Week Two – Saturday's blog

/in /by CAMTA

CAMTA participates in an Academic Conference!

For the first time ever, CAMTA participated in a knowledge sharing academic conference organized by the administration of Un Canto a La Vida hospital. The event had approximately 150 attendees, including the Chief of Orthopedics at Un Canto a La Vida hospital, family doctors, physiotherapists and nurses from in and around Quito. The event was held at the Un Canto a la Vida hospital hospital from 8AM to 1PM.

The conference was an opportunity to share knowledge and answer questions about common orthopedic conditions. A local anesthesiologist gave a talk on pain management and a local nurse spoke about aseptic techniques in wards and operating rooms. CAMTA volunteers and orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Marc Moreau, Dr. Jay Jarvis and Dr. Jamie Carvajal Alba gave 40-minute talks on pediatric elbow fractures, pediatric hip dysplasia and reconstructive total hip surgery. Translator Francisco Gallardo assisted in translating the talks to Spanish. Each talk was followed by a question and answer period.

The event was greatly appreciated and towards the end, topics for the next conference were suggested by the attendees. CAMTA hopes to participate in this academic conference annually!

Week 2 Team arrives in Quito!

The Week 2 team was up early on Friday night and gathered at the Edmonton Airport at 3:30am. The team had a long travel day ahead! The first leg of the journey was to Houston and then the team boarded another flight to Quito, Ecuador. The Week 2 team arrived in Quito after a 22-hour journey. Two buses were waiting at the airport to take the team and their bags to the Quito Radisson. When we all arrived at the hotel late at night, we received a warm welcome from the Week 1 team in the lobby along with a buffet of fresh fruit and cookies for 2am snacking!

After Friday's long day of travel, the Week 2 team had an easy day to unwind before the work began. The Week 2 CAMTA volunteers got to spend some time together and become accustomed to the high altitude of 2800 meters above sea level! Quito is the highest altitude capital city in the world.

(Left) CAMTA volunteers Karen Calhoun, Rebecca Day and Rachelle Lonneberg at the market in Otavalo 

Some of the team rested at the hotel preparing for the week ahead. Others went on organized tours to an outdoor market in Otavalo and some spent time relaxing in the hot springs at Papallacta in the countryside.The adventure continued on the journey back from Papallacta when our bus was held up for an hour on a mountain road due to a rock slide!

(Right) Rockslide on the the mountain road creates a traffic jam on the way back from Papallacta

All teams made it back to the hotel in time for a group dinner to kick-off Week 2 of the mission. 

Week 1 & 2 Meet and Greet!

 Saturday night was special because both Week 1 and Week 2 teams were in Quito. An appreciation dinner was organized for the 100+ CAMTA volunteers who are a part of the 2015 mission. A wonderful meal was served, and the teams got a chance to get to know each other. During dinner, a cultural performance featuring local musicians and dancers with beautiful, exotic costumes was presented.

 

 

After dinner, the volunteers were recognized for their work with CAMTA. Volunteers who are on their first CAMTA Mission this year were asked to stand up so the group could welcome the new faces! There was applause and cheers all around. Then, volunteers who have been on one, then two, then three all the way to fourteen missions were asked to stand up and were appreciated by the team as the cheering and applause continued! It was very impressive to see the dedication of all the CAMTA volunteers! There were many returning volunteers, including some who have been with CAMTA for 10+ years! Dr. Patricia Jarrin, brigade leader and plastic surgeon, recognized the volunteers for their contributions to CAMTA and Quito. 

 

The night brought the entire 2015 CAMTA team together, and gave all the volunteers a chance to get to know each other. The volunteers shared stories and experiences from the first week of the mission, and Week 2 volunteers were energized to get to work!

Week 1 team… thanks for your hard work!

Week 2 Team is excited to get started