Loren
Monday, June 9, 2008
Week 2: Introduction to Medicine
I never posted my blog for last week so I'm going to take care of it now. Last week we finally got to get out of the house and get started working. On Monday, Kyle, Katie, and I headed up to the clinic with Javier and the crew. Javier said it was a perfect day because there were so many different types of patients that we would see. There was one patient that I possibly could have gone without seeing. When the blood started flowing, the room started spinning and I knew I had to leave the room. Other than that, it was a great day and a great learning experience. On Tuesday, we worked with the Mayfair group at the village outside of the ranch. Our first patient was an American that somehow busted his head open. After he got sewed up, we started seeing the Honduran patients. I was supposed to educate the patients on how to take their medicine. It was pretty difficult being that my Espanol is still limited but I managed. Our efforts were brought to a halt when it began to pour rain so we had to pack up and leave. We made it to the river and realized we were going to have to hike if we wanted to see the house. We made it back about an hour later but I think that the other interns would agree when I say that it was one of the best days. On Wednesday, we pretty much did the same thing except we were at the coffee plantation. When Thursday rolled around, I headed to San Marcos for the nutrition program with Javier. It was moving to see the work that had been done with the kids and the progress they were making. That afternoon we went to the children's ward with Meredith. It was very different from any hospital I have ever been to in the states. I felt like I was in a hospital that would have been used back in the 50s. On Friday, we got to hang out with a 90 year old guy planting coffee at the Posada. It was quite the workout walking up and down the side of the mountain in the slick mud. We finished and headed down to the casa only to survive another flood shortly after we got there. It wasn't the first and probably won't be the last either. Well that pretty much sums up the events of last week. Being here is still awesome and only getting better everyday. I look forward to the rest of the time here.
Hurricanes, Mud, and Floods
This past week has been a crazy one. Late last week Honduras had a tropical storm from the Pacific side headed right for it. It hit Honduras late thursday night and into Friday. By the time it went over San Marcos it had become a category one Hurricane. The intern house is seperated from the rest of the ranch by a stream, when heavy rains hit, however, the stream turns into a raging river and nobody is able to cross either way. Because of this we were trapped in our house most of the day friday until late friday night when the river went down enough. During the Rains a TACA (the name of the airline) plane tried to land in tegus and was not able to stop in time, which caused it to run off the end of the runway and into the middle of an intersection. The rains are not, however, totally at fault for this crash. The airport in Tegus is the shortest in the world that major airliners land at. The combination of the storm and the runway are the reason that this tragic accident, which claimed the lives of five, occurred. The Honduran Government has said that they are going to close the airport in Tegus indefinitely, so it will be interesting to see what will come of that.
This past week has been a fun one for me. On Sunday Dr. Lytle, the Dean of the College of Business Administration at ACU, flew in to visit Jarred, but because of the Airport problems in Tegus, he flew into Managua Nicaragua. Jarred asked me and one other intern who is in COBA, to come down with him to pick up Dr. Lytle. This allowed me to visit Nicaragua and to meat Dr. Lytle who I have not met before. During this week I feel like I have really become more aware of the way of life in Honduras. Getting stuck in the mud or trapped behind a river and having to walk back to your destination have become daily activities. I cannot imagine what it would be like to live down here, and to have to deal with these circumstances year round.
David
This past week has been a fun one for me. On Sunday Dr. Lytle, the Dean of the College of Business Administration at ACU, flew in to visit Jarred, but because of the Airport problems in Tegus, he flew into Managua Nicaragua. Jarred asked me and one other intern who is in COBA, to come down with him to pick up Dr. Lytle. This allowed me to visit Nicaragua and to meat Dr. Lytle who I have not met before. During this week I feel like I have really become more aware of the way of life in Honduras. Getting stuck in the mud or trapped behind a river and having to walk back to your destination have become daily activities. I cannot imagine what it would be like to live down here, and to have to deal with these circumstances year round.
David
Friday, June 6, 2008
It Was A Dark and Stormy Afternoon
It keeps raining here. Every day. Usually starting around 3pm, and lasting for 20 minutes to 8 hours. :) It´s the rainy season. I don´t mind. It makes crossing bridges exciting. We interens have had quite a few adventures this week due to the rain, as a matter of fact. Let me tell you more!
On Tuesday, all of the interns travelled to a village in the mountains with a church group that was here from Alabama. We held what they call a ¨medical brigade:¨ providing dental care, eyeglasses, medical care, and a mini-pharmacy for the locals for the day. Just before we finished, the rain began. By the time we got back to the ranch, one of the rivers bordering the ranch had flooded to about Level 4 rapids. The cars couldn´t cross. The church group was able to cross a swinging foot bridge and were picked up on the other side by some other Mission Lazarus workers, who took them to their cabins. We interns, on the other hand, were told that since our house is on the same side of the river as the village, we only needed to hike along the riverbank until we reached the house. It sounded easy enough, even though the rain made things a little - actually, a lot - muddy and slippery. So off we went. After walking 5 minutes along a fairly clear path, we found ourselves forging our way through trees and underbrush along the riverbank. Okay, we can handle that. Then the riverbank ended. The water had risen so much that it covered the remaining ground. We had a choice: to wade through the water until we reached more ground, to scale the sheer rock wall beside us, or to go back. We decided to wade to the next clear spot of riverbank. We prayed. Then we held hands and started into the water. Loren, who was in the lead, took about three steps before he was up to his waist and realized that it would only get deeper. We decided to turn back. We retraced our steps until we were no longer next to a sheer rock wall, but a 60% grade, slippery, vegetation-covered mountainside, and we began to climb. After several minutes of scampering almost on all fours, we reached the top. Yay! We were still in a forest as far as the eye could see, but we could see and hear the river raging down the slope to our left, so we continued to walk. We partly forged our own path, and partly followed the paths made by horses who had wandered through the forest before us. We felt like we were on the right track, as long as we kept encountering horse manure along the way. We walked and walked and hiked and climbed until we reached...a barbed wire fence. Ugh. After scanning for a break in the fence, to no avail, we decide to climb through. Loren and Kyle held apart the two center strings of wire for us ladies to pass through, then they followed. We continued on. We couldn´t see the river any longer, but we could still hear it close to our left. The forest started to get thicker. The ground began to descend. We passed a dozen little waterfalls, and encountered another stream. This one was only a foot or so deep, but the bank was high and slippery. Finally we found a good place to cross, and waded to the opposite bank. Now we needed to climb another small tree-covered hill. As we neared the top, we could see the roof of our house in the distance. We came down the other side of that hill, then up a grassy hill. To a waist-level stone wall. The house was in sight. With two footholds, we were over the wall. We traveled down that hill and up another rise, and found ourselves in the field beside our house. We walked to the end of the field, through the gate, and we were home. It had only taken us one hour. :)
In all seriousness, I think that Tuesday was my favorite day so far. We were able to provide medical care to the people of that village. I helped to fit people for eyeglasses. I made one gentleman laugh for five minutes straight because I told him that he looked handsome in his new sunglasses. Two little girls gave me hugs. And we interns experienced an adventure in survival and finding our way home. This is the best summer ever!
Haley
On Tuesday, all of the interns travelled to a village in the mountains with a church group that was here from Alabama. We held what they call a ¨medical brigade:¨ providing dental care, eyeglasses, medical care, and a mini-pharmacy for the locals for the day. Just before we finished, the rain began. By the time we got back to the ranch, one of the rivers bordering the ranch had flooded to about Level 4 rapids. The cars couldn´t cross. The church group was able to cross a swinging foot bridge and were picked up on the other side by some other Mission Lazarus workers, who took them to their cabins. We interns, on the other hand, were told that since our house is on the same side of the river as the village, we only needed to hike along the riverbank until we reached the house. It sounded easy enough, even though the rain made things a little - actually, a lot - muddy and slippery. So off we went. After walking 5 minutes along a fairly clear path, we found ourselves forging our way through trees and underbrush along the riverbank. Okay, we can handle that. Then the riverbank ended. The water had risen so much that it covered the remaining ground. We had a choice: to wade through the water until we reached more ground, to scale the sheer rock wall beside us, or to go back. We decided to wade to the next clear spot of riverbank. We prayed. Then we held hands and started into the water. Loren, who was in the lead, took about three steps before he was up to his waist and realized that it would only get deeper. We decided to turn back. We retraced our steps until we were no longer next to a sheer rock wall, but a 60% grade, slippery, vegetation-covered mountainside, and we began to climb. After several minutes of scampering almost on all fours, we reached the top. Yay! We were still in a forest as far as the eye could see, but we could see and hear the river raging down the slope to our left, so we continued to walk. We partly forged our own path, and partly followed the paths made by horses who had wandered through the forest before us. We felt like we were on the right track, as long as we kept encountering horse manure along the way. We walked and walked and hiked and climbed until we reached...a barbed wire fence. Ugh. After scanning for a break in the fence, to no avail, we decide to climb through. Loren and Kyle held apart the two center strings of wire for us ladies to pass through, then they followed. We continued on. We couldn´t see the river any longer, but we could still hear it close to our left. The forest started to get thicker. The ground began to descend. We passed a dozen little waterfalls, and encountered another stream. This one was only a foot or so deep, but the bank was high and slippery. Finally we found a good place to cross, and waded to the opposite bank. Now we needed to climb another small tree-covered hill. As we neared the top, we could see the roof of our house in the distance. We came down the other side of that hill, then up a grassy hill. To a waist-level stone wall. The house was in sight. With two footholds, we were over the wall. We traveled down that hill and up another rise, and found ourselves in the field beside our house. We walked to the end of the field, through the gate, and we were home. It had only taken us one hour. :)
In all seriousness, I think that Tuesday was my favorite day so far. We were able to provide medical care to the people of that village. I helped to fit people for eyeglasses. I made one gentleman laugh for five minutes straight because I told him that he looked handsome in his new sunglasses. Two little girls gave me hugs. And we interns experienced an adventure in survival and finding our way home. This is the best summer ever!
Haley
Kyle Week 2.2: The tip of the needle!
I started asking to many questions today in the clinic, and I paid for it. One of the girls that was with me, Jaclyn, had given shots before so Dr. Javier let her give a lady two shots, one in each cheek (not the ones you smile with). I got to watch, but he wouldn't let me give one until Jaclyn showed me how. Afterwards I started asking questions about how to know if the needle hits a blood vein. Javier explained it once to me but when I asked again he smiled and said, "I'll show you!" He walked out of the room and I looked at Jaclyn and said, "I hope he is not going to do what I think he is going to do."
He walked in with a syringe, a cotton swab and a rubber band. I laughed in disbelief.
He tied the rubber band above my elbow, and started swabbing my forearm.
"If you hit a blood vein, it will look like this!" he said, sticking the needle in my arm right into a vein. Sure enough blood came into the syringe, just like it was supposed to.
I still couldn't believe that he had actually stuck me.
And neither could the slack jawed ten year old that had been sitting in the office room watching the entire procedure.
If the doctor stuck an American with a needle who wasn't even sick, what other horrors could be possible?
While Javier was laughing at me putting a band-aid on my arm, I accused him of being a sadist. He speaks English well enough to understand and he countered, "No, I am a masochist!"
Sure enough when all of the patients for the day were finished, he owned up and let me do the same thing to him, talking me through the entire process of drawing blood.
It was pretty awesome. I found the vein first try. Nailed it. Drew a few milliliters of blood and pulled it out.
Only outside of America, could things like this happen. Unbelieveable. Interns, giving shots, volunteering themselves to be stuck, drawing blood from the doctor himself!
I'm loving it. Hope this doesn't get anyone in trouble.
He walked in with a syringe, a cotton swab and a rubber band. I laughed in disbelief.
He tied the rubber band above my elbow, and started swabbing my forearm.
"If you hit a blood vein, it will look like this!" he said, sticking the needle in my arm right into a vein. Sure enough blood came into the syringe, just like it was supposed to.
I still couldn't believe that he had actually stuck me.
And neither could the slack jawed ten year old that had been sitting in the office room watching the entire procedure.
If the doctor stuck an American with a needle who wasn't even sick, what other horrors could be possible?
While Javier was laughing at me putting a band-aid on my arm, I accused him of being a sadist. He speaks English well enough to understand and he countered, "No, I am a masochist!"
Sure enough when all of the patients for the day were finished, he owned up and let me do the same thing to him, talking me through the entire process of drawing blood.
It was pretty awesome. I found the vein first try. Nailed it. Drew a few milliliters of blood and pulled it out.
Only outside of America, could things like this happen. Unbelieveable. Interns, giving shots, volunteering themselves to be stuck, drawing blood from the doctor himself!
I'm loving it. Hope this doesn't get anyone in trouble.
Adventures with the interns!
It's my second week here and I did medical work all this week. I don't know a lot of spanish, but we had a medical brigade here this week and I was able to work with a Spanish teacher from the states to take patient histories. Let me just say that my Spanish dramatically improved!! I think the coolest thing that happened to me was when I stepped out of my comfort zone and went over to talk with a man. He was trying to teach me the spanish alphabet, and then we just started talking. He told me about how he has a car for work, and I told him about what I liked to do in the states. It was my first coversation in spanish and I loved it.
Then when it was time to leave on Tuesday, it started pouring rain. The only problem was that we had to cross a river twice to get to the intern house. We got to the river and Chad said that we couldn't cross it, so the interns had to walk home. This was quite the adventure since the main trail that led to the house was flooded we had to find our own way in the rain. It was a blast and teh scenery was spectactular. I really think that it was a blessing that we couldn't drive home, because instead we got to trek through the woods and by a waterfall for about an hour. Of course, then we got to our house and it was flooded, so yet another adventure began when we began to sweep the water out with brooms. Life is never dull on the ranch or at the clinic!!
-Katie
Then when it was time to leave on Tuesday, it started pouring rain. The only problem was that we had to cross a river twice to get to the intern house. We got to the river and Chad said that we couldn't cross it, so the interns had to walk home. This was quite the adventure since the main trail that led to the house was flooded we had to find our own way in the rain. It was a blast and teh scenery was spectactular. I really think that it was a blessing that we couldn't drive home, because instead we got to trek through the woods and by a waterfall for about an hour. Of course, then we got to our house and it was flooded, so yet another adventure began when we began to sweep the water out with brooms. Life is never dull on the ranch or at the clinic!!
-Katie
A whale of a week
SO much has happened since the last entry. Friday was supposed to be our first day out however hurricane emma put our world on hold. We stayed in the house all day and got a little stir crazy. On Saturday-it rained. Sunday was a bad day for me...I had a fever all day and when Meredith finally took it it was 104. I felt real bad to say the least...that night things continued to get worse in other areas. So I was stuck in the house again on Monday. Besides feeling like death I was frustrated that I didn´t get to get out. That night we went to the Pasada for dinner with the Mayfair group and I debated going until the last minute and am so glad I did. It was a turning point. Tues and Wed we went on a medical brigade with the Mayfair group. It was very good getting to know them and work with them. Yesterday I helped plant coffee plants on the side of the mountain by the Pasada. I haven´t gotten that dirty in a long time and it was awesome. And today I got to go to the clinic. Javier is great! I felt like I learned so much and got to do a lot (I gave two shots) So that gives a overview...but leaves out things like the Mayfair group feeding us, our house flooding twice, me breaking into our house because the door wouldnt open, crossing the rivers, not crossing the rivers, the interns hour hike in the rain crossing rivers just to get back to the house, whales, morning mix 08, countless stories in the house and in el jefe. Life is good and God is better.
Jaclyn
Jaclyn
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Kyle Week Two
A friend asked me if I had seen anything crazy in Honduras...
crazy: check
sicknasty: check
almost gagged: yep
touched something Id rather not think about: YES
got left: twice
felt stupid: never stops
forgot TP: never again
faked spanish: always
laughed to tears: yes
got dirty: quit caring
made friends: favorite part
got used to waking up at 5: strangely
couldnt stay up past 10: sadly
felt God moving: often
understood Jesus: daily
wanted to go home: not yet
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
