The flame lights up Ecuador. By Carmen Segovia and José Carlos Igeño

Hola a todos:

A few days ago we returned from Ecuador, where the IC-HU Project had been invited by Dr. Santiago Párraga to the II Internacional Course on Evaluation and Management of critically ill patient.

Mamen Segovia and José Carlos Igeño were this time who went to Quito to talk about this #benditalocura (holy madness) which humanization is. And we have join again to relate this unforgettable experience.

It wasn´t the first time Mamen travelled to Ecuador, although on this occasion, as she literally said: “The objective was another, the project was another and also myself was another, carrying “butterflies”in the stomach, probably by the illusion of speak about the IC-HU Project to these blessed lands and the shared responsibility with José Carlos of being able to respond to the confidence, and why not say it, also the pressure that Gabi had placed on our shoulders”.

It was an enriched scenario by joining faces of different countries of Latin America; both of students as teachers. Some of them told us that one of the main causes of his/her assistance was the humanization of intensive care as the main issue of the course.

We both carried out a pre-course workshop tremendously dynamic with real cases on life-support limitation and the grief, for nearly four hours. Listen to Mamen is always a privilege.

The next day, the whole course was dedicated to humanizing intensive care: 15 conferences, where both of us offered half of these. With an Auditorium full, we could tell “What IC-HU Project is”. And subsequently we were talking about families satisfaction, experiences of open door ICU, the process of dying in the ICU, the standardization of grief and the need for the professional to integrate and learn relational skills. Skills that help us to take care of the invisible with the invisible technology : the human one.

We exhibited the researchs of Ángela Alonso, Marisol Holanda, José Manuel Velasco, Iñaki Saralegui, Dolores Escudero… and other partners of the project, so they also participated in the diffusion of humanization in Ecuador.

To finish, round table: Life support limitation (with subtly warm moments…I am like this, what can I do?).

And a something new: the last day, we were invited to close the course. I taught a Conference on the Utility of the Echo in ICU and emergency. As many people, Gabi and me think that the use of Echo is a bloodless bloodless technique, not invasive, made at foot of bed and by the same professional that treat and know to the patien. This can be one of the paradigms of the technology applied to the humanization in Intensive Care and to centered-patient Medicine.During the course we could see that the message had penetrated deeply by many professionals that thank us and show their love (it was amazing to see how many follow the IC-HU project)… But this is not enough.

Now, in Ecuador ICU you have to form groups of work, create projects, implement actions of improvement, record results and publish them… To work hard for this flame spreads, despite the possible walls that appear in the roads… From the IC-HU project we will be waiting with open arms to give voice everything you will do!.

Thank you so much Dr. Santiago Párraga, for the host, as well as to his team and to those who attended the event. After spending a few days our emotions are seated, and we can say that it has been a wonderful experience: Quito is a city plenty of history and really beautiful, with friendly and lovely people. To know the culture, chat with them, the Organization of the course… All was perfect.