Dr. Jose Moguel, “A Trail Blazer”, “A Corner Stone Pillar”, in the Public Health Sector

Jose Moguel

Tonight, health practitioners from across the country are mourning the loss of a devoted Belizean doctor. Senior Surgeon at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, Doctor Jose Moguel passed away over the weekend while under the care of his colleagues, after being diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. He served as a general practitioner at the K.H.M.H. for thirty-one years. Doctor Moguel rose through the ranks and became the Chief of Surgery, a post he relinquished after becoming ill.  He was also president of the Belize Medical and Dental Association for five years. Doctor Moguel’s family in San Lazaro, Orange Walk, always knew that he was destined to become a doctor who would dedicate his life to his country. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

The nation has lost a giant in the public health sector, over the weekend. Dr. Jose Moguel came from humble beginning in the village of San Lazaro in the Orange Walk District, along with eight other siblings. He excelled to become one of the leading surgeons in the country, as the Chief of Surgery at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. His youngest sister, Flor Blanco, says Dr. Moguel was destined to become a doctor.

Flor Blanco

Flor Blanco, Sister of Deceased

“My brother at a very young age, he was inclined to be a doctor, why because when he was very young, my mother saw how he played mimicking a doctor. She would tell him, one day you would be a doctor my son. She told me, he always would want to call people to come and play with him, and he would be the doctor. From then, my mom knew he would be one. But, she didn’t know that he would have been this kind of doctor for our country Belize.”

Jose Moguel

Dr. Moguel served as the President of the Belize Medical and Dental Association from 2015 to 2020. Dr. Perilta Aldana, President of the B.M.D.A., says that Dr. Moguel was one of the cornerstones of the association.

Perlita Aldana

Perlita Aldana, President, B.M.D.A.

“Just as our country is also a growing nation, the B.M.D.A. is young and it started, but it was kind of dormant and then Dr. Moguel came to the presidency in 2015. Since then, the amount of medical doctors and surgeons that joined the association has grown in more than fifty percent. The association wasn’t only dormant, it became more active. He carried medicine in his heart and he was a teacher at heart and he loved to teach. I know Dr. Moguel for many years, from the early two thousands I know him. At that moment I was a student doctor coming to K.H.M.H. I remember very well to take me under his wings to teach, he loved teaching. He wanted the Belize Medical Association to fortify the growth of our doctors.”

The general surgeon was the longest serving at the K.H.M.H. Dr. Adrian Coye, the Acting Director of Medical Services, refers to him as a fiercely independent individual with strong ideals.

On the Phone: Adrian Coye

On the Phone: Dr. Adrian Coye, Acting Director, Medical Services K.H.M.H.

“He has been on the Medical Council of Belize as well, for quite a few years. Again, that is a reflection his seniority in the system of our country. So, the impact he has had has not only been in the walls of the K.H.M.H., but throughout this country. So, one of our stalwarts, one of our heroes, he has done, I am sure, up to ten thousand surgeries in his career and more. And, there are many, many Belizeans walking around today in this very day who has had surgeries done by him. He has saved many lives. And, in this way, I can only reflect the fact that we don’t recognize people especially during the time they are alive. We just keep working, working, and unfortunately over the years things do build up, and we kind of lose track of what we are here for, they often take things too personal.”

The father of two was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. Neither he nor his relatives were aware of his Illness until his cancer was at stage four.

On the Phone: Dr. Adrian Coye

“For us it was very rough. It was hurting for us the family because we were losing one that was so close to us but so loving. It was really a loss we were seeing in the family, because we were told to which extent to which his sickness was. And, all of us were sad, because we were really there for him and with him. It is something that words cannot express because he was one that was there for all of us.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.