Valeri, one special patient

Not to say that one patient is more important than another at the clinic, but when you have endless follow consults with specialists in Santa Cruz with one patient, you get to know several of them pretty well. That's how I met Valeri Gonzalez Dominguez. Interested in knowing more about what goes on here? Well, we have an official website! We update it four times a year with updates about what's new at the clinic, highlighting patients that have received care or have yet to be diagnosed completely.

Here's the link, feel free to take a look at it: Centro Médico Humberto Parra Newsletter. (yes I'm doing a little bit of advertising... We're always looking for more help or more doctors that are interested in coming down!)

And here's the article I wrote about Valeri.

Valeri Gonzalez Dominguez, an 11 year-old girl from nearby Buena Vista, is one of the first patients I have had the chance to meet and follow through clinic visits and many consults at the Santa Cruz public hospital. Valeri had been coming to the clinic for several years, mainly for "bichos" (parasites) treatment and occasionally for back pain, a complaint for which it seems nothing was done. This January, she was seen by the pediatric resident at the clinic, who immediately noticed the very obvious scoliosis. Her spine had a curve of about thirty degrees! Even with no medical background, it was apparent something needed to be done.

I first met her and her family at Hospital Japonés. I had never seen her before that morning but immediately noticed her huge smile that went from ear to ear.  She was followed by her mother and two brothers. That morning, along with every morning after that, she seemed to be enjoying her day around me and Alice. During the long waits in the hospital, I would always ask her, myself exhausted, "Como estas? Aburrida?" (How are you today? Bored?), to which she would respond, shyly and softly, "No. Bien." (No. I'm good.) Valeri never complained about the endless hours in the waiting room. She would just pass the time playing with my hair, quietly humming to herself, or bothering her brothers.

It has been a frustrating couple weeks with Valeri. Some doctors did not notice the scoliosis. Others suggested the pain was simply muscular pain, easily treated with ibuprofen. But the curvature of her spine is so severe it causes pain for her to simply stand. Because she has not hit puberty yet, non-surgical intervention may still be possible. After bouncing around from doctor to doctor, all prescribing different treatments, I think we may finally have come to our final stop-- Dr. Crespo,  a thoracic surgeon at Hospital Japonés. Within the next few weeks, her future will become clearer, and hopefully much less painful.

Even once the foundation has done all they can for Valeri, I will never forget our goodbyes after the long mornings at Japonés. It was always "Hasta luego!" (See you later!) from me, "Ciao!" from her, followed by a big wet kiss on my cheek, then skipping away to catch up with the rest of her family.

I know Valeri will not be the last patient I get to know, find a treatment for, and then never see him/her again. But it feels good to be able to help many that would otherwise most likely not receive medical care.  (I'll post a picture of her at our next consult. She's a cute kid =])