The morning came quickly. We had breakfast at 6 & a team mtg at 6:30 & left for the hospital at 7. I realized at breakfast that I didn't do a very good job of packing food on this trip especially when the eggs & beans for breakfast weren't really looking that great. I do have protein bars & peanut butter but usually I pack more. No worries I wont go hungry!
We set up the recovery room & surgeries started by 8:15 - it all went really smoothly. I was told that most of these patients are from the Western part of Honduras which is the poorest part of the country. We are at the top of Honduras very close to the Guatemala border. There were 15 cases today 7 lips & 8 palates plus some dental procedures. Almost all of the kids here have teeth that are rotted out - it is so sad. We just take dental care for granted in the US. The hospital is VERY old & dilapidated but they have some very strict rules that we have to follow - one is that we are not allowed to bring the parents into the recovery room after surgery to see their kids & comfort them. That makes for alot more crying in the PACU & also is a bummer to me because one of my favorite things is seeing the parents see their child with a beautiful new face for the 1st time. We had some tension as we started just different ways of doing things but it all settled out nicely by the end of the day. Our Pediatric Intensivist has flight problems & got here at 2 pm - she is fabulous & totally mended the local & international team communication challenges.
2 of my favorite kids from yesterday had surgery today a 5 year old dwarf boy with a large bilateral cleft lip - his transformation was nothing short of miraculous. He was all smiles yesterday - not so happy today but looks amazing!!! Also a little girl from yesterday who was such a cutie.
We were told it was the rainy season here but that is a bit of an understatement - it started raining about 3 pm & 8 hours later really hasn't stopped - thunder, lightening, torrential rain & power outages have been the theme of the day. In the recovery room we had a few leaks but the were manageable. Some part of the hospital were fully flooded & the store room in the OR has a tin roof & in there you cant even have a conversation. Also we were supposed to have 3 OR's but we only have 2 because last Sun the roof caved on on the other one...
We finished at 8:15 - not bad for the 1st day & it was still pouring & we had to walk a few blocks to the bus. I decided to use a black trashbag as my rain gear (picture to follow) so I put my very large backpack on, made a hole for my head & put it over me - I am not sure why I didn't make arm holes I just want thinking but I definitely provided evening humor for both staff & families as I walked thru the hospital & for the most part I stayed dry! Sadly there were people sleeping on the wet floors of the hospital hallways...again a reminder of how blessed we are.
I am on call tonight so no sleeping aids for me in case I have to wake up & function but typically that isn't the case. So I am off to be excited for 6 hours of sleep!
We set up the recovery room & surgeries started by 8:15 - it all went really smoothly. I was told that most of these patients are from the Western part of Honduras which is the poorest part of the country. We are at the top of Honduras very close to the Guatemala border. There were 15 cases today 7 lips & 8 palates plus some dental procedures. Almost all of the kids here have teeth that are rotted out - it is so sad. We just take dental care for granted in the US. The hospital is VERY old & dilapidated but they have some very strict rules that we have to follow - one is that we are not allowed to bring the parents into the recovery room after surgery to see their kids & comfort them. That makes for alot more crying in the PACU & also is a bummer to me because one of my favorite things is seeing the parents see their child with a beautiful new face for the 1st time. We had some tension as we started just different ways of doing things but it all settled out nicely by the end of the day. Our Pediatric Intensivist has flight problems & got here at 2 pm - she is fabulous & totally mended the local & international team communication challenges.
2 of my favorite kids from yesterday had surgery today a 5 year old dwarf boy with a large bilateral cleft lip - his transformation was nothing short of miraculous. He was all smiles yesterday - not so happy today but looks amazing!!! Also a little girl from yesterday who was such a cutie.
We were told it was the rainy season here but that is a bit of an understatement - it started raining about 3 pm & 8 hours later really hasn't stopped - thunder, lightening, torrential rain & power outages have been the theme of the day. In the recovery room we had a few leaks but the were manageable. Some part of the hospital were fully flooded & the store room in the OR has a tin roof & in there you cant even have a conversation. Also we were supposed to have 3 OR's but we only have 2 because last Sun the roof caved on on the other one...
We finished at 8:15 - not bad for the 1st day & it was still pouring & we had to walk a few blocks to the bus. I decided to use a black trashbag as my rain gear (picture to follow) so I put my very large backpack on, made a hole for my head & put it over me - I am not sure why I didn't make arm holes I just want thinking but I definitely provided evening humor for both staff & families as I walked thru the hospital & for the most part I stayed dry! Sadly there were people sleeping on the wet floors of the hospital hallways...again a reminder of how blessed we are.
I am on call tonight so no sleeping aids for me in case I have to wake up & function but typically that isn't the case. So I am off to be excited for 6 hours of sleep!
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