It was SO GREAT to get a few extra hours of sleep & boy
did I need it as today was not as long as yesterday but we didn’t leave the
hospital until 10 pm so for me a 14 hour day….we really thought we’d be out by
8 or 9 but the last patients took longer & had problems. I have just
decided to plan on being there until 10 pm every night & if we get out
earlier that will be a bonus!
It must have rained all night & it was raining still this morning. I had 2 choices to either walk in the rain or take a taxi. I decided to take the taxi as I didn’t want to arrive both late & wet. It was on $2 American & its not a “formal taxi” it is someones car – I am thinking places like this are where people got the idea for UBER in the USA.
Because I went in later I missed post –op again – which also may not happen on this mission with this schedule. Brigid the local nurse & I got the PACU set up quickly & the other local nurses arrived a little later. Brigid has a 5 year old daughter & its her Bday tomorrow so she wont be here on Thursday & lives 2 hours away so I was hoping to get her out early to head home but 9 pm was all I could do. Her daughter is having a Frozen Bday party – Disney is always universal! Also Angel another local volunteer was in a car accident on his drive home (also 2 hours away) last night – he is fine but his car not so much. He took the bus in to the hospital today & got here at 11 - what dedication!
Our first patient got to us by 9:30 & was a real cutie & I tucked a little dollie I had under her arm J It is so rewarding to see how happy the parents are when they see their child lip repair for the 1st time – I decided today it is the same emotion people try to capture in that “1st Look of the bride at weddings” but to me much more tender as it is a parent looking at their child. I have captured them before on missions but never really thought of it this way. I have a few pics I will post. The palate reapirs are all internal so it doesn’t seem like any change – but it truly is life changing to their speaking & eating etc.
The water went off again today – as I understand it there is just not enough water here in general so the water provider just turns off access to different areas at different times of the day. The hospital has some back up but it doesn’t seem like much. I guess the hospital couldn’t do the hospital laundry last night as it had no water – this too I think will be a day to day experience here…again something we rarely experience & when we do it is for a few hours & we are given advanced warning.
A favorite patient today was Jesus he had a large Bilateral cleft lip & his repair was AMAZING – I really cant post “after photos” that show the surgical incision etc but his I took from far away & will post – it was AMAZIN & his moms “first look” was precious. Mariana was also another one of our lips & did great & looked “muy bonita” her repair was “perfecto”!
I have figured out a bit of the military hierarchy here – the “enlisted” folks seem to be in white uniforms & they always stop & salute the people in the green uniforms…
Before the last 3 hours of chaos there were 2 cases that really touched my heart…we did Carlos the 60 year old man I talked about on screening day. I did see him going back pre-op but didn’t get a photo of him & then he did great post op – he was all smiles. His some & 2 grand-daughters were with him & his wife. In recovery it was his son who came in while his wife was caring for the grandchildren & I could sense so much love & respect between this 40 year old son & his 60 year old dad. He caressed his hand, wiped his brow, helped him drink some juice – the love was palpable. When he was ready to leave PACU his wife granddaughters were just outside the door & his wife had the biggest smile on her face & the 2 girls clapped for him as he gave us all a thumbs up sign – that was a highlight!
It was “super hero day” they gave out super hero masks to the Johnson & Johnson volunteers & then they passed them off to OSI volunteers so Kim who has really helped me in recovery gave me her – she is so nice!
Probably the most heart wrenching story today was a dad who came in for a VERY FUSSY little girl who had a palate repair. Once she was in his arms & he was whispering in her ear she immediately calmed down. He was from 360 KM away or about 225 miles & lives in a rural area & is a farmer. In some of those areas they speak Guyarenes a different dialect bt some of the locals also speak it so they can still function as translators. The little girl Tatiana was 4 years old – she was supposed to have her palate repaired last year but was sick & her surgery was canceled. When there was a mission here 6 months ago they could not come as his wife was very sick – she died 4 months ago from Breast Cancer & he promised his wife he would get Tatiana to this mission for her palate repair-and he did :) They also have a 10 year old daughter Maria who now has become the one to care for Tatiana while the dad works his farm. The dad brought both of them here on the long journey that involved walking & buses. When we realized the other daughter was here we brought her in to the PACU so she wasn’t waiting alone. She was so loving to her sister. I gave them both dolls & checked with Libby to see if we could provide any easier transport for them back home. The dad just emanated love for his 2 daughters & thanked us profusely for our “corazons muy grande” (big hearts) that we would leave our homes and come help him….the locals translated the word but the feelings were deeply felt by all our hearts & we were all wiping tears from our eyes. I have a picture of them I will post & I really am going to figure out how to add photos to my blog when I get home! Truly it is the patients who are the super heros!
We left the hospital at 10 – it had been rainy all day & that reminded me of Honduras…we grabbed some tapas & showered, tried to connect with family & clearly I was tired because I was talking to Doug on my cell phone & told him I had to hang up because I thought I left my cell phone at the restaurant…I even text Kim the PC that I left my phone there & she was going to go back to get it – it took me about 2 minutes to realize it was in my hand – I need to go to bed!!! And I am going in a little later again tomorrow…flexing my hours to the patient needs just like at home! Good Night!
It must have rained all night & it was raining still this morning. I had 2 choices to either walk in the rain or take a taxi. I decided to take the taxi as I didn’t want to arrive both late & wet. It was on $2 American & its not a “formal taxi” it is someones car – I am thinking places like this are where people got the idea for UBER in the USA.
Because I went in later I missed post –op again – which also may not happen on this mission with this schedule. Brigid the local nurse & I got the PACU set up quickly & the other local nurses arrived a little later. Brigid has a 5 year old daughter & its her Bday tomorrow so she wont be here on Thursday & lives 2 hours away so I was hoping to get her out early to head home but 9 pm was all I could do. Her daughter is having a Frozen Bday party – Disney is always universal! Also Angel another local volunteer was in a car accident on his drive home (also 2 hours away) last night – he is fine but his car not so much. He took the bus in to the hospital today & got here at 11 - what dedication!
Our first patient got to us by 9:30 & was a real cutie & I tucked a little dollie I had under her arm J It is so rewarding to see how happy the parents are when they see their child lip repair for the 1st time – I decided today it is the same emotion people try to capture in that “1st Look of the bride at weddings” but to me much more tender as it is a parent looking at their child. I have captured them before on missions but never really thought of it this way. I have a few pics I will post. The palate reapirs are all internal so it doesn’t seem like any change – but it truly is life changing to their speaking & eating etc.
The water went off again today – as I understand it there is just not enough water here in general so the water provider just turns off access to different areas at different times of the day. The hospital has some back up but it doesn’t seem like much. I guess the hospital couldn’t do the hospital laundry last night as it had no water – this too I think will be a day to day experience here…again something we rarely experience & when we do it is for a few hours & we are given advanced warning.
A favorite patient today was Jesus he had a large Bilateral cleft lip & his repair was AMAZING – I really cant post “after photos” that show the surgical incision etc but his I took from far away & will post – it was AMAZIN & his moms “first look” was precious. Mariana was also another one of our lips & did great & looked “muy bonita” her repair was “perfecto”!
I have figured out a bit of the military hierarchy here – the “enlisted” folks seem to be in white uniforms & they always stop & salute the people in the green uniforms…
Before the last 3 hours of chaos there were 2 cases that really touched my heart…we did Carlos the 60 year old man I talked about on screening day. I did see him going back pre-op but didn’t get a photo of him & then he did great post op – he was all smiles. His some & 2 grand-daughters were with him & his wife. In recovery it was his son who came in while his wife was caring for the grandchildren & I could sense so much love & respect between this 40 year old son & his 60 year old dad. He caressed his hand, wiped his brow, helped him drink some juice – the love was palpable. When he was ready to leave PACU his wife granddaughters were just outside the door & his wife had the biggest smile on her face & the 2 girls clapped for him as he gave us all a thumbs up sign – that was a highlight!
It was “super hero day” they gave out super hero masks to the Johnson & Johnson volunteers & then they passed them off to OSI volunteers so Kim who has really helped me in recovery gave me her – she is so nice!
Probably the most heart wrenching story today was a dad who came in for a VERY FUSSY little girl who had a palate repair. Once she was in his arms & he was whispering in her ear she immediately calmed down. He was from 360 KM away or about 225 miles & lives in a rural area & is a farmer. In some of those areas they speak Guyarenes a different dialect bt some of the locals also speak it so they can still function as translators. The little girl Tatiana was 4 years old – she was supposed to have her palate repaired last year but was sick & her surgery was canceled. When there was a mission here 6 months ago they could not come as his wife was very sick – she died 4 months ago from Breast Cancer & he promised his wife he would get Tatiana to this mission for her palate repair-and he did :) They also have a 10 year old daughter Maria who now has become the one to care for Tatiana while the dad works his farm. The dad brought both of them here on the long journey that involved walking & buses. When we realized the other daughter was here we brought her in to the PACU so she wasn’t waiting alone. She was so loving to her sister. I gave them both dolls & checked with Libby to see if we could provide any easier transport for them back home. The dad just emanated love for his 2 daughters & thanked us profusely for our “corazons muy grande” (big hearts) that we would leave our homes and come help him….the locals translated the word but the feelings were deeply felt by all our hearts & we were all wiping tears from our eyes. I have a picture of them I will post & I really am going to figure out how to add photos to my blog when I get home! Truly it is the patients who are the super heros!
We left the hospital at 10 – it had been rainy all day & that reminded me of Honduras…we grabbed some tapas & showered, tried to connect with family & clearly I was tired because I was talking to Doug on my cell phone & told him I had to hang up because I thought I left my cell phone at the restaurant…I even text Kim the PC that I left my phone there & she was going to go back to get it – it took me about 2 minutes to realize it was in my hand – I need to go to bed!!! And I am going in a little later again tomorrow…flexing my hours to the patient needs just like at home! Good Night!
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