Greetings…
Brittney and I had our free weekend this past weekend. We decided what better use of our time than to spend it at the beach in February. We traveled two hours by car to a little town called Coyolito. From Coyolito we took a boat to the city of Ampala which is the only town on Isla del Tigre. There really isn't much on the island other than a couple hotels, a few beaches, and a few locals that live there. For $55 we got a hotel for the night and all of our meals, which were pretty tasty, and we didn't even get food poisoning and die. It might be the most remote location I've ever been. The beach is beautiful and serene, it's very secluded. From the shore you can see both El Salvador and Nicaragua. I am pretty sure you could swim to them if you needed to, except I don't know if I want to brave the Pacific Ocean and the sharks that live there. Brittney and I spent most of the day basking or baking in the sun. It seems that the temperature in Ampala can reach over 40 degrees Celsius, which is 104 degrees Fahrenheit. It was the hottest day I've personally ever experienced and that's saying a lot from surviving many a summers in the humidity of Florida. We did lather in sunscreen, but the near equator sun was no match for our very pale skin. Brittney and I managed to go through an entire can of sunscreen in 1.5 days... I think that should be a record of some sort.
The random story of going to the beach was that we ran into another group of gringos (non-Hispanic people) that spoke English, which excited us greatly. One of the girls looked very familiar to me.. I thought…. hey I know that girl. It turns out I DO know that girl. She's the younger sister of a kid I went to high school/middle school/ elementary school with. We were both members of the Indian River Youth Orchestra when I was in High School. She's living in Tegucigalpa teaching English at a bilingual school. We are going to try to do a few things together before we head back to the states. Maybe visit the market, see a futbol game, or help her on the weekends when she gives food to needy kids. At the most remote location in the world, I run into fellow Vero Beachers.
Dr. Parish (Evelyn) got in Sunday morning (2-10). We all had dinner together last night and spent a while catching up and chatting. This morning Brittney and I made breakfast plantains, toast, eggs (which we won't talk about), and turkey bacon, it was a pretty tasty meal. Next time we won't add so much salt to the eggs. Brittney and I gave Evelyn a tour of the clinic yesterday and then Brittney was on her own seeing patients. I had a translator this morning, but for the most part I could get the gist of the problem. We saw at least cases of amebas yesterday. Evelyn said she was pretty sure she hasn't seen three cases of amebas in three years, let alone one day.
Yesterday (2-11) was match day….and I matched at UCONN. So I am headed to Connecticut next year, which is super exciting. They were my top program, so I am glad that they liked me. I think it will be a challenging but very rewarding year. Sofia and Abraham both matched at Geisinger and so far everyone I've heard from is happy with their match results. I am still trying to track down a few of my friends, and of course we are still waiting on everyone doing the allopathic match next month.
After lunch yesterday Dr. Xiomara (our doctor from the clinic) took me to the Montes Hospital, which is a private clinic. It is more middle class. They have an OR, a delivery room, and a few overnight patient rooms. They also have an emergency room, which functions like a doctor's office and a walk in clinic. We didn't have very many patients yesterday. But it was interesting to see the vast contrast in the difference between this setting, our clinic, and the health department. Office visits at the Montes Hospital are about 200 Limpiras, which does not include any medication or laboratory services, those are all extra. So that's a very large difference compared to the 30 lempiras or 1 lempira that the other clinics charge with medications being included. We met the doctor who we work with during the 24 OB shift. Apparently he will be out of town this weekend, so I am working with someone else, one who speaks English, and like teaching. I am very excited about this. Brittney is still working with the scary man, but he at least talks slow enough that you can understand most of what he's saying, we just don't always know how to respond in Spanish. Brittney is going to the hospital tomorrow to work with Dr. Xiomara, and then we each have one more day next week.
Today (2-12) we went to work at the health department. They sent a Brigade out into the community. It's like a mobile medical/vaccine/vector group that goes to a particular neighborhood for people that cannot make it to the actual health department building. On today's brigade we had the opportunity to do a couple pap smears and help with medical treatments. First let me explain that the clinic is basically someone's house. A house is volunteered to hold the brigade and one room became the medical clinic and pharmacy and the other room became the gynecology room. Brittney, Evelyn and I all did a few pap smears. Let's just say it was not the most ideal situation in the world. A bed, a sheet and a robe which were both reused, a speculum, and a flashlight were all we had to work with. It was definitely not up to American standards for hygiene or privacy. I can't imagine anyone volunteering their bedroom for strangers to get their paps done. They are able to get their results in about 15 days, which is pretty good. Then in the main living room, were the medical clinic and the pharmacy. We mainly watched the doctors and interacted when possible. We saw a little girl that had 2nd degree burns on her arm and all over her body that she got from spilling boiling water. We also saw many skin infections, scabies, and the oh so famous gripe (cold/flu).
Abraham and Sofia walked through the neighborhood with the vector group helping to distribute disinfectant for the water basins. Dengue fever is a major problem in this area… just ask Abraham, he managed to get it last time he was here. But the water they use for cooking and cleaning sits in open containers and the mosquitoes lay eggs in the water and this spreads Dengue. The packets of disinfectant last for 3 months. It's just hard to get people to understand why they need to use them. The neighborhood we visited is mostly slum level living. Abraham and Sofia said it was very interesting to see the living arrangements and how they made the best of what little materials they have. Next week Brittney and I will be going on another community Brigade with the health department and we are supposed to help with the vector group.
I'll stop there for now… this has been a long update… Thanks for making it to the end. Hope all is well in the States.
Adios.
Allison
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