Growing up on Main street in Orange Walk, we were neighbors with a family that lived in the nurses quarters near Banquitas. The mother was a nurse; a pleasant, always smiling big lady. Everyone called her Miss Chubby. She always dressed immaculately for work: white uniform, the nurses hat and lily white shoes. She had a son we called Chanito that was good friends with my brother Giovanni. Chanito means the little one in Mayan. Chanito and Giovanni had a fierce rivalry for grades during high school. But Chanito was very academic. He was the only student in high school that used a brief case instead of a school bag. And he wore glasses at a young age so you know he was smart. Chanito went on to become a doctor and specialized in trauma and internal medicine. He works at Belize Medical Associates. My dad is 83. He drove from Orange Walk to Karl Heusner yesterday to see his wife, who had emergency surgery over the weekend for intestinal blockage. Since we were in the city, I took him to Belize Medical Associates because he was complaining of pain in his lower lungs. We didnt have an appointment but by chance I saw Chanito and asked him if he could see my dad. He called us in we sat like old friends. There is a feeling you get when you meet a doctor with whom you are immediately comfortable and you feel that he knows what he is doing. You sense that he cares and that he is sincere. Chanito asked my dad a bunch of questions. He was surprised that my dad has no illnesses and takes no medication. My dad drove himself from Orange to the doctor in Belize City. Chanito also didnt know my dad had remarried about 5 years ago. When it was time for the examination, he asked me to accompany them to the examination room. My dad complained that the bed was cold, so Chanito turned off the air. My dad has always been skinny, and at 83 and undressed he is a sight. I should have been mad for anybody to see him, but Chanito again was like an old friend. There was this constant banter between Chanito and my dad. My dad told Chanito he doesnt eat well because all the food nowadays is tough to chew. Chanito ordered some tests and within 2 hours, he diagnosed my dad with pneumonia with pleural effusion. I feel fortunate we caught the pneumonia in time. Hopefully the treatment works. And Chanito the internist? You may know him as Dr. Fernando Cuellar. A good man and an awesome doctor!
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 02:41:49 +0000
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