This system of me not going with the team in the morning
& having an extra hour makes ALL the difference – I think all Clinical
Coordinators should adopt it!!!
Seriously though most of the team leaves 1-2 hours before PACU & its
just me & the 2 Program Coordinators, the Clinical Coordinator &
Intensivist there til the end. Tonight we got back to the hotel by 9:30? So a little better each day. This was our hump
day – after today only 2 days left & Saturday will be nice as there are no
palates done on the last day of the mission – but we will have had plenty
before then!
The first round of patients were all Cleft lips – one on
each operating table & those are always rewarding because you can visually
see the difference immediately. Just about all of the moms were young (17-20
years old) and many families all live together so the abuelas or grandmas help
care for the babies. We only let one parent come into the PACU because the
space is small & it’s often chaotic. Today when the moms came in it was
apparent that some of them were very scared, nervous & uncomfortable with their
fussy baby coming out of anesthesia so I spent time calming babies then giving
them to the moms & reassuring the young moms they were doing just fine
holding & comforting their babies.
After that first round of lips it was all palates the rest
of the day & quite a few young ones who did not come out of the “black hole”
of anesthesia very well so for many there was LOTS of crying, thrashing,
screaming no matter what we did, who held them etc…we try to let them calm on
their own or with a parent but we did quite a bit of medicating today…of the
patients & 2 rounds of Tylenol for the recovery room staff. For about 3
patients there was nothing we could do to calm them, meds, walking, rocking,
parents & staff holding them…those are challenging & make the
environment chaotic – poor kids have no idea what is going on!
After Sunday I thought I was done with my help for church
members but on Monday I got an email from another Stake President/Church Leader
here that I had also emailed. Pres. Rivolara had his clerk email me in English that
they wondered what kind of help I could offer. I explained what I had done in
other countries for missionaries etc & he replied back & said that when
he read that I wanted to help someone preparing to serve a mission he
immediately thought of Manuel. He also mentioned that to the Stake Pres. Who also
said Manuel is the one person who most needs help. He is a young man of a very
humble family, his maternal grandmother just died 2 days ago. He has an older
brother serving a mission in Posadas Argentina. Manuel wants to leave on a
mission but his dad thinks that Manuel should wait until his brother returns
home so that Manuel can use the same luggage & clothes; but Manuel wants to
go sooner so he is trying to get as much work as he can to buy the luggage
& clothes.
My heart immediately swelled & I replied back that I
would love to help. I can’t imagine that what seems to us to be simple
resources (like a suitcase & clothing) would delay someone from serving a
mission but here it does as resources are scarce & just getting the
physical resources to have a son leave for 2 years really is a huge sacrifice.
At home in the states most families go on a big “pre mission shopping trip” to
get their son or daughter the needed items without much thought. Tues & Wed
went by & I hadn’t heard back from them despite trying to call &
sending emails. I was feeling a little frantic as I knew I needed to help
Manuel even though I have never met him. Yesterday morning I called Pres. Wilson
the mission president to see if he could help me connect & in ur very
broken English/Spanish conversation he said he would have Pres. Rivolara call
me today. So at the hospital I have not had much luck with my 3G international
network on my phone & I have no idea why…before it got crazy I asked Bella a
student who had been there that had been helping the last 2 days if I could
connect to her wifi to check emails & there was an email from Pres.
Rivolara saying he had come to the Military hospital to find me but couldn’t locate
me. I had Bella reply in Spanish that I am up in the Surgery area & she
gave him her phone # & he immediately called her phone & we had a 3 way
conversation. He is going to come to the hotel on Saturday at the end of the
mission with Manuel – I am so happy this will work out & again thru the
resources of generous friends we can help this young man. All things came
together today to get that coordinated…yes God is involved in the details of
our lives!
Bella explained to me the private vs public hospital system
& that this hospital is a public hospital for the very poor but people who
are more well off (teachers, business, economic professions etc) have insurance
to go to private hospitals. While that makes me feel a little better for some this
public hospital in this country really has challenges we would never see in the
states. The water & electricity are intermittent, there are flies &
bugs everywhere, lots of roof leaks & water all over the floors, minimal
supplies etc. No matter what time we leave at night there are always people
sleeping on the floors or chairs in the hospital with bags of belongings – it is
heartbreaking. And of course the bathroom situation is no better so I have just
resorted to not drinking during the day to avoid them as much as possible!
Little Dalma was one of my special patients today – she wanted
a 2nd armband on her that said princess & was wearing a crown! She
was a 4 year old palate repair & was here with her mom & dad who were
so nervous. We assured them pre op that all of us here are moms or grandmas
& that we take care of these children as if they were our own. That seemed
to calm them a bit & while she was a little feisty after surgery she did
well & they were happy! One of my last patients was Marcos a very BIG 4
year old who weighed 55 pounds & was tall too. His mom was tall I bigger in
stature & she said her husband was a big man too. He really looked more like
he was 10 size wise so it was hard to remember he was only 4. He had some
breathing challenges after surgery so he stayed with me in recovery for 2 ½ hours.
Mom held him almost the whole time & I held him for a bit & he was
heavy! He did well though & finally went to post op about 7 pm. When I
helped take him up all the pre-op kids for tomorrow had checked in so it was
busy up there. They had all just finished their happy meals – the McDonalds here
donates 25 happy meals every night for the kids having surgery the next day – I
am sure they done know it is their “last meal” for a few days!
The last patient rolled in just after 8 pm – the local
nurses had left about 7:30 to get back to their homes & families – I know
how hard it is to be doing something as big as a mission but also be managing
your “real life” home & family so I applaud their sacrifice & service
to the mission. Francisco or “Franny” as his mom called him was a 14 year old
palate repair. He had his lip repaired as a baby but then never got his palate
repaired & his mom was crying & anxious for him to have surgery which made
him anxious too. I brought her in to the PACU as soon as he arrived so she
could see he was okay & she was very teary. He was pretty sleep with the
anesthesia & it took him about an hour to wake up but her woke up well which
was good. We got him to post op just after 9 & I put all the PACU equipment
away, changed the sheets on the gurneys and got things somewhat set up for
tomorrow!
Once we got the the hotel all I wanted was a decent bathroom
so I went straight there & surprise I got locked in!!! Fortunately Dusty my
roommate was in the rooms so she tried to call the front desk but they didn’t answer
& she has minimal Spanish so she text Kim the PC who thought we were “punking
her” & Dusty got dressed (minus one shoe) & took my phone & went to
the lobby to pantomime the situation. I thought of taking a shower but really didn’t
want to be rescued from the shower so I did brush my teeth & waited. There
is no “maintaince dept” so the hotel front desk guy came & took the handle
off the door to get it open. As soon as he left Dusty & I laughed
hysterically…at the situation & in the text she sent Kim asking her to come
help her explain this to the front desk it autocorrected to come expose yourself
to the front desk. The entire situation in general was a humorous relief…we had
a good long laugh! Between that & my sleep deprived “lost phone” encounter
last night we decided we needed sleep & will be in bed by 11 tonight!
I am so grateful to be here for so many reasons…
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