Day 4 – Monday

We restarted our work on latrines today. We formed 3 groups, one of which did not have a full translator that worked with Claudio, our fearless leader. Mid-morning Travis was feeling poorly and went back to the bunk house to rest. He had been working with Chuck & Steve, and they stopped in to check on him. He was trying to sleep, but shivering violently under a light cover. He had been feeling a little off for more than 24 hours so we gave him some Cypro antibiotic to see if that would help. He was still not doing very well at lunch, so Claudio Pablo and Steve agreed that he should be examined by a doctor at the ER. We made arrangements to be driven into town by the same truck that move Edie and his family.

The hospital in Bahia de Caraques was damaged by the earthquake, and they have set up to treat people in a different part of town in tents and trailers. The doctor ordered lab tests that were done on site. From them we learned that his platelets are low, and that is an early indicator of Dengue fever. They gave him some medication for his fever electrolytes to keep him hydrated. Within a half hour he was feeling substantially better with his fever abated.

We finished one latrine and have seven more in process, five of which had the concrete poured. Claudio was very pleased with the progress and the quality of the work.

Oswaldo and Jenny, friends of the Perez from their church in Quito joined us this afternoon. Jenny is helping with the cooking, and Oswaldo has joined the work team. Our food has been excellent, and it even stepped up another notch with Jenny in the kitchen.