It’s about 11:00pm, and I’m in the house boiling water for the neighbors, because our stove is way faster than their open fire. We got called over to their house about an hour ago, partly becuase they feel like we’re a part of the family somehow, but also i think they want to get as much advice as they can. It looks like Galindo is doing worse. There are about 30 people in the neighbors house, praying and watching and waiting. He looked like he was doing better earlier today; he was able to eat a little, and stopped throwing up. But he’s gotten worse recently: can’t eat or drink much, lots of pain and delirium, bedridden. Some of his friends prop him up to use the bathroom. We and 20 other people watched him for a bit in somber silence, as he groaned and hacked. Emily suggested she and I move into the kitchen, where the important discussion was going on. They are debating taking him to the national hospital, but don’t want to talk about it where Galindo might hear, lest it upset him.

We weighed in on the “you need to get him to a hospital right away” side. If he can’t eat or drink, he’s going to be a goner in a few days. They need to get an IV into him. We tried to phrase this in as many ways as possible, and they seem onboard with the idea. The nearest hospital with that sort of technology is in Huehuetanango, about 5 hours away. This presents them with a few problems:

First, they are calling around to find a microbus driver that can take them. There are about a half-dozen drivers in town, but the tricky but is finding one that isn’t drunk right now, and is “sympathetic to the family”, as they say (won’t screw them by charging a fortune). That’s the shame of it: national healthcare is free here, but many of the Mayans are so poor they can’t even get to the hospital.

Second, they have to wait until about 2:30 am to leave, instead of leaving right now. The reason, they explain, is that there are armed bandits on the mountain roads between San Juan Ixcoy and Chiantla. The bandits all go to bed around 3 or 4, when the busses start travelling. Leaving at 2:30am will put them in San Jaun after the banditry is finished for the evening. Is this disturbing to anyone; that they have scheduled time for robbery, everyone knows when it is, and that it prevents people from getting lifesaving medical care?

Jesus, they just asked Emily to take Galindo’s picture, because his dad (who they are talking with on the phone, he’s working in the US illegally right now) wants it in case he never gets to see Galindo again. Emily has to stop crying before she goes back over there.