| After acclimation in Antigua and Valhalla, Jeff and I embarked on a journey to Proyecto Vida, an AIDS clinic in Coatepeque, a small city on the coastal plain, beyond the western highlands. To reach our destination we took two one-day trips, the first to Quetzeltenango (Xela), the second-largest city in Guatemala, which has retained its highland village character. We arrived after four hours of swaying, climbing, and cramping on Guatemala�s most notorious attraction, the chicken bus. These retired schoolbuses, reborn into public transport service, are ornately adorned and operated through faith and bailing wire. I never quite understood whether they got their name from typical cargo, the compressed loading of passengers, or the favorite road game of the drivers. Needless to say, despite the glorious passing vistas, the greatest pleasure was in arriving safely. We spent the day in Xela shopping in the central park and enjoying the festive performances before repeating the same odyssey the following day. I felt like a diver reaching stages of decompression before final destination. Jeff continued to inform me on each step of our journey, revisiting his past trips and remarking on the changes that had taken place over time. His distracting tales became a good medicine for my overloaded, jostled bladder. In Caotepeque we caught a cab at the bus depot to Proyecto Vida and were met by Coordinadora General, Dee Smith. Jeff and Dee spent time catching up on news and Jeff delivered some research materials and water purification supplies he brought in fulfillment of the mission of his organization, MAHAPCA (Meso-American Health Assistance Project of California). MAHAPCA�s mission is, as stated, to help enhance health, particularly related to HIV/AIDS, in Guatemala and other Central American countries, through resources in California. Jeff had brought some material resources, but he had also brought me, a human resource who had come equipped with skills to help alleviate suffering and maintain vital health through intrinsic (internal) healing modalities. The conversation then turned to the services I could provide the Clinic. I told Dee of methods I could teach for pain management, immune support, and trauma intervention. She asked if I offered any help with stress management for her staff. I realized that even here, at the seeming end of the earth, the demands on providers played a critical role in patient care. Dee invited Jeff to speak to a group the next day about treatment, then helped us to get settled with a nice hotel and dinner. The next morning Jeff and I made our way to the clinic. As we were entering the clinic a cab arrived, delivering an older village woman and a teenaged woman whose arm was in a sling. During introductions we were informed that the young woman had been raped by two men the night before and was brought to the clinic for AIDS testing and support. After the dramatic report, she was taken from the group room to see the doctor. Within a few minutes Dee arrived at the door and called me out of the meeting. She briefed me on the young woman�s condition and asked my advice on intervention. Dee had told me that she practiced Reiki, Japanese hands-on healing. I recommended that she give a gentle Reiki treatment to reorient and restore the sense of human contact and give suggestions that healing would occur over time to both her arm and her heart. We met later for lunch. Dee reported that she had done as I suggested and told the young woman to place her hand on her heart each day and say �I am a beautiful person and God loves me.� Dee said that the young woman and her mother were smiling when they left. We made a promise to Dee and the Proyecto Vida staff to return and teach these methods and many more to both patients and staff. Jeff and I returned to Los Angeles to gather resources and establish the Four Jaguars Foundation, a coalition between our agencies and those we have partnered with in Guatemala. Together we will work to fulfill our common missions to enhance the quality of life for Guatemalans, especially those affected by HIV/AIDS. |