Literally and figuratively, when something comes to Roatan, it doesn't come lightly. When it rains, typically it isn't just a light little rain shower for a couple hours. Rain last at least the day if not into the next day or two. The aftermath of a rain shower usually involves mud puddles for about a week (unless of course we get a nice warm day afterward). When donations come to the clinic, we never just get one little shopping bag. Many times we see donations come by the suitcase-full. These suitcases don't come from just one volunteer, but several. So yes, with all these donations there are typically many volunteers in the clinic at the same time. Just like when we experience a dry spell from rain, we also experience dry spells from volunteers and donations. Sometimes, these dry spells don't seem to come frequently enough. Not that we don't appreciate donations and volunteers; it just means that we constantly have work awaiting us, and new people to orient to the clinic. Keeps us busy!
Over about the past two months, we have had several volunteers in every week and with them came suitcases full of donations. Could these people have been fleeing the cold? I think so! Now that we have just about reached the end of March, we have sent most of our current volunteers home and this weekend we are only getting 1 or 2 more volunteers in. This week (and hopefully another one or two after it) should be a quite week in the clinic- our "drought". Therefore, while we had lots of donations to sort through and many people to direct, it was important to remain thankful. These donations could be stocking us up for the next several months as it seems the people that come down for the summer come for longer stints than the students that come for 4-6 weeks at a time.
Outside of the clinic, we have spent a lot of time lately just hanging out. During March, there was a group of about 10 of us; we could sit around all night and just have a great time. Unfortunately, most of them all had to leave this weekend :( The weather is slowly getting warmer and warmer; today the temp was in the upper 80's, warm and sunny! In case any of you are concerned, my tan is coming along quite wonderfully ;) Since people were going to the airport throughout the day today, we decided to just stick around the house and spend some quality time out on the dock; tomorrow will probably be similar, but we will be down on the beach in West Bay. Whoa is me, my weekends are so rough!
Yesterday, we went out to the east end of the island where there was a thank-you BBQ for a group of Stanford students that were here on spring break. Over the course of the week they helped establish some vacation bible schools and they repainted the ER in the hospital. This BBQ was complete with singers and 2 groups of Garifuna dancers. What a cultural night we had- it was spectacular!
Last week I went to a meeting about double-dutch jump roping down the road at the Sand Castle Library with some island kids. What I thought was just going to be an information meeting was actually me deciding on a day of the week that would work to teach these kids how to double-dutch. That's right, I am now a double-dutch coach. I didn't know that I was qualified for that but apparently I am. See you at practice on Wednesdays!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
40 Days and 40 Nights
The season of Lent is upon us. Since I have more time down here than I've ever had in the states, I sometimes tend to question things or think about things more. So naturally, with the beginning of Lent, I thought, historically, what is all behind the season of Lent. Was it originally more than just a waiting and preparing time for the death of Jesus or were there other things done during this time? Therefore, prepare yourself for a little history lesson.
The word Lent comes from two different Anglo-Saxon words that mean "spring" and "March". There has always been some form of Lenten preparation before Easter, it has just varied by how many days and/or hours. It sounds as though there was some confusion as to whether it was supposed to be 40 hours or 40 days....something lost in translation (don't I know the feeling sometime, haha). So, by the end of the 4th century is has been decided that Lent is a time of prayer and fasting in preparation for the death and rising of Jesus that would last 40 days. However, 40 days has been translated into many things over the years as well. Depending on where you lived, determined how much fasting you did. Some fasted for 40 days but only Monday through Friday; therefore, Lent lasted for 8 weeks. Others fasted for 40 days but fasted on Saturday as well and therefore Lent only lasted 6 weeks. So a consensus was reached; fasting would take place Monday-Saturday for 6 weeks and with the addition of Ash Wednesday as the beginning of Lent, there were 40 days of fasting before Easter. The next big question was what do we fast from? In some areas they fasting from any meat and animal products while others made exceptions for things like fish. Over time, it was decided that fish would be allowed and fasting only had to take place on Ash Wednesday and Fridays. The part about fasting from animal products was also dropped so people could have dairy and what have you. the interesting thing though is that Easter eggs first started to be blessed because of the fact that dairy/animal products were not allowed during Lent. Now that everything is sorted out, the way practices stand today is this: Fasting occurs on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, abstaining from meat happens on Fridays. People give up something during lent as a sacrifice and often are encouraged to perform a spiritual work. According to the site I read, technically Sundays and solemnities (Feast of St. Joseph and Annunciation) aren't included and therefore you can have whatever you gave up. (http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0527.html) However, you might as well just tough it out; Jesus wasn't given any days off, so why should we take a day off?
As we begin this time of preparation for the death and rising of our Lord, think about how you are preparing yourself during this time. What sacrifices can you make? What spiritual practices have you strayed away from or sloughed off on lately that could be picked back up? Are you ready for judgment day if it were to come today or tomorrow? I encourage you to join me in thinking about these things and preparing yourself for judgment day just as Jesus did during his 40 days and 40 nights in the desert. We never know when our time will come.
Happy Lent!
The word Lent comes from two different Anglo-Saxon words that mean "spring" and "March". There has always been some form of Lenten preparation before Easter, it has just varied by how many days and/or hours. It sounds as though there was some confusion as to whether it was supposed to be 40 hours or 40 days....something lost in translation (don't I know the feeling sometime, haha). So, by the end of the 4th century is has been decided that Lent is a time of prayer and fasting in preparation for the death and rising of Jesus that would last 40 days. However, 40 days has been translated into many things over the years as well. Depending on where you lived, determined how much fasting you did. Some fasted for 40 days but only Monday through Friday; therefore, Lent lasted for 8 weeks. Others fasted for 40 days but fasted on Saturday as well and therefore Lent only lasted 6 weeks. So a consensus was reached; fasting would take place Monday-Saturday for 6 weeks and with the addition of Ash Wednesday as the beginning of Lent, there were 40 days of fasting before Easter. The next big question was what do we fast from? In some areas they fasting from any meat and animal products while others made exceptions for things like fish. Over time, it was decided that fish would be allowed and fasting only had to take place on Ash Wednesday and Fridays. The part about fasting from animal products was also dropped so people could have dairy and what have you. the interesting thing though is that Easter eggs first started to be blessed because of the fact that dairy/animal products were not allowed during Lent. Now that everything is sorted out, the way practices stand today is this: Fasting occurs on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, abstaining from meat happens on Fridays. People give up something during lent as a sacrifice and often are encouraged to perform a spiritual work. According to the site I read, technically Sundays and solemnities (Feast of St. Joseph and Annunciation) aren't included and therefore you can have whatever you gave up. (http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0527.html) However, you might as well just tough it out; Jesus wasn't given any days off, so why should we take a day off?
As we begin this time of preparation for the death and rising of our Lord, think about how you are preparing yourself during this time. What sacrifices can you make? What spiritual practices have you strayed away from or sloughed off on lately that could be picked back up? Are you ready for judgment day if it were to come today or tomorrow? I encourage you to join me in thinking about these things and preparing yourself for judgment day just as Jesus did during his 40 days and 40 nights in the desert. We never know when our time will come.
Happy Lent!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Only in Roatan
Here I am, six months in; halfway done! I can count down instead of up now! Things are still going wonderfully, but the island is starting to wear on me. There is only so much one can take of living on an island 30 miles long and 4-5 miles wide with no where to go...even if some people would consider it "paradise".
Time at the clinic is continually passing, yet one day seems to run into the next. We are now at the point of licensing for the upstairs, so that is exciting. Last week we had the pre-inspection and we got an 81% (or 25 things missing out of 132)- not bad considering the things that we need to fix are things like putting a light bulb in a lamp, move some reflex hammers and tape measures from downstairs to upstairs, and hang a blood pressure cuff on the wall. As of last I heard, grand opening is set for March 31st, but that will of course all depend on when we are licensed- could be sooner, could be later, no one really can tell. We all survived the busy month of February with 10-20 volunteers every week, so now we should all be pros for the roughly 30 people we have this week! Luckily, 13 of those are in one group and they are going to be doing outreach in the community so we won't have to juggle them through the clinic. Sometimes, I just have to keep reminding me that what doesn't kill me can only makes me stronger; not gonna lie, running a volunteer staffed clinic is A LOT of work, probably something I won't be doing again in the near future :p Regardless of how much work it has been, my time so far has been wonderful and I am continually learning something new every day.
Since I've been here 6 months, I figure I might as well share with you some of the things that I have found strange, peculiar, random, out of place, rare, funny, or just down right ridiculous.
Buenas Noches!
Laura
Time at the clinic is continually passing, yet one day seems to run into the next. We are now at the point of licensing for the upstairs, so that is exciting. Last week we had the pre-inspection and we got an 81% (or 25 things missing out of 132)- not bad considering the things that we need to fix are things like putting a light bulb in a lamp, move some reflex hammers and tape measures from downstairs to upstairs, and hang a blood pressure cuff on the wall. As of last I heard, grand opening is set for March 31st, but that will of course all depend on when we are licensed- could be sooner, could be later, no one really can tell. We all survived the busy month of February with 10-20 volunteers every week, so now we should all be pros for the roughly 30 people we have this week! Luckily, 13 of those are in one group and they are going to be doing outreach in the community so we won't have to juggle them through the clinic. Sometimes, I just have to keep reminding me that what doesn't kill me can only makes me stronger; not gonna lie, running a volunteer staffed clinic is A LOT of work, probably something I won't be doing again in the near future :p Regardless of how much work it has been, my time so far has been wonderful and I am continually learning something new every day.
Since I've been here 6 months, I figure I might as well share with you some of the things that I have found strange, peculiar, random, out of place, rare, funny, or just down right ridiculous.
- Only in Roatan, are you able to be driving down the road when the car in front of you completely loses the 2 front tires; and if they had continued further, probably would have lost the back two.
- Only in Roatan, would you find me in my pj's at 7:00 some nights and in bed by 9:30 other nights.
- Only in Roatan, does the hospital ER shut down for a few weeks.
- Only in Roatan, can you work with in a developing, 3rd world nation on the weekdays, yet spend your weekends in "paradise" on the white sandy beaches.
- Only in Roatan, do you have to wear bug spray in a screened in house to avoid getting bug bites.
- Only in Roatan, are scooters made for 4 people.
- Only in Roatan, is it normal to see someone walking around with a machete.
- Only in Roatan, do you have power outages weekly, just because.
- Only in Roatan, would you find the city filling potholes the day of a triathlon, which has a course using that road.
- Only in Roatan, is a blood sugar of 2 or 300 not alarming.
- Only in Roatan, does is cost 70 L ($3.50) to deliver a baby and 300 L ($15.00) for a hysterectomy.
- Only in Roatan, would a clinic focused on treating/managing diabetes and hypertension have someone selling chips, pop, fried pastelitas, and baleadas (flour tortillas with beans) out front on the porch.
- Only in Roatan, would I "train" for a triathlon the day before the race which happens to be an Olympic qualifying course, and one of the top 6 most difficult courses at that!
- Only in Roatan, an island only 30 miles long, would you find a Wendy's, ACE Hardware, and Applebee's.
Buenas Noches!
Laura
Monday, February 28, 2011
Keeping the Faith
Over the past week I got to make my second trip off the island. This time, I only went as far as La Ceiba (where the ferry takes us) where I worked with a mission group from Texas. For the past several years, this mission group has been coming down to Honduras to work for a week with an Episcopal Church. Part of the group works with tutoring the school children, another group works with medical and eye glasses, and the third part of the group works on construction projects. Myself and 3 other volunteers from Roatan worked with the medical team of course. Everyday began with breakfast at 6:30, followed by morning prayer before we all headed out our seperate ways. Tuesday through Thursday, we spent the mornings working in the clinic with the Honduran doctor that is always there. Dr. Silvio Azure typically sees around 80 patients a week; so anywhere around 20 patients a day. Upon walking into the clinic the first day, I was rather taken aback.
There was next to nothing in this clinic. There was an open room that served as their waiting room but there was nothing more than a bench on each side of the room for patients to sit on. Behind the front desk was not only the files, the bathroom, and the admission area, but the triage area as well. Triaging consisted of taking a blood pressure, weight, and tempurature. No chief complaints were gathered, no blood sugar was checked for diabetics, no pulse or pulse oxygenation levels were gathered. And although the temperature was taken, every temp was either 36 or 37 Celsius- even if they had a fever! The consult rooms had just about as much- an exam table, a desk, and a couple chairs. There were a few medical supplies but if there was something you actually needed, chances are it wouldn't be there. The pharmacy had a smattering of medications, but of course, it lacked many as we waiting all week for the ordered medications to be released from customs. The "lab" consisted of a chair used as a desk and another chair for the patient to sit in along side the pharmacy out in the hallway. The clinic had a storage room, but the supplies that were in there were mainly eyeglasses. With very little to work with, I must say, I actually thoroughly enjoyed my time spent in this clinic. It was very much serving the poor in a location that wasn't all ritzy yet had the essentials to be able to treat these patients adequately and appropriately. While the clinic lacked in many of the medical/technological advances that are now seen in the health care field in the US, it focused on treating the root causes of the problems (such as nutrition, lifestyle, etc) and left the rest up to God. These people search out medical treatment but they still keep sight of their faith; for some of these people faith is all they have, but that is enough for them. This was enhanced even more when we went out to a village, La Linea, on Thursday afternoon to do a health clinic.
One of the guys that we treated came to us with a problem of not being able to make a fist with one hand because of a machete wound he suffered 5 or 6 years ago. He was asking us about whether there was a surgery or medications we could give him to correct it. I had to tell him there were no meds other than some pain pills that we could give him. I told him they could do an operation to fix his tendons but that was about it. His response was that he is a poor man and surgery is expensive, is there nothing else he/we can do? Once again I reiterated that surgery was all that could be done. Then he wanted to know the likelihood of the surgery actually helping his hand- would he still be able to work out at the plantation? You see, his first three fingers worked fairly well, they were just a bit weak. His 4th and 5th fingers however, were straight, unable to be bend due to tendon damage. Since his accident happened such a long time ago, he would most likely need a tendon graft done as well because the tendons have permanently shortened. After surgery there would be no guarantee that his hand would be all that much better. So I told him that surgery was possible but probably not available in Honduras and it would be a complicated surgery. His reply was that we would just have to pray to God for strength. I replied, yes, for now all we can do is take meds to control any pain and pray to God for help. He thanked us and was on his way. Wow! Even people with little to nothing, having difficulty working due to injury still have faith in God. Can we say the same thing? Would we have this same faith or would we have given up on Him long before? It's in situations like this that I am reassured that there are people that still have faith and trust in God. They don't give up easily just because something didn't happen in their favor. If only more people could see things like this and gain renewed strength and faith in God- even through the hard times. Then as we were getting ready to leave, he came up to me and asked if I could take a picture of us. Even though he would never see me again, and never get the picture, I believe he wanted me to have a picture of us so that I could remember our encounter for years to come. What a great day it was!
So, while almost everyone on the mission group as well as the 3 I traveled with spent a day or two of their time with Montezuma's revenge, I was able to enjoy my week full force and really soak up the work that god was doing in this community. Not only did I work with the medical team, but I learned a little more advanced way of fitting people for eyeglasses using foropters and constructing glasses to test for astigmatisms and the whole shpeal. So I guess, if nursing fails, I can always take up optometry! Working with this mission group allowed me to see what it's like working with a community that is very accepting of a short term mission team coming in and working with them. Oh how I cannot wait to do more mission trips in the future. Therefore, at the rate I'm going, I should probably come to appreciate the letters d-e-b-t as I will be seeing them for quite some time! Save your change folks, it could get you far someday.
Peace and Love to all those at home!!
Laura
There was next to nothing in this clinic. There was an open room that served as their waiting room but there was nothing more than a bench on each side of the room for patients to sit on. Behind the front desk was not only the files, the bathroom, and the admission area, but the triage area as well. Triaging consisted of taking a blood pressure, weight, and tempurature. No chief complaints were gathered, no blood sugar was checked for diabetics, no pulse or pulse oxygenation levels were gathered. And although the temperature was taken, every temp was either 36 or 37 Celsius- even if they had a fever! The consult rooms had just about as much- an exam table, a desk, and a couple chairs. There were a few medical supplies but if there was something you actually needed, chances are it wouldn't be there. The pharmacy had a smattering of medications, but of course, it lacked many as we waiting all week for the ordered medications to be released from customs. The "lab" consisted of a chair used as a desk and another chair for the patient to sit in along side the pharmacy out in the hallway. The clinic had a storage room, but the supplies that were in there were mainly eyeglasses. With very little to work with, I must say, I actually thoroughly enjoyed my time spent in this clinic. It was very much serving the poor in a location that wasn't all ritzy yet had the essentials to be able to treat these patients adequately and appropriately. While the clinic lacked in many of the medical/technological advances that are now seen in the health care field in the US, it focused on treating the root causes of the problems (such as nutrition, lifestyle, etc) and left the rest up to God. These people search out medical treatment but they still keep sight of their faith; for some of these people faith is all they have, but that is enough for them. This was enhanced even more when we went out to a village, La Linea, on Thursday afternoon to do a health clinic.
So, while almost everyone on the mission group as well as the 3 I traveled with spent a day or two of their time with Montezuma's revenge, I was able to enjoy my week full force and really soak up the work that god was doing in this community. Not only did I work with the medical team, but I learned a little more advanced way of fitting people for eyeglasses using foropters and constructing glasses to test for astigmatisms and the whole shpeal. So I guess, if nursing fails, I can always take up optometry! Working with this mission group allowed me to see what it's like working with a community that is very accepting of a short term mission team coming in and working with them. Oh how I cannot wait to do more mission trips in the future. Therefore, at the rate I'm going, I should probably come to appreciate the letters d-e-b-t as I will be seeing them for quite some time! Save your change folks, it could get you far someday.
Peace and Love to all those at home!!
Laura
Monday, February 14, 2011
True Meanings
It seems like we are constantly celebrating one holiday or another. But, are we really celebrating the holiday or are we celebrating the commercialism that comes with the holiday? Most of the holidays have come and gone without me even knowing that they were coming. If it weren't for the fact that I know the date in which holidays fall, I probably would be none the wiser as to whether it was a holiday or not. Being removed from all the commercialism associated with any given holiday has made me realize that there is much more to the holidays. Today is Valentine's Day. Do any of us really know the history behind this day? Why do we send people cards; was St. Valentine known for something associated with love or why do we associate the holiday with that? Since many of you are probably too busy to really sit down and look into the history behind Valentine's Day, allow me to enlighten you.
Not only is there one person known as St. Valentine, but 3. One was a priest, one a bishop, and the other is heard of only vaguely. All three of these men were martyrs of the church, and all are remembered on February 14th, but none of them really have any direct relation to the holiday in which we celebrate. The holiday in which is celebrated today is because of a reference made by the poet Geoffrey Chaucer in his poem Parliament of Foules. In one stanza he writes, "For this was sent on Saint Valentine's Day, When every foul cometh there to choose his mate." Because of this reference, people started to associate St. Valentine's Day with a day for couples to celebrate- to send love letters and tokens of love to one another. The reason for this reference in Chaucer's poem is because it was a common belief in England and France during the middle ages that toward the middle of the second month of the year, birds would begin to choose their mates. (referenced from NewAdvent.com) While North American's celebrate with candy, cards, and roses on February 14th, other countries have varying days and ways of celebrating. Of course, just like many other holidays, Valentine's Day is considered an American culture. Some countries refer to the holiday as Friend's Day (when you recognize all of your friends, instead of just lovers), others refer to it as Lover's Day, Day of Love and Friendship, or All Heart's Day. One tradition that I found to be rather interesting was that of South Korea's. On February 14th, women give chocolate to men; March 14th, men give non-chocolate gifts to women. On April 14th, those that received nothing on either of the two previous 14th's go to a Chinese restaurant and eat black noodles. Also in Korea, the 14th of every month is celebrated in some manor to reflect a lover's holiday: Candle Day, Valentine's Day, White Day, Black Day, Rose Day, Kiss Day, Silver Day, Green Day, Music Day, Wine Day, Movie Day, and Hug Day. Those could be fun celebrations :) (info from wikipedia).
And there you have it folks, the source of Valentine's Day and its many traditions. Now that you know where it comes from, feel free to go out and celebrate in whatever way you see fit. As for me, I'm going to sit inside and enjoy the rain. Happy Valentine's Day to all my loved ones- family and friends!
xoxo,
Laura
Not only is there one person known as St. Valentine, but 3. One was a priest, one a bishop, and the other is heard of only vaguely. All three of these men were martyrs of the church, and all are remembered on February 14th, but none of them really have any direct relation to the holiday in which we celebrate. The holiday in which is celebrated today is because of a reference made by the poet Geoffrey Chaucer in his poem Parliament of Foules. In one stanza he writes, "For this was sent on Saint Valentine's Day, When every foul cometh there to choose his mate." Because of this reference, people started to associate St. Valentine's Day with a day for couples to celebrate- to send love letters and tokens of love to one another. The reason for this reference in Chaucer's poem is because it was a common belief in England and France during the middle ages that toward the middle of the second month of the year, birds would begin to choose their mates. (referenced from NewAdvent.com) While North American's celebrate with candy, cards, and roses on February 14th, other countries have varying days and ways of celebrating. Of course, just like many other holidays, Valentine's Day is considered an American culture. Some countries refer to the holiday as Friend's Day (when you recognize all of your friends, instead of just lovers), others refer to it as Lover's Day, Day of Love and Friendship, or All Heart's Day. One tradition that I found to be rather interesting was that of South Korea's. On February 14th, women give chocolate to men; March 14th, men give non-chocolate gifts to women. On April 14th, those that received nothing on either of the two previous 14th's go to a Chinese restaurant and eat black noodles. Also in Korea, the 14th of every month is celebrated in some manor to reflect a lover's holiday: Candle Day, Valentine's Day, White Day, Black Day, Rose Day, Kiss Day, Silver Day, Green Day, Music Day, Wine Day, Movie Day, and Hug Day. Those could be fun celebrations :) (info from wikipedia).
And there you have it folks, the source of Valentine's Day and its many traditions. Now that you know where it comes from, feel free to go out and celebrate in whatever way you see fit. As for me, I'm going to sit inside and enjoy the rain. Happy Valentine's Day to all my loved ones- family and friends!
xoxo,
Laura
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
All systems go!
Wow! Almost 5 months in, my body has fully adjusted and worked out its problems, the weather is getting nicer, the days are getting longer, and I once again enjoy being outside without fear of mosquitoes and 'cold'. Lately I've been able to go snorkeling a number of times without freezing as soon as I got in the water (in which case, I would have opted out of snorkeling). Along with the numerous amounts of fish, I have seen an octopus, king crab, sea snake, sea cucumber, starfish, and have been able to play with dolphins! Poco a poco, the sun is staying up a few minutes longer and we see more sunlight in the day.
More and more volunteers are streaming into the clinic, so there are more hands to do things, therefore making my work even lighter--plus I have a student nurse! It's great. Today we went out to an isolated community on the island to do an outreach clinic. There were a fair number of moms and children, but other than pain, parasite/worm treatment, and a couple cases of chicken pox, we didn't see anything too exciting...that is, except for some amazing views! In the process, I also saw Hottest Sparrow. This is another small, isolated community, that is very difficult to access--yet this is where the 3 children were from that I wrote about back from when my parents were here. After the outreach clinic today, we did a health screening at the SOL Foundation, which is an after school program for children. Therefore, for 3 hours we measured the height and weight of children....way to long! (especially since we had just spent the past 8 hours in the clinic and on the outreach clinic) Oh well, we got them all taken care of and were able to pinpoint the kids that are below the average for height and weight.
In a week and a half, I will be making a trek over to La Ceiba to help with a medical brigade that will be coming for a week. It will be a great change of pace for a bit and a new population of people to work with. More to come following my week there....stay tuned ;)
For all of you suffering from feet and feet of snow, I thought you would like to know that with the longer hours of sun (and the warmer days), my tan is coming along quite nicely...unfortunately, I really only get to work on it over the weekends since the sun is no longer very good by the time we are done with clinic. Oh well, such be the life! Not much else is new around here, so I will leave you with that...maybe next time I can write something a bit more inspirational....I'll think on it for all of you :)
My thoughts and prayers are with you all!
Laura
More and more volunteers are streaming into the clinic, so there are more hands to do things, therefore making my work even lighter--plus I have a student nurse! It's great. Today we went out to an isolated community on the island to do an outreach clinic. There were a fair number of moms and children, but other than pain, parasite/worm treatment, and a couple cases of chicken pox, we didn't see anything too exciting...that is, except for some amazing views! In the process, I also saw Hottest Sparrow. This is another small, isolated community, that is very difficult to access--yet this is where the 3 children were from that I wrote about back from when my parents were here. After the outreach clinic today, we did a health screening at the SOL Foundation, which is an after school program for children. Therefore, for 3 hours we measured the height and weight of children....way to long! (especially since we had just spent the past 8 hours in the clinic and on the outreach clinic) Oh well, we got them all taken care of and were able to pinpoint the kids that are below the average for height and weight.
In a week and a half, I will be making a trek over to La Ceiba to help with a medical brigade that will be coming for a week. It will be a great change of pace for a bit and a new population of people to work with. More to come following my week there....stay tuned ;)
For all of you suffering from feet and feet of snow, I thought you would like to know that with the longer hours of sun (and the warmer days), my tan is coming along quite nicely...unfortunately, I really only get to work on it over the weekends since the sun is no longer very good by the time we are done with clinic. Oh well, such be the life! Not much else is new around here, so I will leave you with that...maybe next time I can write something a bit more inspirational....I'll think on it for all of you :)
My thoughts and prayers are with you all!
Laura
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Winner, Winner!
Wow, it seems like forever since I have blogged, but don't worry I am still alive and doing well! So, fasten your seatbelts folks, and let me get you up to speed on life in Honduras!
Since the new year, things have started to pick up around the clinic. During the month of January, we have had 4-5 residents every week working with us int he clinic. We have had a couple visiting doctors as well as a few other volunteers. With the increase of volunteers in the clinic, it has brought with it an increase of patients. Over the past couple weeks we have been seeing 40-65 patients! Fortunately for us (not so fortunate for the patient), it hasn't just been an increase in number of patients, but we have also gotten to see and do some new and interesting things. For instance, we saw a lady with a blood sugar of "hi". Now when this comes up on a glucometer, you know it's bad. "Normal" blood sugar is 60-110; it says "hi" once it's over 600! Over the past few months we have been working to control this lady's diabetes, so it didn't really surprise me all that much. So what did we do for her? I, yes, that would be me, put in an IV...my first ever! Man, did I ever master that IV- got it on my first try! Now this wasn't just any IV start, this was an IV start on a lady that was dehydrated and had no veins....makes for just a bit harder of a stick, but I conquered it none the less! However, I must say, it was probably to her advantage that she couldn't understand us as I was walked through putting in an IV....something about that wouldn't comfort me all that much :p Along with that, we have seen a few results of moto accidents, I have started not one, but two IV's successfully, we are making headway on our upstairs in hopes of opening in April, we are tightening our bootstraps for the boat load of volunteers we are going to be seeing throughout the month of February, plus starting to get out into the community more with health fairs and presentations.
Over the past few weeks we have gone up into the Colonia a few times in order to hold health fairs. During these health fairs we check people's weight (as many/most do not have scales and/or know what they weigh), blood sugar, blood pressure, and screen for HIV. If we run across something that needs further evaluation, we refer them to the clinic, making sure to tell them that if they cannot afford it we will see them anyways. This is often times what holds people back from coming in the first place. Many do not realize that we will see them even if they cannot pay. That is one beauty of the clinic and the excellent health care we provide. Unlike in the states, everyone gets quality health care (at the clinic that is), regardless of their ability to pay and without having worries about insurance. Besides the health fair, we also did a women's health class in the Colonia. Although I did not attend, I hear it was a great success and well accepted....we will definately need to get more of those going.
Last week, we also took a field trip into the Colonia in order to deliver a dozen backpacks and school clothes. There are two families of 8 or 9 living in a house about the size of a nice bathroom maybe. It is unreal what you see when going up into the Colonia--it never ceases to amaze me! 3,000 people living up on the hillside in which they have to walk up steep, steep hills to get to there homes while carrying a small child, propane tank, supplies, food, etc. Many don't have work outside the house and many of the kids do not go to school. What gets me everytime, though, is walking past houses that have cable tv or the number of people that have cell phones and talk on them constantly but can't afford food. What has technology come too? Has it really consumed our life that much that it is more important to us than food and shelter? Sometimes, I think that is definately the case, and it is really quite sad and almost pathetic! Think about all the technology in your life. How do you compare? What are your priorities--the here and now or the cyper, technological "galaxy"?
I know what people are really waiting to hear about is the rumored triathalon I was in. That's right, I was part of a triatholon this past weekend. You didn't know I was training for one? Oh wait, that's because I didn't! haha Yup, cold turkey in the Bay Island Triathalon and my relay team took 1st! While some may not think going cold turkey is all that terrible, let me paint you a little picture. The bike portion (which I did) was 5 miles on hilly terrain. Yes, 14%, 18%, and 20 %, grade hills...for those of you unfamiliar with grading (you're not alone)...but that is practically straight up for all I'm concerned. Apparently "normal" grade for a hill is right around 8%. So yes, these hills covered about a third of the course. The course here on Roatan is one of the top 5 hardest courses....in the world! Future olympic athletes come to compete for points to get them into the olympics. That's right....I was racing with olympic athletes! And to think....they train for this everyday?! Why gave me this crazy idea to enter the triathalon? The triathalon had been postponed from November and there were two girls that were going to do it.....but their biker went home in December. Therefore, I told them last weekend that if they found me a bike, I would bike for them. The day before the race, I checked out the bike that I would be riding. Clipless peddles (meaning your feet are attached to your peddles) that I've never used before, riding on an island full of hills! I rode a little bit of the course on Saturday to "train". The portion that I rode? The relatively easy portion....yet I struggled on the hills. How was I ever going to make it on the most difficult part?! Well, I guess we shall see come race day! The best part of it all?! I didn't have a helmet, so I wore a moped helmet. That's right folks, I went real Roatan fashion.....delayed training, moped helmet.... Look where it got us....first place!
I think that about sums up my life for the past few weeks. Weather is starting to get nicer again; went for a snorkel yesterday and it was quite nice--saw a Baracuda, a few star fish, swam in a school of fish--man was it clear yesterday! Four months are gone, eight months left--time sure is flying, but at the same time, there are days when it seems to move so very slowly.
Until next time,
xoxo
Since the new year, things have started to pick up around the clinic. During the month of January, we have had 4-5 residents every week working with us int he clinic. We have had a couple visiting doctors as well as a few other volunteers. With the increase of volunteers in the clinic, it has brought with it an increase of patients. Over the past couple weeks we have been seeing 40-65 patients! Fortunately for us (not so fortunate for the patient), it hasn't just been an increase in number of patients, but we have also gotten to see and do some new and interesting things. For instance, we saw a lady with a blood sugar of "hi". Now when this comes up on a glucometer, you know it's bad. "Normal" blood sugar is 60-110; it says "hi" once it's over 600! Over the past few months we have been working to control this lady's diabetes, so it didn't really surprise me all that much. So what did we do for her? I, yes, that would be me, put in an IV...my first ever! Man, did I ever master that IV- got it on my first try! Now this wasn't just any IV start, this was an IV start on a lady that was dehydrated and had no veins....makes for just a bit harder of a stick, but I conquered it none the less! However, I must say, it was probably to her advantage that she couldn't understand us as I was walked through putting in an IV....something about that wouldn't comfort me all that much :p Along with that, we have seen a few results of moto accidents, I have started not one, but two IV's successfully, we are making headway on our upstairs in hopes of opening in April, we are tightening our bootstraps for the boat load of volunteers we are going to be seeing throughout the month of February, plus starting to get out into the community more with health fairs and presentations.
Over the past few weeks we have gone up into the Colonia a few times in order to hold health fairs. During these health fairs we check people's weight (as many/most do not have scales and/or know what they weigh), blood sugar, blood pressure, and screen for HIV. If we run across something that needs further evaluation, we refer them to the clinic, making sure to tell them that if they cannot afford it we will see them anyways. This is often times what holds people back from coming in the first place. Many do not realize that we will see them even if they cannot pay. That is one beauty of the clinic and the excellent health care we provide. Unlike in the states, everyone gets quality health care (at the clinic that is), regardless of their ability to pay and without having worries about insurance. Besides the health fair, we also did a women's health class in the Colonia. Although I did not attend, I hear it was a great success and well accepted....we will definately need to get more of those going.
Last week, we also took a field trip into the Colonia in order to deliver a dozen backpacks and school clothes. There are two families of 8 or 9 living in a house about the size of a nice bathroom maybe. It is unreal what you see when going up into the Colonia--it never ceases to amaze me! 3,000 people living up on the hillside in which they have to walk up steep, steep hills to get to there homes while carrying a small child, propane tank, supplies, food, etc. Many don't have work outside the house and many of the kids do not go to school. What gets me everytime, though, is walking past houses that have cable tv or the number of people that have cell phones and talk on them constantly but can't afford food. What has technology come too? Has it really consumed our life that much that it is more important to us than food and shelter? Sometimes, I think that is definately the case, and it is really quite sad and almost pathetic! Think about all the technology in your life. How do you compare? What are your priorities--the here and now or the cyper, technological "galaxy"?
I know what people are really waiting to hear about is the rumored triathalon I was in. That's right, I was part of a triatholon this past weekend. You didn't know I was training for one? Oh wait, that's because I didn't! haha Yup, cold turkey in the Bay Island Triathalon and my relay team took 1st! While some may not think going cold turkey is all that terrible, let me paint you a little picture. The bike portion (which I did) was 5 miles on hilly terrain. Yes, 14%, 18%, and 20 %, grade hills...for those of you unfamiliar with grading (you're not alone)...but that is practically straight up for all I'm concerned. Apparently "normal" grade for a hill is right around 8%. So yes, these hills covered about a third of the course. The course here on Roatan is one of the top 5 hardest courses....in the world! Future olympic athletes come to compete for points to get them into the olympics. That's right....I was racing with olympic athletes! And to think....they train for this everyday?! Why gave me this crazy idea to enter the triathalon? The triathalon had been postponed from November and there were two girls that were going to do it.....but their biker went home in December. Therefore, I told them last weekend that if they found me a bike, I would bike for them. The day before the race, I checked out the bike that I would be riding. Clipless peddles (meaning your feet are attached to your peddles) that I've never used before, riding on an island full of hills! I rode a little bit of the course on Saturday to "train". The portion that I rode? The relatively easy portion....yet I struggled on the hills. How was I ever going to make it on the most difficult part?! Well, I guess we shall see come race day! The best part of it all?! I didn't have a helmet, so I wore a moped helmet. That's right folks, I went real Roatan fashion.....delayed training, moped helmet.... Look where it got us....first place!
I think that about sums up my life for the past few weeks. Weather is starting to get nicer again; went for a snorkel yesterday and it was quite nice--saw a Baracuda, a few star fish, swam in a school of fish--man was it clear yesterday! Four months are gone, eight months left--time sure is flying, but at the same time, there are days when it seems to move so very slowly.
Until next time,
xoxo
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