Students' goal to give, not take
Kylie Saari — Sentinel Staff WriterArticle Photos
FAIRMONT - The pictures show it all: the love the nursing students have for helping others; the determination to trek off-road for hours in an unfamiliar country where the language is unfamiliar; the abject poverty in which some of the residents of that country live.
Seven Presentation College nursing students recently returned from a mission trip to Guatemala, where they spent time giving basic health assessments, feeding hungry people, building benches and remembering just why they wanted to be nurses to begin with.
Kendra Miller, McKensie Colby, Rebekah Anderson, Jessica Rabe, Katy Handevidt, Courtney Baumann and Alex Ristau presented a slide show Saturday morning chronicling their trip for the community members who supported them.
"Every morning (in Guatemala) we woke up and it was like, 'I can't believe we are here," said Rabe. "It seemed impossible at first - the money sum looked so big. We couldn't believe we actually got there."
The trip was entirely funded through donations from the community. Beside simply paying for the trip, contributions included clothes, toys, dental hygiene equipment and medicine.
"The purpose of this trip was to give more than take," said Miller.
The students went with Hearts-in-Motion, a non-profit group dedicated to providing care and medical treatment for Guatemalans. For most of their time in the Central American country, the Presentation College students were paired with physician assistants and nursing students from Carroll College in Wisconsin.
During their time there, the women attended to geriatric patients at a day center for the elderly, a nutrition center for children, and homes in far-flung village that otherwise would not see any health care workers.
As they learned about the culture, the students realized not to assume certain knowledge is common when visiting places different from your own.
Handevidt was surprised when she found a young mother she was assessing didn't know it was unsafe to let children run through animal and human feces. Or when Anderson wanted to leave her sandals for a woman eight months pregnant and barefoot with young children, only to find the woman had her own sandals - she simply didn't wear them.
Much of Saturday's presentation revolved around the story of Alaska, an 18-month-old girl living at the nutrition center. The child weighed only 8 pounds, lacked muscle tone in her arms and legs, and could not hold up her head.
While the child suffered some deformity in her hands, it was the opinion of the pediatrician traveling with Hearts-in-Motion that the child was simply that malnourished.
Colby said they learned that the normally black-haired children showed signs of poor nutrition through light streaks in their hair.
"Most of the kids looked like they had highlights," Colby said.
The students, steeped in American medical system schooling, were surprised to find their Guatemalan counterparts inserting IVs into each other for practice, with no gloves. Hospitals had broken down walls, no doors or windows, and much of their equipment didn't work.
"Their trauma room, where someone goes when they are in a life-and-death situation, was basically a place to wait for them to die," Colby said. "They were lucky if they made it out of there."
The trip was an eye-opener for the students, something they will remember as they continue into their fourth year of nursing school.
"It makes you more thoughtful as you go through life," Rabe said.
The trip was not sponsored by Presentation College, but was simply a group of students from the school reaching out to help others. Staff have heard other students talking about a trip similar to the one taken this year, and it may become an annual event.
"We are still working out how it will happen in the future," Miller said.
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DickVitalesHairdresser
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04-20-10 9:34 PM
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Great job, ladies, this is something your whole community can be proud of...and hopefully support your future efforts.
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Kathryn
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04-19-10 1:34 PM
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Is it any wonder these people will do anything to come into our country for a better life? Many of our ancestors came for the same reason. Thank heavens there was no Sheriff Arpeio (sp) when they came. Thanks for these students for trying to make their lives better! Hope the college can help to send more. Education is the key for these nations.
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concernedhuman2
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04-19-10 7:38 AM
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Thank you for starting my day on such a positive note. I feel such pride and love for these students. Thank you for caring and thank you for working to be care providers.
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