By Mary Hastings Vatterott, Belize2020 Health Committee
I worked the last two weeks of January at the Hillside Clinic in Belize. While there, I visited the Mayan Ruins at Lim Ni Punit in Indian Creek, Belize. There, I met a young man who was limping and wearing sandals because of an obvious large growth on his foot. I inquired about this, he showed me, and I took pictures. I told him to come see me later that week at the Hillside Clinic, which he did.
View from Hillside Clinic in Toledo District, Belize.
It turns out this 21-year-old man had the tumor for 15 years, since he was seven years old. He had been to different places in Belize to get it removed but was told the only solution was to have his lower leg amputated. His family didn’t want this and refused to sign the permission for surgery. He had an MRI and an evaluation done in Belize, but the country didn’t have the resources to take care of him. We left it at that and took his contact information.
When I returned to St. Louis, I searched the different medical mission groups I knew for someone to see him. The World Pediatric Project here in St. Louis had an office in Belize, and when I contacted them, it turned out they had an orthopedic group coming to do surgery in early March! They were able to get his medical records sent electronically to the group of US surgeons, who agreed he was a possible candidate for surgery. He and his brother were set to travel north to Orange Walk with the assistance of Hillside, who helped facilitate my communication with the World Pediatric Project team.
In March, the surgeons successfully removed the tumor, and after a couple of days, Kevin was released from the hospital. His flight back to Punta Gorda was paid for by the Rotary Club. He will follow up with a nurse in Punta Gorda and Hillside Clinic, where he can get Physical Therapy and canes if needed.