Dear friends, source of Hope: I find myself in profound distress, in pain as I witness the suffering and misfortune Iquitos is experiencing. In this pandemic we have been hit hard. One could say we are lacking everything! Even the most basic needs and in every aspect. No leadership in times of chaos, panic everywhere, the population is out of control. It’s a scene of war, of a natural disaster, of a living Holocaust. There’s no acetaminophen, we don’t have oxygen tanks, you can see intubated patients on the halls of the hospital, people in severe respiratory distress sitting on the floor waiting in line to be evaluated. Medical staff without proper protective equipment are falling sick, several in critical condition and some deceased. The health system has completely collapsed. Iquitos citizens are also dying because they have no food. In the last 2 weeks through Whatsapp I have been assisting and monitoring hundreds of patients in their homes. Among all of them only one had to be referred for evaluation and is hospitalized. Most of them need basic advice on how to take care of themselves at home and treat their mild to moderate symptoms. I hear desperation and what they need most is guidance and reassurance; I try to calm them down… anguish consumes me.
In the midst of this, I was contacted by my friends from the San Agustin school Class of 1990 in Iquitos, seeking advice on how to organize their support, many of them participate in the PAMS/Jorge Arevalo Medical Mission. We came up with the idea of creating the Brigades of Rescue and Hope. This group can deliver the medicines to patient’s homes- by doing this we will: slow down the overflow of an already collapsed medical system, decrease risk of transmission and prevent complications. All this process will be done under medical supervision. I NEED VOLUNTEER DOCTORS. This medical supervision/monitoring can be done from the US and any part of the world, with the use of our cellphone. As I mentioned many of the doctors and health personnel are ill and several have died.
OBJECTIVES: 1. Obtain the essential medications in Lima, for patient symptomatic treatment. Members of this Class alumni is in Lima in charge of the purchase, we will be using funds from the Jorge Arevalo Medical Mission. 2. Implement medical assistance through Telemedicine, with a phone call, WhatsApp or Facetime. For this I TURN TO YOU. We need volunteer medical professionals who can offer any of their time to participate managing patients’ symptoms in their homes while providing education and reassurance, this will serve also as triage, detection and referral of potential patients that may need to be hospitalized. 3. As a start we released an informative video last Sunday 5/3 directed to the citizens of Iquitos, via zoom, and we also responded several of their questions.
We are grateful to have the support of the Rotary Club of Iquitos, of which I am a member. I contacted their president, Mr. Jacinto Zevallos and we have their full support locally. Any recommendations, questions and concerns are welcome. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated. Once again, thank you for your support.
Iracema Arevalo, MD, MSc Pediatric Infectious Diseases Jorge Arevalo Medical Mission Director PAMS - Member BRE - Brigada de Rescate y Esperanza (Hope and Rescue Brigade) Coordinator Fremont, Ohio