Medardo Arguijo Carranza
In May of 2011, Medardo Arguijo Carranza attended a
Medical Brigade in the community of Yamaguare in Honduras.
Medardo has suffered with Parkinson’s disease (a
degenerative disease of the central nervous system) for the
past 7 years but has been unable to afford any medical
treatment. Medardo came to the brigade with his entire family
in very poor condition: he was frail, shaking, and completely
dependent on his family to do even the simplest of tasks like
getting out of bed or using the bathroom.
Every night after the brigade, students and doctors debriefed
at the compounds and everyone was particularly moved by
this case. It was touching to see how the Honduran culture
embraces family and the effort everyone put into caring for
Medardo. It was also difficult to see the clear impact and stress
this disease has had on both Medardo’s adult children and grandchildren with whom he lives. Everyone in the family must pitch in to care for Medardo, and his loss of motor skills poses a real threat of potential injury both to Medardo and the family members (including small grandchildren) who must help him around.
We are launching this campaign so that we can make sure Medardo never has to suffer from a lapse in medicine again. For only $800, we can guarantee that Medardo will receive the medicine that he desperately needs for an entire year! Without this medicine, Medardo will suffer from continued deterioration and debilitation, including increased shaking and loss of motor control, putting him and his family at higher risk for injury.
While on medicine, his family has reported that Medardo is able to walk around, perform basic self-care tasks, hold conversations, and interact with the family. The medicine also clearly contributes to a greater sense of self-pride, dignity, and emotional well-being for both the patient and the entire family.
Update on Medardo’s Care - August 2012
On August 4th, the Patient Referral System team visited Medardo’s home in Cofradía to meet with him and give him more medication. Thomas Young, a physician’s assistant who attended a Medical Brigade last year with UC Berkeley, has been providing Medardo with Parkinson’s medication periodically for the last year. Recently, with the help of UC Berkely as well as DePaul University, Thomas was able to connect with a pharmaceutical company who was able to provide a year’s supply of Parkinson’s medication at a very discounted price. With the money that the dedicated students were able to fundraise, Global Brigades was able to transfer the funds to pay for the medication. Medardo was extremely grateful for our visit and expressed how he truly confides in Global Brigades and is very thankful for all that the students, medical professionals, and staff have done for him.