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The Common Language of Caring

Each February, medical professionals from throughout the South work together to heal the bodies and spirits of children in Ambato, Ecuador.

Cary Jobe, Tanner C. Latham

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The Language of Touch

Bilingual Ecuadorian medical students and volunteers serve as interpreters because only a handful of the team understands more than the rudimentary gracias, hola, or buenos dias. Medical care speaks neither English nor Spanish however. A smile or a gentle touch renders the language barrier porous. “Happy children give us the universal thumbs-up from their hospital beds,” says Julie Karnes, a general surgery resident in Temple, Texas. “We know how grateful the parents are without knowing their language.”