boe4fun
Super Nomad
Posts: 1040
Registered: 1-22-2006
Location: Margaritaville
Member Is Offline
Mood: Circling the drain........
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La Paz clinic
Well, it’s been about 2 1/2 years since I’ve been to La Paz for our semi annual clinic due to Covid. Because I’ve been vaxed and boosted I felt
pretty safe attending this one, although one of our patients could not keep her second appointment because she came down with the Covid virus. After
the clinic I returned to Bahía Asunción to decompress. Once I was sure I was OK with no symptoms I returned back to the US and will get my second
booster just in case. I crossed at Tecate with my one ton GMC pickup truck with my 8’ Alaskan camper installed. I must have had about $20 K in
supplies and used parts for the clinic squirreled away from the prying eyes of Aduana, but had 4 letters from the Rotarians and Mexican government
agencies explaining what the stuff was for just in case I was hassled by authorities.
Because we original founders are getting on in years, we’ve found some new blood to carry on with the clinic. Doug and Garth are both certified in
Prosthetics and Orthotics and Zenon is a well rounded technician. I arrived at this clinic two days early to clean up and organize. The clinic started
full bore on Saturday, April 2nd, and Doug, Garth, and Zenon worked until the middle/latter part of the following week. Brad, Louise, Dr. Bob, and Jim
arrived a couple of days before the other group left, so we had a couple of days of overlap to smooth the continuity.
We all worked a total of 11 actual days, and casted/measured, fabricated, fit, delivered, and gait trained 23 patients. Mostly they were below the
knee amputees with a few above the knee amputees thrown in along with one hip disarticulation amputee. That’s an average of about 2 prostheses per
day, not to mention the number of patients that we saw who didn’t necessarily need a new socket for their prosthesis, but still required adjustments
to their current legs by adding padding to accommodate atrophic changes to their residual limb, providing new liners, stump socks, new endoskeletal
components when necessary, etc.
In addition we fit a few lower limb orthotic symptoms for some kids with Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, and other congenital and non congenital
conditions.
I gotta say we all worked our butts off, but one of the highlights of the trip was when a pair of Rotarians took us out on a 64’ boat to enjoy a day
on the water. We went to Balandra Beach, had a wonderful lunch and dinner, and got to watch a beautiful sunset (no green flash as Steinbeck described
though!).
All in all a great clinic and a wonderful time spent with our amigos in La Paz.
I managed to go out with Shari Bondy on her last day of whale watching for this season (google Whale Magic Tours), and
I spent several days both before and after the clinic at our trailer in Bahía Asunción enjoying the local flavor. Don Ramon’s fish and shrimp
tacos are some of the best on the peninsula, and the Casita de hamburguesas has burgers to die for. Mex. 1 was in pretty good shape, with the few
usual potholes here and there, although none big enough or deep enough to require their own zip code.
Coming back up Mex. 5 and through La Rumerosa to the Tecate border was uneventful, and crossing on a Thursday at noon was a good choice with only a 20
minute wait time. BUT, when I was second in line to cross, the Mexican authorities turned back a gringo in an older cabover camper in front of me. The
border guard said he was turned back due to lack of official paperwork on his camper (not the truck). She asked if I had had a problem when I crossed
a month before, but I had no issues. So this is just a heads up for anybody trying to cross with a slide in camper mounted on their pickup.
Two dirt roads diverged in Baja and I, I took the one less graveled by......
Soy ignorante, apático y ambivalente. No lo sé y no me importa, ni modo.
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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
Posts: 13196
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
Member Is Offline
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What a truly wonderful report! I remember touring the La Paz facility - it is just amazing what you do.
The best news is that you have new blood to carry on! Please ask them to join BajaNomad so that they continue to share the stories.
Thanks so much for making such a huge impact and for giving us a glimpse into your La Paz.
And way back in the day, you brought down a donation, just want to thank you again!
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