Milwaukee VA doctor aids remote residents in Guatemala
For the third consecutive year, a Milwaukee VA Medical Center doctor has taken his skills to Guatemala to aid residents in remote areas of the country.
Dr. Jonathan Wiese, who works in the Emergency Department, recently returned from the mission trip, which is arranged by his church, Grace Church in Racine, in conjunction with Word of Life, which has been staging missions to Guatemala since 1998.
Wiese joined a group of about 70 people, many of them medical professionals like himself, on the most recent trip in February. They went to a rural area where they set up a one-stop clinic for residents to get examined, receive dental care and be treated for various injuries and ailments.
“We work with the municipalities there and try to see everyone we can in a four-day period,” Wiese said.
Wiese takes a portable ultrasound machine with him, and his days were filled with examining pregnant women and scanning for abdominal and other problems. In all he did 141 ultrasounds over the four days.
“I looked at a lot of gall bladders and a lot of babies, scanning fetuses to make sure they’re OK,” he said. He also performed many pelvic ultrasounds because of chronic dehydration and constipation among the residents, brought on by lack of clean drinking water.
Beyond that, Wiese scanned hearts, lungs, intestines, thyroids and breasts. He also diagnosed and treated some fractures, drained abscesses and performed other basic medical procedures.
“The area we’re in is remote enough that all we have is what we bring with us, so we really don’t have the ability to do much outside of basic point-in-care labs,” he said. “The ultrasound is really our only advanced diagnostic tool that we have.”
The team included doctors, nurse practitioners, pediatricians and dentists, along with support staff and a well-stocked pharmacy.
Wiese said he sees a lot of diabetes in the population and intestinal parasites due to the lack of potable water. Residents often drink sugary soft drinks because they’re cheaper than clean water.
“I think I told almost everyone I saw that they need to be drinking more water,” he said.
Despite the medical problems and generally poor living conditions in the area, Wiese said the people are happy.
“They’re so joyful,” he said. “We think wealth and possessions bring happiness, but it doesn’t feel that way when you go to a place like this and see the same amount of joy — or more joy — in the people who just seem to have nothing.
“And they are so grateful and excited to have us there. The thankfulness is unbelievable. It’s really special.”
Wiese was a field doctor with the U.S. Army, leaving active duty in 2018 before signing on with the Milwaukee VA. The mission to Guatemala fits perfectly with his background and training as well as his philosophy of medicine.
“When I found out about this trip, I said, ‘This is exactly what I want to do,’” he said. “It really feels great to go down there and help.
“Most of us go into medicine to help people. A trip like this is a refreshing experience — to be able to practice medicine, truly, with no other agenda than to help people.”