MedEvac - February 2, 2008

Vera, a Belgian midwife and volunteer working with Vivir en Amor (Live in Love) in the very remote Mayan village of Pojom (Pohome), called us to see if we could help transport a pregnant Mayan woman, her patient, to Huehuetengano (Way-way-tenango) for treatment of preclampsia. This potentially deadly condition affects some women late in their pregnancy and prompt treatment is always advisable. We happily agreed to do the flight.

The nearest airstrip, in Ixquisis, was several miles away from Pojom. The road between them was frequently so bad that people had to walk over a very tall ridge that separates the two villages. Today, however, the road was open and that was a very good thing for Vera and her patient! A tough 4-wheel-drive pick-up could make the trip. I flew from our small village of Mayalan to Ixquisis where Vera met me with the patient and her family. We completed the flight to Huehue in under an hour. This would otherwise have been a grueling, bone-jaring eight-hour trip by road.

Getting serious patients like this to the hospital before they are gravely ill is an important aspect of our service. Vera has made other calls in the past and we are very happy to know she is there, looking out for her patients. Vivir en Amor is a Belgian based charity that has really done a lot to support Great Commission Air and to serve the people they live with, providing medical clinics and midwife care.

A map is included here that shows where Ixquisis is relative to Huehuetenango and our home. The red mark to the north is Ixquisis, the one to the south is Huehuetenango. The green house south-east of Ixquisis is our village, Mayalan.

The other yellow marks are airstrips that we serve. The blue ones are airstrips that we have served at one time. Green ones are "newly repaired" airstrips.


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