Saturday, September 12, 2009

Iquitos--San Jose clinic


an HIV-prevention presentation

Today, we are going to the village of San Jose, across the river from Belen. After our lecture, we move to our HIV, STD and Family Planning desk. Unlike Sector 5 of Belen where we worked yesterday, none of the pregnant women we see from this village have been tested for HIV. About 30 pregnant women are sent to us after they have been seen by one of our doctors. It seems as though the whole village is pregnant. Many women also suffer from STDs. There are others who wish to see us for counseling and testing. An interesting fact: of all the patients we have seen today (about 40), only one is a man. Why? Women generally care more for their health (also because of their frequent pregnancies), though in most cases, the primary reason for their visit is their children's health. Once at the clinic, the women get checked as well. However, this situation may not be the same in each village, as we shall see later, in the villages in the Pacaya-Samiria reserve on the river Marañon where we are going to operate next week.


Belen from the other side of the river


Going to the clinic in San Jose, across the river from Belen



Children of Belen
Posted by at

1 comment:

  1. Melonie and SusanSeptember 12, 2009 at 10:31 PM

    This is wonderful. Thank you for the great work and keeping us informed.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Patient Stories

Juan: A Patient’s Story

During an Amazon Promise clinic in the village of Jerusalen, we met a desperate, emaciated man who was holding the hand of a four-year-old boy with cutely unkempt hair. Having been sick for some time, Juan had come to the village from Iquitos in the hopes of finding some healing in traditional jungle medicine. He was a very humble man who never looked into anyone’s eyes. His son was the shyest of kids. There was tenderness between them. The AP clinic doctors could not find the source of Juan’s fatigue, but suspected that he was in the end stages of HIV/AIDS infection. We offered to help him get back to Iquitos for HIV testing.

In Iquitos, Juan tested HIV positive and broke down. We counseled him about the free antiretroviral treatment he could receive from one of the hospitals. Still, he was convinced that an HIV diagnosis meant certain death. Juan then revealed he had a wife and another child. In fact, he was not afraid to die, but he was petrified that they too might be infected. At the San Juan Health Center in Iquitos, Juan’s wife and their children tested negative, while Juan’s tests confirmed his HIV infection. Again Juan cried, but this time with relief. Nevertheless, his joy was short-lived: he now perceived himself a burden to his family, and craved death. At that point, he could hardly walk. Together with his wife, we counseled him and finally convinced him to start treatment. His wife was very strong, forgiving and caring. They decided to make it together.

Juan entered the free antiretroviral treatment program at the Hospital Regional. Because he was too ill to work, his wife took on an extra shift at her job to make ends meet.

A year later, while we were visiting the same village, an elderly woman spoke without stopping about how fat her son Juan was getting. Then one day Juan rang the bell at the Amazon Promise house in Iquitos. He walked in with muscled arms and a protruding belly, holding his youngest child in his arms and the boy with unkempt hair by the hand. Juan has a full-time job now. He looks people straight in the eye, and talks with great concern about the growing number of HIV patients he sees in the hospital where he receives his treatment. At the moment, he is training to become a volunteer HIV-prevention counselor. Welcome back to the world, Juan.

(The patient’s name has been changed for the sake of confidentiality)

Followers

The Amazing Artists

Our Supporters and Sponsors

Special thanks to:

Barb Erny
Sarah Deem
Robert James Frascino Aids Foundation
Mary and Marie Deem
All Artists
Tessa Shultz
Dawna Holloway

SPACE-K
Matt Janke Catering
Daniel's Catering
All City Coffee
Eastbay Sculpture & lighting Inc