Courage

We counseled the mom that her son needed a splint and then, in a couple of days when the swelling went down, he would need a cast on the fractured arm. She wasn't sure about this course of treatment because hueseros (traditional bone "doctors" in Guatemala) often treat fractures and sprains with manual manipulation, distraction, and massage without a cast. It took some convincing, but she allowed us to put on a temporary splint.

We thought that the patient might not come back for the cast, as often patients don't, but the mother did bring her son back 2 days later. The mother told us that many people told her that she should just take him to a huesero, yet against that advice, she brought him back to the hospital and he received his cast.  I was really struck by her courage to make her own decision for her own son, as this is not the norm for people in Guatemala. Family opinion has tremendous influence. We praised the mother for doing what we thought was the right thing for her child.