Tonight is our second night at the clinic in Palacios, about 100 kilometers from Santa Cruz. After seeing patients at the village health post in Arboleda yesterday we drove to the bridge and walked about 1 km to the clinic. It hasn’t rained for at least 10 days, so the road was dry and the trek to the clinic was painless. The weather couldn't be any better--all week we've had temps in the mid-80s and blue skies. Joe (the undergrad volunteer here for the summer) was hell-bent on getting the internet to work out here so that he could write to his girlfriend.
Today Bolivians celebrated Corpus Christi, a holiday I had never heard of. The kids were all out of school and the stores were closed.
Marco Antonio, the 11 year old patient from last week, was immediately hospitalized at the main public hospital in Santa Cruz, Hospital Japones (built by the Japanese government). The pediatrician who saw him Friday morning ordered a bunch of lab tests, and said she felt it was likely he had a type of cancer, probably lymphoma. Then on Saturday we found out he was diagnosed with coccidioidomycosis (aka valley fever), a fungal infection. Joe, the college student who is here volunteering for the summer, bought him a story book, and David brought cards so that we could stay and keep him busy for a bit. On Monday he was on oxygen and appeared to be in more pain when he sat up. We came to see him while the doctor was doing rounds, and he let us know that we weren't welcome while he was there. We left for Palacios yesterday before I got all of my questions answered about his medical status, so I hope things turn around before I get back tomorrow.
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