Gracias

6/27/2012

We are back in the states. What an amazing month! We not only had the opportunity to learn more about  the language and the culture, but we had the rare opportunity to test ourselves in ways I never thought I would, and to see medicine in a completely different form compared to the fast-paced, high-tech practices in the states. We seemingly have everything here, or at least comparatively we do, so seeing the clinics and the schools was so humbling, and a chance to really appreciate the blessings I was born into. Things were not as I thought they would be, they were better- I had the opportunity to travel with nine amazing people, to meet a truly selfless family who opened their home to us, to see the lives of a beautiful culture, and to be reminded that no one should take what they have for granted. This trip was eye opening in so many ways, and it is something that I will carry with me as we begin our next big adventure, getting one more step closer to becoming physicians.

I beg young people to travel. If you don't have a passport, get one. Take a summer, get a backpack and go to Delhi, go to Saigon, go to Bangkok, go to Kenya. Have your mind blown. Eat interesting food. Dig some interesting people. Have an adventure. Be careful. Come back and you're going to see your country differently, you're going to see your president differently, no matter who it is. Music, culture, food, water. Your showers will become shorter. You're going to get a sense of what globalization looks like. It's not what Tom Friedman writes about; I'm sorry. You're going to see that global climate change is very real. And that for some people, their day consists of walking 12 miles for four buckets of water. And so there are lessons that you can't get out of a book that are waiting for you at the other end of that flight. A lot of people-Americans and Europeans-come back and go, Ohhhhh. And the light bulb goes on

-Henry Rollins

La Clínica

6/19/2012

We spent the week working at a small clinic in Jocotenango. Some days, we did patient intake where we would talk to the patient before they saw the doctor, taking vitals and asking for symptoms. When not doing intake, we would take turns shadowing the doctor, just like we do in the States. The whole week was great practice for speaking and listening to Spanish. I was very grateful for the opportunity to practice what we learned the first two weeks. It was also great to spend the week in the same place so we had the chance to get to know the process a little bit better, and the people that made it work. 

The clinic was pretty small, one room for the doctor, one room for intake, and one room for vaccinations. The patients were always lined up at the door each morning, for they don’t have a system for making appointments. Once the doors open, the patients check in with the nurse who gives them a number and takes their chart off the wall. In Antigua, a chart is simply a piece of paper with the date of each visit and the symptoms listed on the page near where the doctor writes the prescription, nothing like our electronic records. One by one we would call the patients in, take their vitals, and ask what brought them to the clinic for the day, then send them back out to the waiting room until the doctor was ready to see them. We saw everything from colds to bites to burns.

 At the clinic, there were three nurses and one doctor, all of whom were so nice, allowing us to participate in as much as we could, including giving some vaccinations. I was so appreciative of the opportunity to practice my spanish, especially the listening, and the opportunity to see, once again, how a culture takes what they have and does their best with it. It was a very different experience from what we are used to in the states, but I am so glad I had the opportunity to see it.

Aventura

6/15/2012

For our last weekend trip, we traveled to Semuc Champey in Coban. What a beautiful area! It is tucked within the mountains, a little hideaway in the jungle, with multiple turquoise pools formed by water flowing down from above. I thought Tikal was quite the adventure, but I had no idea how amazing Coban would be! We started the morning with a hike through the jungle again, climbing up steep hills to get to a crazy view of the pools down below. I was struck by the bright blue water and the multiple falls that created the pools. Even more striking than the view was the sound of the waterfalls as they hit their destination at the pools. Even from so high up, you could still hear them. 

After hiking down, our tour guide told us to leave all of our stuff in a cubby off to the side of the pools and we followed him straight into the water where he led us on a little adventure filled with jumps, rock slides, and even a small cave. We sat on the edge of the pools looking out to the mountains with clear water rushing by us, and I could not have been more relaxed. 

After lunch, we continued the day with a little caving adventure. Now, I have been in caves before, but never like this. Instead of having a lighted path, the guide handed each of us a candle that we lit before walking into the mouth of the cave. Within about twenty feet, we were swimming through the cave with only one hand, holding the candles above our heads, following the guides through a pitch black cave, every once in awhile hearing a bat overhead. There were rope ladders to climb up as we worked our way farther into the cave. At the back end, we each took a turn walking under a waterfall before heading back out the way we came in, using the current to help us along as we swam out. The whole weekend was a little retreat to the jungle, once again doing things that I never thought I would. What an adventure.

Photos by Edward Doyle

Lavarse las Manos

6/14/2012

Today was a very busy day. We started off bright and early in a clinic in a small town outside of Antigua. We spent the morning helping the nurse at the clinic take vital signs of the patients, including glucose readings, before the doctor arrived. Since there are ten of us, we rotated through being with patients and being in the waiting room. We got to practice our spanish a bit by giving short presentations on diabetes, diarrhea, and pneumonia. And, to celebrate father’s day, Lissette wrapped a few gifts for the fathers. We even got to hear some beautiful thoughts from the dads in the waiting room on what it means to them to be a father. 

After the clinic, we traveled up the side of one of the volcanoes to another town where a school for girls was waiting for us to give more presentations on hand washing. It was very similar to our first trip to the school, but this time we took buckets with us so that we could actually show the girls how to wash their hands. The girls were dressed in traditional clothes, some with their hair braided with a red ribbon. They were full of smiles and giggles, wanting a picture or a hug. They all kept bumping into the girl in front of them as they attempted to patiently wait for their turn to wash their hands at the front of the line. When some of these girls started washing their hands, you could see the dirt caked beneath their nails, see the brown water drip off their fingers. But afterwards, watching them examine their work, and smelling the fresh scent of the soap in the courtyard was awesome. This was one of my favorite days so far, I just hope those girls, especially the little ones, took something away from today.

Afterwards, we traveled to another hospital in Antigua-this one named after Hermano Pedro. It is what we would call a specialty hospital in the states. This hospital has about 200 permanent residents, babies to adults, with mental or physical disabilities. This hospital was definitely better off than the one we saw earlier this week because it receives many donations, and has medical surgical teams volunteering their time forty weeks out of the year, but it was still unlike any hospitals you would find in the U.S. This hospital also provides free care for their patients, but ask that those who are able to make a donation, do so, in order to keep providing care to all of their patients. Walking through the halls and rooms of the hospital was very humbling. Unlike the private  and sterile rooms back in in the states, this hospital had their patients all in one room, divided by age. The little kids each had their own bed, but they resembled cages more than cribs. Each place we have seen is another reminder of how cultures do what they can with what they have. The health professionals in Guatemala may not have all the equipment we do, but they do what they can, and that speaks volumes.

‎Reír

6/12/2012

Today we visited a small school in Antigua for kids from Kindergarten to the 6th grade. When we arrived, all the kids started staring at us from the windows of the classrooms. They seemed pretty excited to see a bunch of Americans standing around outside. We were at the school to give presentations on how to wash your hands in addition to providing an anti-parasitic pill to each student. I was so nervous to talk to a bunch of eight year olds, which is so odd for me. I love being around kids, but speaking Spanish to them was pretty nerve racking. I messed up many times, but I don’t think they minded too much! While at the school we were around for their recess. I don’t ever remember my recesses being so crazy!! However, it was a great reminder that laughter is universal, and with kids, there is never a shortage of laughter. (Even if it means them laughing at your lack of Spanish!)

After visiting the school, we took a  tour of Hospital Nacional Pedro de Bethancourt, the national hospital of Sacatepequez, the state where we are living. The tour was given in very fast spoken Spanish, but from what we all could pick up, I learned that the hospital is very different from what we have in the states. The most shocking thing was that it only has two nurses for about eighty patients because they cannot afford to hire anyone else. With only two hundred beds, some hallways were filled with sick patients, while others were turned into waiting rooms. The mothers of kids in the pediatric wing had to be the ones to provide care to their children because there weren’t enough nurses to do so, and starting just last year, the hospital was finally able to provide clean water to their patients, but still can’t provide food to their employees due to lack of finances. The care provided is completely free, but the lack of resources is a major issue.

I walked through the hallways and couldn’t help but compare it to the halls of Cardinal Glennon back at SLU. Everything in CG is new, bright, and clean. Nurses, doctors, therapists, and volunteers are always around. Taking a dinner break in the cafeteria means having your choice of five or more different types of warm food, with enough sides and snacks to last throughout all the long hours of studying we do. But here, a mother not only has to worry about her child as a mom, she also has to be a nurse, providing care that the States has professionals to do each and every day. What a difference. 

Los monos

6/11/2012
To celebrate finishing two weeks of Spanish, we spent the weekend traveling to Tikal, the place of five Mayan temples and thousands of more buildings. To get there from Antigua, we traveled by bus, overnight, which normally wouldn’t be a problem, but with the rocking roads of Guatemala, it felt as if the bus may crumble to pieces at any second. None of us slept very well, but, just like our arrival in Antigua, when we arrived in Tikal, we set down our stuff, slathered on some sunscreen and bug spray, and hiked out into the national park of Tikal. The jungle is just as humid and just as hot as I thought it would be. August in St. Louis comes pretty darn close to the jungle!

We spent the next few hours hiking from temple to temple and marveling at the amazing feats that the Mayans were able to complete way back in 700 AD. Crazy. We even saw baby monkeys!!! To save energy, the hotel we stayed at only has electricity from 6pm-10pm, but we were so tired, we had no problem going to bed before lights out. Instead of sleeping in, we were up before the crack of dawn, right around 3:30am to head back into the jungle. I never thought I would say that I hiked through the jungle in the middle of the night, but listening to the jungle come alive in the morning was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. The howler monkeys were first, and it sounded like they were right behind us, like a real-life Jurassic Park.

Just as the sun was rising, we made it to the top of temple number four and sat in silence, atop a magnificent structure, watching the sun peak its way through the clouds, while the sounds of the monkeys and birds provided the soundtrack. Those times of peace and serenity don’t come around too often anymore so I was happy to have the opportunity to take a step back from the worries of life and just take in my surroundings.

Español

6/8/2012
We just finished two weeks of one on one Spanish lessons.  I took Spanish in high school, but haven’t spoken it since then, and to make matters worse, I took two years of Italian in college, so needless to say, my Spanish was not too great. I found that when I finally got on a role, my Italian would come out, so class was pretty frustrating, but I had a wonderful teacher! My teacher’s name was Erika-she was fantastic and super, super patient with me and my lack of words. It is always so much easier to understand a language than speak it, but we all did our best.

The first week was spent cramming in as much grammar and vocab as possible. We covered everything from the major verbs to medical vocabulary, we even learned the Spanish song, La Bomba-the boys soloing was pretty entertaining. The second week focused more on the medical side of things. I was in the “beginner” group, so we focused on patient intake, taking vital signs, and on two very important diseases that are common here in Guatemala, Dengue and Pneumonia. During the patient interviews, the teachers would act like the patients and give us symptoms, which we would write in their “carnet” or chart, and then go through the process of taking vitals. We also practiced giving presentations on Dengue and Pneumonia in Spanish.

Working one on one with a Spanish speaker is definitely the best way to learn a language, but after each four-hour session, my head was throbbing. I am proud of the amount of information I was able to take in during such a short period of time, but I have to admit, it was also one of the most frustrating things I have ever done. I wanted to learn so much more, to understand so much more, and to speak so much more. I kept having to remind myself that it was only two weeks. But, I can now say that I can be somewhat successful with basic medical spanish and I am excited to use it in the clinics.