Monday, November 12, 2007

Making plans for Guatemala travel

Friday morning, I received a static-filled phone call from Jorge, an interpreter-friend from my Guatemala trip earlier this year. Jorge is awaiting surgery in a Guatemala City hospital following what sounds like a random shooting last Thursday morning. He was hit in the shoulder by a bullet while riding on one of the school-bus-like shuttles that one sees all over the country. Glass from the window is embedded in the right side of his face and he jokes that it makes him look like he has teenage acne. The troubling part of his injury is that the bullet ended up near his spine at the base of his neck and he is experiencing numbness in some of his extremities.

Doctors are delaying surgery until more of the swelling subsides and all signs of infection are under control. Jorge seems to think that they will attempt to remove the bullet later next week. He asked if there is anyway I could be there to help with his wife and son. I somehow knew the question was coming before he asked.

Wednesday morning, I'll be at the airport around 4:00AM for an early morning of security scans and to make the hop via Houston to Guatemala City so that I can arrive in the middle of the day. The ongoing airport construction in Guatemala City has made a mess of things and those messes are exacerbated by the craziness of morning traffic around the airport. The bag of post-op supplies that I am carrying is something that may raise a few eyebrows but my physician friends advise me that they shouldn't be a problem.

Please pray for Jorge. He is a marvelous translator with a heart of gold. He (and others like him) perform valuable services to volunteer teams in and around Guatemala City. It grieves me immensely to know that he is hurt and that he may be facing a long recovery.

Blogging for the next several days may be a challenge. There are a number of last-minute items I have to address before departure. TBC Elder has agreed to step up with some help from our able-bodied blog-tech person. He has also agreed to make an extra effort to constrain his crotchety comments and keep things civil while I am away. I'll find an internet cafe somewhere to check in every once in a while.

I covet your prayers for a successful surgery and a rapid recovery for Jorge.

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