Today I have felt the most “healthy & had such good
energy” of any day I have been here. I has not been sick but as I mentioned in
an earlier post I had some random nausea etc. most every day & yesterday
felt my stomach “rumbling” a lot last night so instead of dinner I just had
liquid protein but even with that I had diarrhea twice (Sorry I know that is
TMI but remember this is really my journal). I decided to proactively start
Cipro (for traveler’s diarrhea) but knew that everyone who has been getting
sick has been VERY sick nothing mild at all – hence all the needed IV
hydration. But I was also very distinctly reminded that I have MANY people at
home praying for me & this team & I know they are praying for my health
specifically. I was also reminded of the blessing that Doug gave me in Heber
before I flew out of SLC and as I said my prayers before I went to bed I knew I
would be sustained in my health & exercised my own faith…I slept well (as
well as I could on my HARD bed) and did not have any other issues all night
& when I woke up this morning I felt fine & truly as I titled this post
had great energy, felt good & know I am being blessed in my health.
When we got to the hospital Estela the other PACU nurse went
with me to the Farmacia to get the medicines 7 different prescriptions for the
sweet grandma & her grandson. I noticed that the prescriptions were dated
Mach 1st…… I can’t imagine not being able to get some fairly basic medicines
(steroids, Vitamin C, Stomach meds,
creams & eardrops) for 2+ months. The Farmacia across from the hospital had
all but one med they will get for me tomorrow & not enough of the steroids for
a month’s course. It was 685 pesos today or about $40 USA – yet another
reminder of how blessed we are.
We had VIP Visitors who arrived from LA today – she is the President/CEO
if Amazon studios? I know Amazon has music but had no idea they had studio
productions??? Anyway, she had a son with a cleft so they are long time Op
Smile Supporters (like for the last 15 years) Her daughter Georgia was here
& it was Georgia’s 3rd mission. She is a senior in high school
& has an identical twin sister & both are going to brown University
next year. It was fun to visit with them. They also help to organize the Op
Smile event held in Park City each year. They will follow patients tomorrow in
surgery. it was VERY chaotic when they came into the PACU today – REAL LIFE…but
they were super nice!
We had a pretty good on time start today & got our first
patient back at 9:30. Many of these children have underlying respiratory
problems especially the ones from the outlying indigenous communities where
they have wood burning fires in their “homes” for cooking, so the children are
constantly exposed to smoke. My first patient Olivia was one of those & I
needed to give her a few breathing treatments & she was not a happy girl…she
too had cute pigtails but so far 3/3 with pigtails have had problems so my
research suggests that pigtails = problems!
I did go to pre/post this morning before we got started
& saw some of the cuties scheduled for today. I also saw a patient on our “crash
bed” & knew we didn’t have any unstable patients last night so I asked
about that child – Geronimo was his name & they said he had gotten gastro
(diarrhea & vomiting) & I didn’t think anything of it. Then at about 1
pm there was a very tearful mama at the patient passing area where the kids
come into surgery & it was Geronimo’s mom – so sad they had traveled 6
hours to get here & now her baby won’t have surgery because he is sick. If
he improves they would consider letting him have surgery Friday. But to this
mom she had made this tremendous effort to be here & get him surgery &
now she would need to possibly wait another year. My heart broke for her.
One of my afternoon patients was a mission first for me….a 5
year old girl who was to have a palate repair BUT her tonsils were so big that
they were worried if they closed her palate she would not be able to breathe.
So she ended up with a tonsillectomy (performed by a plastic surgeon), had 7
bad teeth extracted, her palate repaired & ear tubes put in…suffice it to
say that sweet little girl Iris was pretty miserable as she woke up after
surgery but overall did well all things considered.
At 3 I went to take my break up on the 10x10 roof/patio
where they also serve the parents meals. On the roof I met the mom of Lucia. I
spoke to her in my Spanglish & she said I spoke Spanish well (LOL) We chatted
quite a while & she told me Lucia had gone into surgery 40 minutes ago so I
told her after surgery she would come to me & I would help take care of
her. She was so sweet & thanked me & hugged me – such simple moments
like that fill my heart. So at 5 pm I helped care for Lucia after her palate
repair 😊
It was another rainy afternoon – you can “smell the rain”
even in the PACU with open windows in the area. The day went by quickly &
at 5:30 pm we only had 5 patients remaining – 3 lips & 2 palates. We send
Domy home as she was not feeling well & then we offered for Estela to go
but she was waiting for friends in the OR so I didn’t need to be asked twice
& left at 7 pm. I got back to the hotel, showered & got myself
organized for tomorrow then went to the lobby at 8:30 to meet the missionaries
& give them the medicines I had gotten. We also talked about the grandmas broken arm & being unsure of how that is treated in Mexico? We decided I would try to get her a brace tomorrow at the Farmacia to immobilize it. I also offered to take them out to
dinner which NEVER happens here because the people simply don’t have the means
to do that. Elder Palomar is the District Leader & knew the area &
Elder Schmitz has only been here for a week today. We went just over from the
pedestrian walkway & went to a little restaurant where for $8 American they
each got a combo – burger, fries & wings…I only had sparkling water! It was
fun to talk to them. Elder Palomar is from Mexico & has a twin brother
& a mother. It has always just been the 3 of them. The 2 boys joined the
church when they were 13 & then their mother joined the church a year
later. She is currently the Relief Society President in their home branch or
ward. He & his brother made a plan that his brother would go on a mission first
then when he got back Elder Palomar would go
-that way one of them was always there to take care of their mother –
during this mother’s day week that truly touched my heart. They are great young
men & are here to serve the Lord. They have 3 other companions of sisters in their district & were going to have a District meeting on Friday so I gave them some money & told them to go have a "District Dinner" from people in California who appreciate their service. They were hesitant to accept it but I insisted & told them those 6 sisters need a good meal too & I couldn't take everyone out tonight & they agreed. They walked me back to my hotel & now
I am just about ready for bed…I can’t believe it was already our surgery “Hump
Day”. 24 more surgeries were done today – changing lives one smile at a time and my life is changed in so many ways by the different people whose paths cross mine on these missions. Part of my reason for coming on this last minute mission was personal as much as it was to serve & I am getting the perspective I need more & more each day 😊
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