It feels like so long since I have posted here! I have been in Guyana, a little known country on the north coast of South America. I am getting to know the ins and outs of Guyana this summer- the mosquitos, the humidity, the start-and-stop flash floods, the crazy driving, the culture, the community, the healthcare system, the politics, and of course, the people. The people, community and culture here have made the greatest impression on me- the Guyanese community is one of such kindness, generosity and support. Even people who have left for years and decades can come back and feel right at home, with warm welcomes. Restaurants will give people on the streets something to eat if they go into the restaurant hungry. When something happens to a family, the whole community is there to support them.

The people are so beautiful. They have such beautiful hearts. 

Yet, at the same time, there is such a sense of hopelessness, poverty, desperation, even inhumanity at times. During my stay here, I have spent some time at Georgetown Hospital, one of the main hospitals in Guyana. I was shocked at the conditions of some of the wards (60 beds in one windy room, full of TB/ pneumonia/ HIV/ everything patients... no clean drinking water available to patients.. ), I saw people who tried to end their lives in ways I had never heard of before (like ingesting formalin or weedicide), and I was in awe at the physical resilience of Guyanese patients- I found myself thinking over and over, "How did they survive that??"  Some of these extremely resilient patients were these Baby Heart patients pictured below- kids with heart diseases that would normally (in other parts of the world) require surgery by a few months of age to survive. Many of these kids were much older-- 7 years, 12 years... they looked so much younger than their actual age because of the unresolved heart disease, but it was a miracle that they were able to live for so long with the wrong vessels attached to the wrong side of the heart or with holes in their heart for years! 

I had the privilege of meeting these *adorable* patients and their families (and taking photos of those who wanted photos). The families showed me pictures of their day-to-day lives, they shared stories about their babies turning blue, they shared about their hopes and fears, and about how thankful they were to receive this care from the Baby Heart group. Some even invited me over to visit them once they are discharged (again- such a warm and welcoming people!).

These kids and other patients here deserve the same hope, the same opportunity to live a full life as people in other parts of the world.. and it pains me to see so many people here not receiving the care they need because of lack of some basic medications or procedures, or being overlooked due to lack of organization in the hospital.  It is so heartbreaking to see so many patients present with attempted suicide, and patients (such as HIV+ patients) receiving their *free* medication yet not taking care of themselves...slowly (or sometimes quickly) destroying their bodies and their lives.

I was so happy to see these kids receive another chance to live a beautiful life. I hope and pray for these patients- and for all those who are sick or suffering in Guyana- to have hope, to have another chance (even if it is giving themselves another chance).