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"These medical missions shed light on the atrocities that have happened," said Perry. "Samuel was just 8 years old when his father disappeared." Nineteen years after he disappeared, the remains of the elder Villatoro were found in a mass grave on a former military base, where the remains of more than 200 people were discovered. It wasn't until 2011 that DNA testing confirmed the remains were those of Amancio Samuel Villatoro. The family decided Villatoro's remains should not be buried, but instead become the focal point of a small museum to honor all those who were disappeared and killed during the war and to educate future gener- ations about the atrocities that were carried out in Guatemala. "If you asked any of the patients, every- one had a family member or friend who dis- appeared," recounted Perry. "Even a local Guatemalan nurse from Coban who was working with us said her 22-year-old daugh- ter had disappeared. It literally touched the lives of all Guatemalan people." Valdez says she came away with a deeper understanding of why her family had to flee her native country. "My uncle was part of a workers' union and he was being threatened," she said. "My father was part of the university students who were being threatened." Paul Banach, a registered nurse from Connecticut, said he knew before his RNRN deployment that the United States had a hand in the destabilization of Guatemala, but he didn't realize the extent of the involvement. "You couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if the working- class people fighting for fair treatment by their government and from their employers had had the support of the U.S. government and U.S. allies instead of giving support to an already powerful gov- ernment and military," said Banach. This experience changed my life," said Alexis Webster, an emergency room nurse from Arizona. "On the days of the clinic, I was so heart- broken," said Webster. "There was one mother who came from about an hour away. She was asking me for food and how her baby could breathe better and how her skin could be not so dry. I felt really sad because she was very eager to take care of her baby, but [she] wasn't sure how." Many of the patients, who spoke Q'uechi, a Mayan language, sought treatment for respiratory and gastrointestinal complaints. The team was able to provide vitamins, anti-parasitic drugs, and medication for diabetes and high blood pressure. A dentist who was part of the mission spent her days pulling teeth and seeing some 170 patients. Banach, who spent some time working in the dental clinic, said he was impressed by how well the commu- nity, including the children, handled the long waits for treatment. "There were three little boys lined up in chairs," he recalled. The boys had gotten their Novocain and the dentist was treating others as the boys waited for the anesthetic to take effect. "The dentist was so good, playing her music and making them laugh. The boys were so patient, and when they got their teeth pulled, I think only one cried. I kind of winced and looked away, but they didn't flinch at all." "You are doing what you can in place where this is no health care system," said Debra Buccellato, who works as an emergency room 12 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y | M A R C H 2 0 2 0 "If you asked any of the patients, everyone had a family member or friend who disappeared. Even a local Guatemalan nurse from Coban who was working with us said her 22-year-old daughter had disappeared. It literally touched the lives of all Guatemalan people."