A medical team from Kaohsiung’s Chang Gung Memorial Hospital has recently returned from a two-week humanitarian mission to diplomatic ally Guatemala. The 17-member team treated 3,000 people, pulling 209 teeth and performing six cleft lip and palate operations on children. It was also agreed to send 20 Guatemalan medical personnel to Taiwan every year to receive training.
Dr Chen Tsao-long, the mission leader, said this was the largest international task force the hospital had ever assembled and that they took enough personnel, equipment and medicine with them to set up an entire hospital.
The security situation in Guatemala has deteriorated of late meaning guns are easy to come by, robberies are up and reports of kidnappings are all too common. The Guatemalan government therefore deployed an armed police escort to accompany the medics in order to ensure their safety.
photo: Chen Chao-lung
自由時報記者方志賢
One member of the team said that the local medical facilities were very basic, and even the anesthesia machine was broken. They managed to borrow a smaller one and in the end they successfully carried out six operations on children over a three-day period.
Guatemala doesn’t have many cancer patients so the team’s oncologist doubled as a family doctor treating patients from three months old to 80 years old. The Guatemalan president and first lady received the medical team and a memorandum of understanding promoting closer medical ties between the countries was signed.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY TAIJING WU)
PHOTO: CHEN CHAO-LUNG
照片：自由時報記者陳肇隆
高雄長庚醫院醫療團隊結束兩週友邦瓜地馬拉人道醫療，十七人的醫療團服務了三千人次。他們拔了兩百零九顆牙，為六名病童做了唇顎裂手術，未來每年還提供二十名瓜國醫護人員來台受訓。
高雄長庚行動醫療團隊領軍的院長陳肇隆表示，這次國際醫療是高雄長庚歷年組團出國醫療服務規模最大一次，參加人員及攜帶器材與藥品足以組成一所醫院。
當地治安惡化、槍枝氾濫，搶案、綁票案頻傳，為確保醫療團成員人身安全，瓜國政府都派出警車及武警持槍隨行保護。
團裡一位成員說，當地醫療儀器簡陋，連麻醉機也故障，最後借來小型麻醉機，手術才順利進行，實際手術約三天，成功為六名病童完成手術。
瓜國癌症患者很少，腫瘤科的醫師充當家醫科，義診對象從三個月小嬰兒到八十歲老人全看了。義診期間，瓜國副總統及第一夫人分別接見醫療團，雙方也簽署合作備忘錄，加強兩國醫療合作。
（自由時報記者方志賢）
A: Recently, I’ve been seeing mosquitoes flying around in front of my eyes. The doctor said it’s the “flying-mosquito disease.” B: Flying mosquitoes? What a strange name. A: They’re actually called “floaters” in English, meaning floating debris. When fibrous substances in the vitreous body inside the eyeballs increase, floaters can appear in the visual field. B: Oh my goodness. Can you get rid of them? A: According to ophthalmologist Horng Chi-ting’s research, taking the enzymes of certain fruits is likely to help reduce floaters. A: 我最近一直覺得眼前有蚊子飛來飛去，結果醫生說是「飛蚊症」。 B: 飛蚊症？好奇怪的病名。 A: 英文名稱叫「floaters」， 也就是漂浮物的意思。 因為眼球的玻璃體中纖維化物質增多，導致視野出現漂浮物。 B: 天啊！要怎麼把蚊子趕走？ A:
Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 I stand by the Miluo River as dusk falls. The court betrayal is too much. I served Chu with loyalty. I forged alliances and fought corruption. But the whispers of jealous courtiers, the murmurs of treason, spoke louder. The king cast me out. The water looks calm. It promises peace. I step in. The river is cold against my legs. I hear shouts behind me — fishermen calling my name. I keep walking. The calls grow louder, but I do not turn around. The water rises to my chest. It pulls at me. I
In Taiwan, people can use a platform to rent a power washer for a weekend or share unused garage space for someone’s storage needs. These are examples of the sharing economy, a consumption model that has gained widespread adoption worldwide. This approach allows people to rent or share assets like cars, homes or even services, typically through online platforms. This innovative model poses a simple yet powerful question: why purchase infrequently used items when sharing is more practical? By making useful but idle resources accessible, the sharing economy turns them into sustainable opportunities. Internationally, platforms like Airbnb and Uber have popularized
A: What types of fruit enzymes should we take to help reduce eye floaters? B: According to a study published in the “Applied Sciences” journal by Taiwanese ophthalmologist Horng Chi-ting, pineapple, papaya and fig supplements can improve symptoms. A: Pineapples are in season now, so you should munch on more of those to get rid of floaters. B: Not quite. Enzymes can be damaged by our stomach acid if we eat the fruit directly. The doctor says taking fruit enzyme capsules is better for absorption. A: Most importantly, we should reduce our use of personal electronics to prevent floaters from
RSS