Footnotes - Winter 2023 - 16

After his team leaves, Dr. Boegel follows these cases and
continues to provide care for these children for years after.
Dr. Boegel has been responsible for helping thousands of
children in the area.
Beyond helping children with ailments and following
patients in his clinic, Dr. Boegel has made a commitment
to serving his community. As Dr. Boegel had finally created
a sustainable system of recruiting doctors to serve patients
and following these cases after those doctors departed, the
COVID-19 pandemic hit. This not only affected the ability to
bring physicians into the country to heal his community,
but Dr. Boegel also faced another issue: department
shutdowns. The Guatemalan government shut down
transportations between departments-the Guatemalan
equivalent of states-preventing access for patients to see
Dr. Boegel. Issues with clubfoot, which could have been a
relatively minor corrective procedure, would now
exacerbate in children without access to Dr. Boegel's care.
Furthermore, the shutdown stopped the transportation of
food within the departments, where Dr. Boegel's
community was now starved. edicated to creating a
healthier community more than just fixing their physical
ailments, Dr. Boegel used his livestock on his farm to
provide food for those living in his community. While
gaining acceptance into a shy Guatemalan community
had been challenging, dedication to truly being a teacher,
provider, healer, and passionate members of the
community has allowed this region to accept and
embrace the Boegels to allow them to continuously make
an impact among this population.
On his way back to his home in Guatemala, his vehicle
filled with donations for his school and clinic, Boegel faced
the decision of his life, or the resources that would provide
education for students and care for patients throughout
Western Guatemala. Putting others before himself, in true
Dr. Boegel nature, and thinking about all the patients and
children whose lives would be affected by materials he is
carrying, Boegel slams his foot on the gas pedal, just
splitting the vehicles, bust through makes his way down
CA-1 to do the work he has been chosen to do. A Mexican
carjacking attempt was not about to stop his and Diane's
" God Sized Faith Project. "
Learn more by visiting opalhouseguatemala.com.
16
FOOTNOTES
http://www.opalhouseguatemala.com http://bakodx.com
Footnotes - Winter 2023

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