About seven hours away from our clinic in Cochabamba lies a village in the rugged terrain of the Bolivian highlands, or “altiplano”, where Agustin calls home. Twenty years ago, his village was engaged in a war with a neighboring village, and he was shot in the leg. Since there were no hospitals, clinics, or for that matter, any medical care available, his family patched him up and tended to him as best they could. Despite their best efforts, the wound developed an infection which moved very quickly up his leg and threatened his life. They rushed Agustin to the nearest hospital three hours away and doctors had no choice but to amputate his leg above the knee. Through a charitable organization, he received funding and had a prosthesis made, but it was poorly constructed and didn’t fit him well. For 20 years he managed to get around on his prosthesis which had become unstable and didn’t function properly. He was forced to use crutches to get around. This became a burden to his family because it limited Agustin to the type of work he could perform, but they did whatever they could to carve out a living to survive.
For 20 years he managed to get around on his prosthesis which had become unstable and didn’t function properly. He was forced to use crutches to get around.
My assistant and friend, Elias, knows Agustin because they grew up in the same village. When Elias visited the village and asked Agustin if he wanted a new leg, he was overjoyed. This was before we were in our clinic at Filadelfia Church and I had all our equipment set up outside in our shed/laundry room. It wasn’t ideal but this setup was going to have to work since we had a client! I’ll be honest, I was nervous at the thought of seeing our first client, but it was more of a nervous excitement, kind of like jumping out of a plane while skydiving. I knew God was faithful and I knew He had called Danée and I to this ministry so I knew He would see us through this.
This setup was going to have to work since we had a client! We were as ready as we would ever be.
Agustin made the seven-hour journey to our home in Cochabamba with his wife, Celia, and daughter. Elias and I got to work with Agustin while Danée spent time getting to know Celia and playing with their daughter. The process of taking measurements and making a plaster casting of his stump took much longer than it should have; given that it was our first client and he lived seven hours away, we wanted to make sure we did everything right. After we were done, we sent them back home with the intention of having Agustin return a week or two later so we could finish the job.
He couldn’t return. One day while working out in the field, his wife Celia was struck by lightning and even though she had survived, she was confined to bed, and he needed to care for her and his family. Elias and I figured that if Agustin couldn’t come to us, then maybe we should go to him. Elias was excited to show me his village and for me to meet his parents anyway. We started planning and recruited Mateo, cousin of Elias, to drive. Mateo was excited to go with us as he was also from the village and wanted to see his family again. Florencio, a local prosthetist, also came along. Florencio has been in the prosthetics field for many years and had been helping us to get started by showing us where to find materials and teaching us many tricks of the trade. We knew he would be invaluable in assisting us with Agustin and he also spoke the local indigenous language, Quechua, the fact of which probably ended up saving our lives (be sure to read part 2!).
Florencio has been in the prosthetics field for many years and had been helping us to get started by showing us where to find materials
After you’ve seen one llama and quinoa field, you’ve seen them all and the trip started to drag
After waking up early and getting on the road at 3 am, we were finally off on the journey. There wasn’t much talk between us at that early morning hour so we just all sat in silence and stared into the darkness, but as the sun came up over the mountains, it was like we all came to life. In the dark, I couldn’t really tell how much the scenery had changed, but now I could see that the lush, tropical-looking scenery of Cochabamba gave way to the barren landscape of the altiplano. The temperatures had changed as well. We had gone from 8,500 to 12,200 feet and I don’t know what the temps actually were, but I can tell you it went from t-shirt to sweater weather. The road was long, but beautiful scenery of llamas and fields of quinoa helped pass the time. Unfortunately, after you’ve seen one llama and quinoa field, you’ve seen them all and the trip started to drag. I was feeling the effects of our early departure time and would have gladly paid Starbucks prices for a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, there were no stops along the way, but we finally made it.
The village had an electric atmosphere about it as there was a large soccer match going on as well as some other festivities. The president of Bolivia had actually visited the village the day before to inaugurate a new soccer field. Agustin and his family greeted us as we pulled up to his house. He was decked out in a colorful outfit that many of the villagers wear during celebrations like this one. As we started the process of fitting him with the prosthesis, I wanted privacy for Agustin, so we ended up going around the side of his house. One thing I’ve learned about villages in remote areas is that there is little privacy, or rather, that not many care if they have privacy. Wherever we went, about 20 people followed us, as well as chickens and livestock, and Agustin didn’t seem to mind.
Thankfully, his leg fit, and we were able to get Agustin fitted properly and walking normally again. I was so thankful that we had been able to accomplish what we had come to do, and it gave me the confidence to move on to more patients. Agustin has since gotten back to work, and his wife has recovered from her injuries – a very happy ending to this story! We are thankful to have played a part in giving back to Agustin the freedom of mobility and a more normal way of life.
We had some time on our hands before starting the trip back. Elias decided to show me where he grew up and wanted to do some hunting for our dinner. That excited me as I love to hunt, and to be honest the dried llama and potatoes I had for lunch were starting to wear off. Little did I know I was in for the scare of my life. Read part 2 called Mistaken Identity to hear more!
