Frustrations with a language barrier

I have completed my third day at the hospital.  I'm starting to feel more comfortable.  There are so many interesting dynamics here and it is difficult to determine which ones to discuss.  There are so many problems with this system that everyone is trying to fix.  It is so difficult when there is so much turnover in help.  My group is here for only two weeks.  Several other groups are here for only a week.  The docs that are here this week are only here for a week.  Here is the breakdown of what happens:  Suppose you were injured during the earthquake.  And you had surgery on your leg.  The surgeon who did your surgery is no longer here.  He left some notes somewhere, maybe, if someone is able to even find them.  He gave you instructions for you to follow up in clinic in a month.  You don't have an actual appointment, you are just to show up in a month.  When you show up, you take a number and wait like you're at the deli ordering lunch meat.  When it's your turn in the office a doctor that does not know you, your history, or your language tries to figure out through a translator why you are in their office.  And often, the doctor is not able to resolve your issue because they did not do you your surgery, you did not get the proper therapy you needed, and now your knee is stuck, will not bend due to the chaotic medical system.  It's not anyone's fault, though.  Healthcare workers are coming here, on their own free will, staying as long as their normal lives allow and doing all that they can with what little resources they have.  It breaks my heart when there is nothing we can do to help someone. 

I had a small breakdown today.  There is no huge, emotional earthquake story to go along with this.  I got a referral for a boy for back strengthening because he has scoliosis.  He has back pain.  It hurts all the time since he was a child.  He's 20 and looks like his is 14.  He is just as sweet as can be and attentive.  He just wants to feel good again.  He hangs on our every translated word.  I look at his spine.  It is so curved that he has a hump on the right.  There is really nothing I can do.  You don't see scoliosis like this in the US anymore.  He needed bracing when he was a child.  I instructed him on posture exercises and pain management knowing that it will have limited effectiveness.  I just wanted to lay my hands on him and heal him.  I became so frustrated because I was having an extremely difficult time keeping a translator around.  They would just disappear as I worked with him.  Finally, I blew up on a translator after he left the room during my session.  I was frustrated because I just wanted to help this kid, and I am here as a volunteer and during this time I can not get a translator who cares enough to help me teach him.  It's a challenge and after my meltdown, I have three translators in the room.  Guess I need to be more aggressive. . . because the most powerful tool we have here is knowledge.  And it is so important to transfer that knowledge to the those who are uneducated about their health.