Well I thought I was up late but poor Katrin & Christoph were on call for Recovery & had to go in at 2 am for a pt that had to go back to surgery...then when they were done at 4 the hospital elevator was broken & the patient area was up 4 flights of stairs & this was a BIG boy so they ended up staying there all night & then leaving at 7 am when we all got then only to shower, eat & return about 9 - I am on call tonight :/
I went to the Post Op area this morning - that is one of my favorite things to do cause when the kids come to me they are pretty sleepy but the next day they are smiling & look great! I first went to Rosas family - she had a rough night & her poor mom didn't sleep at all - the Drs are going to re-evaluate her later today. Oh & our mission was on the front page of the Tlaxcala News - it was all in Spanish of course but I could figure out the basics & one of our translators Sergio helped w/ the rest. I am bringing a copy home!
The Operating room seemed very chaotic this morning - there are 14 Plastic Surgery residents from Guadalajara here so about 3 at each table plus the "real doctors" nurse etc. I did get asked to help start 2 IV's in one room on the 1st cases of the day & I was quite proud of myself that I got them both in - it has been AWHILE since I started IV's - a little tender mercy I think for both the patients & me...yep I am a REAL NURSE :)
One of the most darling 5 year olds EVER had surgery today...Diego - he was a little guy I screened on Monday w/ his mom so I met them for the hand off into the OR & went into the room with him then recovered him...he was SO PRECIOUS & SO BRAVE!!! He had some airway problems after surgery so he had to stay in recovery awhile but it all ended well & I passed him off to his mom across the "magic line". I took some good pictures of him!
There are the nicest "Pink Ladies" here - they seriously wear candystriper uniforms like I wore in high school but also have fun hats etc & they help entertain the kids before surgery - I took pictures of them - you will see what I mean!
This morning the local recovery room nurses went out to a street vendor about 9 am to buy tamales & bought me one...I was a little nervous but didn't want to offend them & they were being so kind so I ate it - it was really good! There seems to be no differentiation between meals here - rice, beans, meat, tortillas, tacos, tamales are pretty much an option at every meal....another bright spot in a BUSY day was that the Colgate people brought in 2 volunteers to give us 5 min massages - those really might have been the best 5 min of my day :)
Since Katrin had been up all night I sent her home at 7 & we still had about 6 cases to go....one of the last cases was an 18 year old boy who has no family as I understand...I didn't have all the details - he had a smooth Cleft Lip Surgery & all was well - when he woke Up & I was caring for him & talking to him in my broken Spanish I asked if he needed anything & finally thru a translator he asked me if he had to pay cause he didn't have any money....I told him no were were all here as volunteers & it was free & he just needed to go & do something good for someone else...as he left the Recovery Room I took a picture of him & he gave me the thumbs up sign! Other later patients were Grey...a cute & very brave little girl who was so so happy when I gave her a sticker pack for being so good about taking deep breaths so I could get her off oxygen & up to the floor and also Diuyrth...I had the hardest time pronouncing her name! She had both a cleft lip &v palate repair.
Cristoph & I got done about 11 pm - so from the 5 :30 am wake up call until my 1:30 getting to bed it was a 20 hour day...at times I was a bit tired but for the most part I know I am being blessed in my endurance & ability to do what needs to be done. I cant believe that tomorrow is our last surgery day - this is really a short mission but I am having a wonderful time serving the children of Tlaxcala Mexico & their parents. I really am SOOOO grateful to be able to be here. More updates tomorrow....Adios!
No comments:
Post a Comment