It is almost midnight here & I have to be in the lobby at 4:30 am to head to the airport for my 7 am flight but if I dont blog now I never will - I just dont blog after I get home - too many other things competing for my attention & to get caught up on!!!
I went straight to the bus this morning having one of my protein bars for breakfast. Lisa my post op friend didnt come today - she is really sick & miserable - it may be strep & Eva in the PACU with us may have a Cocksakie Virus...so my not feeling well on Tues/Wed was very mild in comparison.
Since Post Op was down a nurse Erika & I went & did vital signs & assessment on all 20 patients from yesterday. It was nice to see them 12 hours later all ready to go!
Today was supposed to be a shorter day - we had 16 patients instead of 20 & some were older teenages & even a few adults who would have local anesthesia & not need to stay - we finished about 4 & then packed up. For lunch they surprised us with Nactamales (Nicaraguan tamales) they are very similar to other types of tamales but have rice in them along with a meat & are wrapped and cooked in bananas. Truly this was the best lunch of the week! Supposedly you can only buy them on Fri/Sat/Sun? They were yummy!
We had two patients today who were both 3 year old "Frenulectomy" basically they are "tongue tied" & its a little "snip" to take care of it. Neither of them thought it was a little thing!!! They were both off the chart wild!!! One little girl was kicking & screaming let me go as we waited for her mom to come in & tried to keep her from pulling out her IV the other little boy was so out of sorts we actually sedated him a bit & he woke up much happier - which is not uncommon. I have always said I love 3 year old but these 2 tested that a bit :)
The 3 year old boy was a blone haired very caucasian looking boy Dilan - he did have a bad rap for not playing nice with the other kids & even the staff but as I have always said...everyone has a story even a 3 year old & when you really listen you understand more & judge less. His dad is German I left Nicaragua before he was born. His mom was an alcoholic & smoked alot & had no prenatal care & didnt want a baby so I dont know the specifics but he was adopted by a woman who is 39 now & has 4 grown children 19-25 (yes she has her first child at 14). According to the Child Life Specialsist he could have had Fetal Alcohol Syndrome which would account for some of his behaviors. He may have kicked me once ot twice as he was struggling to be free from the IV & medical equipment but after he woke up the 2nd time he was a different boy - he even blew us kisses as he left the PACU. That's the Dilan I will remember & the wonderful woman who adopted him.
We have had 3 students from HOLA helping us every day this week Belkis is 18 & I seriously wanted to bring her home with me!!! I spoke to Megan who helps at HOLA as after talking to Belkis I was so confused. She has been at HOLA since she was 4 & she has 2 siblings there (that made me realize I couldnt bring her home) But she also has a mom 5 hours away & 2 other siblings. She sees her mom once a year. Megan says there are many kids on the street & the version of Social Services gets them to a "rehab" & then tries to get them home but many are "social orphans" with no where to go, Getting into a orphanage is a "privlidge" as then you are cared for & have a good chance at a positive successful life - especially at HOLA. I cant imagine parents not wanting their children, I can imagine them being unable to provide for them & thinking that giving them up is giving them a better future...again either way it is sad & really Belkis & the 2 boys were AMAZING teenagers for all they have gone thru in their lives. Belkis asked for flip flops for 3 little girls at the Orphanage - I had 3 matching pairs left & gave them to her :)
Throughout today I intermittently during the week we have felt SUPER TIRED in PACU - Erika even thought she mistakently took Tylenol PM one day - today we decided that the ventilation in our room really wasnt very good & it may have been that we had a accumulation ot the Sevo (sleeping gas for surgery) in our area...I really think that may have been the case!
The final party was at the hotel which was great cause I wanted to go but not stay late so I could come back & pack etc. The final parties are always great - people you didnt know 10 days ago are now your dear friends as you have now spent ALOT of time with them working side by side in an environment no one else would completely understand. So fast friendships are made & it is always wonderful to reunite with past friends from other missions too for me that was Erika & Lisa :)
And just like that it's over....back to "real life" the "real world" and all that includes - some of which is wonderful - like being back with my family & other of which seems tedious & trivial after having been in an environment like this for 10 days. A nurse here on her first Op Smile mission said it well - the working conditions may be challenging & the medical care not acceptable to anyone in the US & for these kids it is a small moment in time they may or may not rememeber depending on their age but I am in AWE of these parents who are battling against all odds to get their children help & trust in people they have never seen before who speak a language they dont understand - plus they do this with unwaivering composure amongst the occasional confusion and express gratitude for care & circumstances most people would complain about.
As for me I am here to help in anyway possible, anywhere needed to try & make a difference - sometimes that's at home right in Trabuco Canyon & sometimes its in far away countries but no matter where I am always grateful for the opportunities & changed by the experiences & this trip to Nicaragua was just that.
Tomorrow I will fly home, eat & drink whatever I want without worrying if it will make me sick, shower with warm clean water, sleep in a house on a comfortable bed, drive a car, have a clean bathroom, turn on heat or air conditioning and rememeber that is not the case in many places in the world including the USA...I am blessed beyond measure.
I went straight to the bus this morning having one of my protein bars for breakfast. Lisa my post op friend didnt come today - she is really sick & miserable - it may be strep & Eva in the PACU with us may have a Cocksakie Virus...so my not feeling well on Tues/Wed was very mild in comparison.
Since Post Op was down a nurse Erika & I went & did vital signs & assessment on all 20 patients from yesterday. It was nice to see them 12 hours later all ready to go!
Today was supposed to be a shorter day - we had 16 patients instead of 20 & some were older teenages & even a few adults who would have local anesthesia & not need to stay - we finished about 4 & then packed up. For lunch they surprised us with Nactamales (Nicaraguan tamales) they are very similar to other types of tamales but have rice in them along with a meat & are wrapped and cooked in bananas. Truly this was the best lunch of the week! Supposedly you can only buy them on Fri/Sat/Sun? They were yummy!
We had two patients today who were both 3 year old "Frenulectomy" basically they are "tongue tied" & its a little "snip" to take care of it. Neither of them thought it was a little thing!!! They were both off the chart wild!!! One little girl was kicking & screaming let me go as we waited for her mom to come in & tried to keep her from pulling out her IV the other little boy was so out of sorts we actually sedated him a bit & he woke up much happier - which is not uncommon. I have always said I love 3 year old but these 2 tested that a bit :)
The 3 year old boy was a blone haired very caucasian looking boy Dilan - he did have a bad rap for not playing nice with the other kids & even the staff but as I have always said...everyone has a story even a 3 year old & when you really listen you understand more & judge less. His dad is German I left Nicaragua before he was born. His mom was an alcoholic & smoked alot & had no prenatal care & didnt want a baby so I dont know the specifics but he was adopted by a woman who is 39 now & has 4 grown children 19-25 (yes she has her first child at 14). According to the Child Life Specialsist he could have had Fetal Alcohol Syndrome which would account for some of his behaviors. He may have kicked me once ot twice as he was struggling to be free from the IV & medical equipment but after he woke up the 2nd time he was a different boy - he even blew us kisses as he left the PACU. That's the Dilan I will remember & the wonderful woman who adopted him.
We have had 3 students from HOLA helping us every day this week Belkis is 18 & I seriously wanted to bring her home with me!!! I spoke to Megan who helps at HOLA as after talking to Belkis I was so confused. She has been at HOLA since she was 4 & she has 2 siblings there (that made me realize I couldnt bring her home) But she also has a mom 5 hours away & 2 other siblings. She sees her mom once a year. Megan says there are many kids on the street & the version of Social Services gets them to a "rehab" & then tries to get them home but many are "social orphans" with no where to go, Getting into a orphanage is a "privlidge" as then you are cared for & have a good chance at a positive successful life - especially at HOLA. I cant imagine parents not wanting their children, I can imagine them being unable to provide for them & thinking that giving them up is giving them a better future...again either way it is sad & really Belkis & the 2 boys were AMAZING teenagers for all they have gone thru in their lives. Belkis asked for flip flops for 3 little girls at the Orphanage - I had 3 matching pairs left & gave them to her :)
Throughout today I intermittently during the week we have felt SUPER TIRED in PACU - Erika even thought she mistakently took Tylenol PM one day - today we decided that the ventilation in our room really wasnt very good & it may have been that we had a accumulation ot the Sevo (sleeping gas for surgery) in our area...I really think that may have been the case!
The final party was at the hotel which was great cause I wanted to go but not stay late so I could come back & pack etc. The final parties are always great - people you didnt know 10 days ago are now your dear friends as you have now spent ALOT of time with them working side by side in an environment no one else would completely understand. So fast friendships are made & it is always wonderful to reunite with past friends from other missions too for me that was Erika & Lisa :)
And just like that it's over....back to "real life" the "real world" and all that includes - some of which is wonderful - like being back with my family & other of which seems tedious & trivial after having been in an environment like this for 10 days. A nurse here on her first Op Smile mission said it well - the working conditions may be challenging & the medical care not acceptable to anyone in the US & for these kids it is a small moment in time they may or may not rememeber depending on their age but I am in AWE of these parents who are battling against all odds to get their children help & trust in people they have never seen before who speak a language they dont understand - plus they do this with unwaivering composure amongst the occasional confusion and express gratitude for care & circumstances most people would complain about.
As for me I am here to help in anyway possible, anywhere needed to try & make a difference - sometimes that's at home right in Trabuco Canyon & sometimes its in far away countries but no matter where I am always grateful for the opportunities & changed by the experiences & this trip to Nicaragua was just that.
Tomorrow I will fly home, eat & drink whatever I want without worrying if it will make me sick, shower with warm clean water, sleep in a house on a comfortable bed, drive a car, have a clean bathroom, turn on heat or air conditioning and rememeber that is not the case in many places in the world including the USA...I am blessed beyond measure.