Visit accomplished! We went in again today and we were waiting in the corridor for visiting time. Miguel was having a little walk before lunch and when he saw Luke, his face lit up. It was so special. Then he embraced us both and invited us to the ward. Luke presented his English Certificate to him and he was delighted. I then gave Miguel our small gift of biscuits. He didn't open the gift but we had chosen a tin of biscuits with butterflies on it. Miguel was a collector of 'butterflies' from all over the world and at some stage in his life, had to leave this collection behind. We hoped that the humble tin of biscuits would remind him of good times.He was in good form and he is now having injections for five days to determine whether they will operate. His own doctor doesn't want to operate but Miguel indicated to us that there is a lump in his groin. He is such a gentleman and we intend to support him as much as we can through this difficult time. He is staying in the hospital on Av. Grau as it is very hard to get a bed. We gather that his wife and son and daughter visit on the weekend. His wife lives at their apartment in Lima and Miguel is in Montenegro, He told us that his wife is in Lima supporting the children. One, the son is a lawyer and the daughter is also studying to become a lawyer. We really don't know the whole story but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that we can give this man our love, our prayers and our support. As we came away from that dreary, old-fashioned hospital we thanked God that we live in Australia. I think it is the impact of so many human beings needing care; it is full on and overwhelming. How fortunate we are! We will continue to visit and make sure Miguel knows we are there to help him through this difficult time without imposing on him or his family.
Luke's impression...
Yesterday we visited Hospital Guillermo Almenara in Avenida Grau, a huge public hospital on the edge of Lima’s Central Business District. It was the second visit in two days, the day before we found out on arrival that it was not a visiting day! The reason was to visit one of our English students, Miguel, and to present him with his certificate. Miguel is a delightful man, a perfect gentleman, and a man who in his own words said to us that we should not worry because ‘I believe in God’. However, the medical people have discovered a malignant tumour behind his knee and they are presently deciding whether to operate or not. In the meantime Miguel awaits their decision in hospital.
He has a wife and family; however, due to their work and study commitments they find it almost impossible to manage their free time to coincide with the strict hospital visiting hours of 2.00 p.m. till 4.00 p.m., three afternoons a week! Weekend times are a little easier, 2.00 p.m. till 5.00 p.m.!
He has already been two weeks in the hospital. I am sure that the hospital staff work very hard in caring for their patients, nevertheless, the conditions are tough in the area we visited. Small, open ward areas off the main corridor, eight beds in each area with enough room for a chair and personal locker between each bed. We even noticed that in some areas men and women shared the same area. He told us that beds are at a real premium and when one comes up you just have to take it. At least he has no costs to cover due to the fact that he paid medical insurance all through his working life.
The whole experience made me reflect on how lucky I was to be able to be hospitalised in the Clinica International!
Just to see his face when we arrived with his certificate and other small gifts was worth every minute of the bus journey. Even when we departed he escorted us to the entrance and gave us both a huge embrace.
We must return in order to supply him with some English reading material or even CD’s from the English/Spanish course. His English is very good; however, he really wants to learn more and more.
We hope and pray that he news in the future will be good for Miguel.
Miguel is on the far left of the photo, this was the night that we presented them with their Spanish/English dictionaries.
