Day 16

Well after going to bed super late I woke up at 6:30 regardless, my body just being used to this now. I still wasn't in the mood for a run so I chilled out and wrote a little bit before picking myself up to get breakfast. My trip is now half over and it has flown! I'm definitely going to miss it. I already want to come back. I was scheduled to float from wound care to Dr. Ashik's room so my day started with cleaning the wound from an incision and drainage done yesterday to a woman's perianal abscess and redressing the wound. That was a nice way to start the morning! I went to Dr. Ashik's room after and saw one patient with destructive gout in his hands that was pretty impressive. I went to find hand sanitizer after touching the patient and head into the OR. Alex was getting ready to do his first surgery on a man with a sebaceous cyst that needed to be removed from the back of his neck. Dr. Schuster grabbed me and asked if I wanted to be first assistant with Alex for the surgery. Ummm of course!!! Dan was supposed to be there but they couldn't find him and by the time he came in he just offered it to me. I was pretty psyched! It was awesome getting to do the surgery with Alex with just Dr. Schuster mentoring. However as the incision to deeper and we started to dissect out the cyst, we ran into some venous bleeding. The man must have never had a leafy vegetable in his life. Either that or was a hemophiliac. His blood was SOOOOOO thin!!! Like pools of blood!! And it was unavoidable. He had to have some of the bleeders sutured to continue, one of which squirted in my direction just barely missing my face. My hands were covered in blood and we probably went through a half dozen packages of gauze. Alex and I were able to get the wound sutured up. I love suturing for the hundred thousandth time. Dr. Schuster assisted to help establish hemostasis by putting in som subcutaneous stitches and a drain for the wound before we closed it. It was incredible but we worked as a great team despite the complications. It took all morning, and we asked the patient to stick around to recheck the wound after lunch. Hopefully a hematoma won't develop and the wound will heal beautifully. The sutures I must say were on point.

At lunch they had fried bananas!! MY FAVORITE! And I had mangos at breakfast so this was just a great food day. For the afternoon session I worked with Ashik and floated around where I was needed. I was assigned to do a presentation at dinner for everyone on salivary gland tumors so I left clinic a little early to do my research. And by early I mean like 4:30. It was busy so I was reluctant to leave.

 While at clinic we saw a young boy who had gotten stung by a jellyfish and had an allergic reaction to it. It looked like Dr. Octopus from spider man wrapped around him and shocked him with his tentacles. That's my best reference. I felt so bad for the poor child, he was so uncomfortable. We also saw a 12 year old boy with VSD and pretty much heart failure. He looked emaciated and terrified. It was heartbreaking knowing that his condition was so poor and most likely untreatable. It's hard turning down those that we know we can't help. For instance we bad a lady that presented with classic symptoms of colon cancer and had an ultrasound that showed a colonic mass. She needs a colonoscopy to confirm but then what? She doesn't have the money to treat the cancer and we can't fund it. So unfortunately we provided her with all we could knowing that she needs more. We see very sick patients. A lot of diseases which I may never see again in the states and I want to help them all, but it's not possible. It makes me wonder what all the millionaires and billionaires do with all their money. Imagine if they put it toward helping others. It would save a lot of lives.

I forgot to mention one of my favorite patients. She is a 16 year old Filipina, who came in because of lumps she found in her breasts. She spoke English so I talked with her for a while when she first came in last week. I set up her neb treatment since she had asthma and sat with her and she told me all of her fears about having cancer. She was terrified. I listened to her story of her uncle who had died of cancer young and how she helps support her family, only coming to the clinic on her way back from school. The physician who saw her was vey concerned by the presentation that this could be cancer. She came in again Monday to get money for the ultrasound and I gave her a hug and wished her luck with comforting words. I was rooting for her. Well she came back yesterday with the results and it was benign!! The lumps were fibroids, there was lymph node involvement and nothing that suggested cancer. She handed me the results, and as my smile got bigger and bigger as I read it she stopped and gave me the biggest hug. This is just another reason I love medicine. You form relationships with your patients that are unlike any other. 

Well after clinic I finished my presentation which I'll jump ahead to saying went well at dinner.after finishing the research I worked out and went to the dock to finish stretching. I attracted some Filipino onlookers who were probably wondering why I was contorting my body into 50 different positions. What a weirdo. Dinner had fried bananas again. And pineapple! All my favorite fruits today. We had fresh coconut milk out of the coconut after that is just out of this world. The nights always end with sitting on the porch with everyone laughing and having the best of times. I can't believe it's half over! I don't want it to end.