic in Tucson for the uninsured) comrade who has experience in wound and burn care as well as physical therapy experience for burn patients. She and I plan to take as much as we possibly can from World Care and other medical supply donors. We, too, will stop in San Miguel prior to going to San Cristóbal. My dear friend Bela, host of Bela's B and B, provides our lodging as she too does all she can to support Don Sergio's work (see Trip Advisor comments.)

A special thank you to Consuelo Alba and John Speyer for creating El Andalon and presenting Don Sergio's story to the film world. For more information please go to Veremos Productions.

Posted by Patricia Ferrer, PA-C in Tucson, AZ.

San Cristóbal - It's a Hard Life

March 30, 2011

On my final two days our driver finally shows and we don't have to find and change taxis anymore. When I mention that we have a driver it's not like a limo, but someone who drives us around in whatever vehicle they have. This particular model comes with an extra-large stellated crack on the passenger side windshield with no backseat seat belts and missing a few hubs.


My backpack is kept in a side room at Sergio's museo and the light switch is a little faulty so Sergio decides to ditch the switch. He connects two hotwires to turn on the light.

As we were departing for the day, the mother with her young child from Teopisca came running to stop our car. She brought the child from Teopisca so we could change her bandages. It is quite a trek for her as she had to catch a collectivo (probably a public transportation Volkswagon van) and probably a taxi ride too which could be more costly.

After being here a while you get immune to seeing the military trucks loaded with soldiers and guns. I never know where they're going, what they're doing and why there are so many.


When I first saw a woman street sweeper I thought, "Surely men do this task as well". I made it a point to pay attention and the only employees I saw cleaning the streets or picking up the trash were women, although Bela assured me that men do it to - it is civil service and actually does pay a pension someday. I do like the broom though.



On our way to Nishnamtic we stopped at an abarrotes (grocery store) so Sergio could by candy for the two-year-old boy we're treating. I needed to empty my bladder and it was either this or the road-side option. At least there was an option as there is a beautiful roadside rest-stop between Tucson and Phoenix that is completely closed down.


Coming back from Nishnamtic, we stop and see the 14-year-old. His parents have yet to buy him crutches so he can get around better. They must not have the money so he uses a broom stick as support and hops on one leg for ambulation.

Returning to the museum we see a fresh blob of concrete with the label "Sapam" impressed on it. Sergio explains that the water company turned off the water. He said he's paid the bill but there seems to be a discrepancy and he's tired of arguing with them. They left the large rock they extracted in the sidewalk for someone (me) to trip over.


So, we use a bucket of water to wash our hands and dump water in the toilet to flush. Sergio rents the museum for 5,000 pesos per month. The rent a year ago was 3000 pesos per month: a hiked up price of 60%. It is hard to believe that one can do this knowing that Sergio give so much to the community, but it seems;.. it's just business.


The free range animals are always hungry and have their noses to the ground. It was nice to see this pair taking a rest in the shade.


Life is not hard for everyone in Mexico. Anyone with modest financial security can live a high-quality life in a nice colonial home, maid included. Not all indigenous are poor as they live off the land and food is available most the time (in the good times). They just don't have any money to buy things and they barter instead. In my opinion, it is when people don't have access to an adequate diet, an opportunity for good education, access to clean water and access to healthcare of all types and especially for injuries such as burns or accidents then that is when the poverty reveals itself.

Sergio relieves this stress by going to their homes and providing wound care for them or their loved ones. It is the donations from his museo and donations from those who support his work that allow Sergio to reduce the burden and bring relief and healing to lives of those in need.

If you are looking for a cause to support, Sergio Castro, the Maverick Humanitarian would be highly worthy cause. All funds go to Sergio Castro minus PayPal fees. Any amount is appreciated. Thank you.

Posted by Patricia Ferrer, PA-C.