Another day, another YEAR!! Holy cow, where did the year go?! That's right, in case you missed it, it is now 2011! I guess that calls for a Happy New Years!
What happened this past year? Let me shed some light on that for you. I complete my last semester at CSB/SJU and graduated in May. I applied to and was accepted to volunteer with CMMB for the next year beginning in September. I spent my summer waitressing to help fill in the whole that was created by attending college for four years. I decided that after I complete my year of volunteering, I would go to grad school. In June, I took and passed the NCLEX and became a RN. I backpacked the back country of Philmont Boy Scout Ranch with 4 of my siblings...and we all survived and came back alive (contrary to the thoughts of many)! I took a week long road trip with 3 friends exploring some of the world's largest things and the many statues of Paul Bunyon and friends. I spent the summer hanging out with friends and family to say my final goodbyes as I prepared to move abroad for a year. I moved to Roatan, Honduras and quickly became the charge nurse at Clinica Esperanza. I've become "Doctora" to a multitude of people (even if I just answer a simple medical question for them) :) I experienced 46 straight days of rain and my first hurricane ever! I've transitioned to a life of simplicity and learned what it means to not be on a tight schedule. I've seen God in many new ways and have learned many new things about myself and others. I seen many beautiful sunsets, a full rainbow, and countless numbers of starts. Seeing a cruise ship on a daily basis is no longer something new and unusual. All in all, it's been a great year. I'm glad it took place, and I'm sad to see it done; but I'm sure whatever awaits in the upcoming year has potential to be just as great, if not better!
So what did I do to ring in the new year? Well, 2 CSB/SJU nursing students, Maggie and Jacki, chose to spend their 3 week Christmas vacation volunteering on the mainland of Honduras. Therefore, they decided to come over to Roatan to visit over New Years! New Years Eve, we headed down to West End to meet up with some of the other people that came over with them. Bryan and the West End Players, just about the only band on the island, was playing down on the beach/road side and having a street party to help bring in the new year. Therefore, we hung out around there listening to the music and trying not to fall asleep as we all continually yawned. Once midnight hit, there were fireworks to be seen. Alright, we made it to midnight, now lets head home! I know, we are lame, but such is the life. Upon arriving back home, we heard fireworks, gunshots, music, and pot banging, as the celebrations continued. New Years Day we ventured up to the clinic to complete a dressing change of a lady that had a skin graft done on her leg after being in a car accident. From the time we started changing it 2 weeks ago, to now, it has really come a long way-- it's so neat to see the progression of healing! Following that, we toured a family around the clinic and then headed across the street to catch the end of the dolphin show....what a treat! The afternoon was spent walking to West End in the sunshine and relaxing on the beach soaking up sun, while all the rest of you back home were in the midst of a blizzard. I'm terribly sorry! (Not really....just slightly jealous!)
Not much is new in around the clinic since last time. Over the holiday season it has been kind of slow because Dr. Rafael is on vacation until Monday, so we only had Dr. Raymond, a resident, and a med student to see patients. Therefore, we were only seeing 20-25 patients a day instead of our typical 40 patients a day. Now one would think with less patients, we would get done much earlier--nope! guess again! Like Miss Peggy has said, we operate out of a box: if there is a lot of work to be done, they move through patients faster; if there is little work to be done, they move through them slower. No getting done early for us! Within the next few weeks and for the next month or two, things should start to pick up around the clinic and I am sure there will be many more stories to be told. Not to worry, I will keep you posted :)
xoxo
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