Week 1 at the Clinic has been a roaring success! We have seen tons of cool things are are really settling in here. I have really enjoyed being back in Sandy Bay and reconnecting with old friends and neighbours! It feels like I'm coming home when I get back here .. coming home to my second home!
Things in the clinic have changed yet very little has truly changed at all. Different places we store stuff, new faces and the ever changing patient list.. however I slid right into my old role as if it was a well worn coat I just put back on! It reminds me how much I LOVE this and how much it makes my heart glad to be here serving the people of Honduras through medical mission! And the opportunity to have students with me is such fun! It adds a whole new dynamic to be able to share this adventure with others and creates even more excitement over things that otherwise would feel routine. We have done quite a few 'fun' skills.. straight cath, several IVs and blood draws, IM injections, tetanus shots etc. We have seen lots of the typical stuff: hypertension, diabetes, cough/cold, arthritis, chronic pain.. etc. And lots of the exotic tropical things too: dengue, malaria, parasites, chikungunya, etc. The students are already settling into a rhythm and finding their own groove! I'm so proud of them and how they are holding their own and stepping up! We are focusing on doing triage and then other nursing tasks as they come up, from IVs to caths and med administration. We cared for a pretty sick patient yesterday with urosepsis who was turned away from the local hospital because he was 'too sick' and we were able to catch it quickly and get some IV fluid and antibiotics into him. We stablilized him and admitted him to the hospital and got to arrange for the bomberos (EMS) to transport him to the local public hospital. The doctors we are working with are a lot of fun too! They are excellent professionals and have been great to collaborate with in clinic and fun people to hangout with after hours too!
I'm up to my usual habits of baking and hosting people in our apartment. I've baked cookies or cupcakes for the clinic staff every day this week, which they seem delighted about! And we had a doctor over today for lunch in our apartment, which was also a blast! Such good fun and conversation happens over a meal! I'm currently baking another batch of oreo cupcakes and I'm waiting for them to finish in the oven so I can go to bed, but its a great time to get the computer to myself. I brought my laptop but it didn't survive the trip. It was working when I left home in the morning but when I arrived in Honduras and slid it out of the case to use it, it wouldn't turn on and even with the help of a computer person, I was told I'd probably need a new hard drive :( So I won't be online as much as I'd like since I'm only borrowing a few minutes on a student's computer.
We have been working hard in the clinic from 7:30 am til the afternoon (ranging from 2-4pm). Then we are mostly spending our afternoons at the beach or going for a swim. Then we have supper and watch the sunset! We have spent half our evenings so far playing Rook (card game for those who don't play it) and chatting. Then we are all exhausted by 9pm and we crash into bed to sleep and do it all over the next day!
P. S. I don't have any photos to upload but I'll definitely add some next time!
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