Felix Aguilar Ramírez
Local Health Worker
since 2007
Xachmochán Village, Guatemala
View my location
About Felix
Felix Ramírez, 26 years old, has served 97 families in and around his village of Xachmochán over the past four years. He deeply enjoys helping the people of his community and also values learning about medicine. His role as a health worker allows Felix to do both. Come back regularly for updates from Felix.
- Children treated for pneumonia last month 9
- Children treated for diarrhea last month 4
Select another
Local Health Worker
Xachmochán Village, Guatemala
Vaccinations for Engracia
Last month, when the Ministry of Health was here, I helped vaccinate the children. Here’s a short video of me providing Vitamin A and a vaccination shot to 6-month-old Engracia. Her mother, Mrs. Magdalena, told me that Engracia’s right leg swelled up and she started to have a high fever after receiving the shot. I explained to her that fever is common after some shots, depending on how strong the vaccine is. I also advised her that after a shot, a mother should not rub or touch the vaccinated area, because this could cause swelling or infection.
Weighing Babies to Screen for Malnutrition
Once every month or two, the Ministry of Health staff come out to our village to vaccinate the children and provide services that ordinarily take place at the health post. It’s my job to notify everyone in the village so they will be ready when the Ministry of Health staff come. I also help with vaccinations and weighing children. And I give advice to the mothers about healthy behaviors. We weigh all the children under a year old to monitor their growth and make sure they are gaining enough weight for their age.
My Follow-Up Visit With Gaspar
I went back to Gaspar’s house on Thursday as I promised I would to check on his case of pneumonia. I counted his breaths. He was down to 42 breaths per minute. This is much better than 61, which is how fast he was breathing a few days ago. Still, he’s supposed to have 40 breaths per minute, so he is not totally better yet. I reviewed the danger signs of severe pneumonia with Gaspar’s father, and told him to make sure Gaspar continues to get his medicine on schedule.
Bad News – Gaspar is Sick Again
I’m very sad to report that Gaspar has pneumonia again. Gaspar is 3 years and 6 months old now, and he has had pneumonia several times in past few months. Gaspar’s mother, Margarita, brought him to me because he was acting lethargic and she knew he was sick. I counted his breaths. “Oh my God,” I said. “He’s got 61 breaths per minute and at his age he is only supposed to have 40 per minute.” So I gave the mother medicine and explained the dosage very carefully in her native Ixil language. She needs to give him the antibiotic Amoxicillin every 8 hours for 7 days.
My Follow-Up Visit to Gaspar at Home
It was a Wednesday when I diagnosed Gaspar with severe pneumonia. On Friday, I went back to check on him. I was very relieved to see that he was doing better after taking the medicine as I instructed for three days. As you can see in this video, he looks happier now and his breathing is better. Thank God he recovered even though his parents didn’t take him to the hospital. He was lucky that the medicine was enough to heal him. It’s also good that his mother followed my directions carefully and provided the medicine on time.
Gaspar Got Sick Again
Early in February, I was asked to see a sick child and to my surprise, it was Gaspar again – the same child who was sick with pneumonia back in December. This time Gaspar seemed really sick. He had all the characteristics of severe pneumonia, like having a hard time breathing, fast breaths, and his ribs showing through his stomach when he drew in breaths. “This child has pneumonia,” I told his mother Margarita in the Ixil language, since she does not understand Spanish.
My Follow-Up Visit to José at Home
Today is Sunday and I went to the home of José, the boy who was sick with pneumonia on Friday. I checked his breathing and I was very happy to see the rate had returned to normal. “So this so this means he is getting better,” I told José’s mother. “But this doesn’t mean that you should stop giving him his medicine, the Amoxicillin. And you still have to give him the Acetaminophen too. This will be the last day you give it to him.”
Another Boy With Pneumonia
Today María brought her son José to see me. José is 3-and-a-half years old. María said he had been coughing since the day before and his body felt very cold. I used a timer to count his breaths, and found he was breathing 47 breaths per minute. That is rapid breathing. At his age, 40 would be normal. It meant he had pneumonia. But it was good that María brought José to see me quickly, before the pneumonia got worse, so I was able to treat him and he didn’t have to go to the local health post. People here do not like to go to the health post because it’s so far away.
Mother Seeks Help for a Boy with Pneumonia
A mother named Margarita recently brought her 4-year-old son Gaspar to see me. She asked me to help her because her son was sick with a cough and a high fever. Margarita has two other children and they all live in a one room house. They have their kitchen, bedroom and the place where the children play all in one room. While I was treating Gaspar, I used what I learned in training and to determine that Gaspar had pneumonia. I gave Margarita antibiotics and told her how to administer them for the next 7 days. I went to the house several times after that to check on Gaspar.
Refresher Course on Treating Childhood Illnesses
Last month, I participated in a Save the Children training on treating diseases in children under age 5. I am very happy that I received this training. It brought me up-to-date on a few things and helped reinforce my knowledge and answer some questions I had. We all got fresh strength to continue doing our jobs in our communities. Before the training, I had some doubts on how to provide counseling to mothers. Because of these doubts, I often didn’t say much or I would just say a few words. Now I can give the mothers important advice on how to take care of their children.
Eye on the Future
This week I visited several children with diarrhea. Among them, a few already had dehydration issues from persistent diarrhea. Without oral rehydration treatment, children can get very sick from diarrhea, and in some cases, they can die. I immediately got busy showing the parents and other members of the community how to mix and use oral rehydration solution. By the end of the week, the children were running around and playing again. I feel confident that in the future, the families will know what to do if this type of illness happens again.
The Flu Is Going Around
Something must be in the air this week. Many of the village children have come down with the flu. My biggest concern with the flu is high fever. But with some acetaminophen and caring support, the children began to feel better by the end of the week. If I can get the whole community caring for the children, it makes my job easier. That is why I spend a lot of time gaining the trust of the community and acceptance by families. This week I could see my efforts paying off – the community as a whole took over the caring of the sick children with the flu.
My Motivations
Watch a day in my life as a health worker in Xachmochán.
Preventing a Hospital Visit
As usual, I began my week making house visits – today I had three. Two were common flu cases. With a little bit of medicine and rest, the children were fine. The other one, however, I was really concerned about – she had pneumonia. Upon my first visit, I could tell the little girl was not doing well, and the mother looked frightened and unsure of what to do.
Proud of the Work I Do
Being a local health worker and serving my community has been so incredibly fulfilling. Between saving a woman from dying during child birth and helping the children of my village overcome their illnesses, my days are filled with moments that make me feel proud of the work that I do. Just recently I helped save a young boy who was displaying warning signs of severe pneumonia; without my help, his mother noted, he would have probably died in their home.
How to Help
Where the Good Goes
-
Gaspar
4 years“He showed me how to take good care of my son. I am very grateful to Felix for giving us the medicine and for visiting us at home to check if Gaspar was doing okay.”
-
Gaspar
3 yearsAfter checking Gaspar’s temperature, Felix noticed that he was having trouble breathing. Antibiotics were a low-cost cure for his pneumonia.
-
Yaqueline
2 yearsWhen Yaqueline started to run a fever, Felix prescribed acetaminophen and gave her chamomile tea for her cough.
-
Claro
18 monthsSigns of fatigue, a high fever, cough, and difficulty breathing led Felix to treat Claro for pneumonia.
-
Elias
8 monthsWhen baby Elias started to have trouble breathing and developed an elevated temperature, Felix gave him amoxicillin and acetaminophen.