Day 55

So I was still sick today. I went to the doctor in the afternoon, and he said it was likely a parasite. He's having me take a blood, urine, and stool test (which I will be going to get tomorrow). I spent nearly the entire day in bed. I felt like I had no energy to do anything.

I started to feel better after a nap. Everyone went out for dinner, and even though I wasn't hungry, I accompanied them anyways! I was surprised at how much better I felt after the walk to the restaurant. And I felt hungry again...I seemed to have regained my appetite! I ordered some food, and took a few bites and felt sick again! I was pretty sick for the rest of the night, and I had terrible stomach cramps all night. I woke up around 4:00am, and it was not good.

One of the house guests has Dengue fever - poor guy. Dengue fever is common in rural Nicaragua, and is carried by mosquitos.

Day 54

I woke up today not feeling 100%. We were due to go on a little trip to Masaya Volcano after our placements this afternoon, as there is a really incredible night tour of the volcano craters and caves. I wanted to make sure I was well enough to go, so I decided that I would sleep in an extra hour or so, and then head off to placement.

It was a good plan, until after breakfast when I needed a puke bucket and a toilet at the same time...I got myself cleaned up, and went to the living room to watch FIFA with some of the other people in the house. I was laying down, and I suddenly started to feel very hot and dizzy. Before I could do anything about it, I had vomited all over the coffee table, then all over the floor. It was horrible, and so embarrassing. I felt so bad. I was just shaking...I felt so so sick. I hopped in the shower to clean myself off, and didn't even dry off before climbing into bed. With the fan on, I finally cooled off. I slept for a bit, and when I woke up, I felt a lot better. But as soon as I stood up again and started moving around, I felt hot and dizzy again. I threw up twice more, while going to the bathroom....again. Not fun. All I could think was: "I hope I don't have a parasite...".

I just seemed to get weaker and weaker as the day went on. And although I stopped vomiting, I was still needing to run to the bathroom unusually often. I just tried to rest, and I slept some more. I ate some crackers and gingerale, and I kept that down. I tried to drink more fluids, and I seemed to gain more strength. By about 9pm, I felt significantly better. Except that I had fever, which I didn't have earlier.

I took some tylenol for my fever and went to bed.

Day 53

I am definitely getting sick. After being wet and cold on Saturday, I woke up with a bit of a head cold this morning. Runny nose and sore throat...never fun. I got up and went to work, but I stuck to tasks away from patients. I made charts and put together packages of papers. I organized the shelves and sorted through all kinds of paper work. I had worked up quite a sweat by the end of it all! Phew!

We went out for some "Taco a Taco", as we needed to sign their infamous wall. Brittany and Sara are leaving on Friday morning, and it's tradition to sign the wall at "Taco a Taco" - sad moment. It's weird...we're all beginning to realize that our adventures in Nicaragua are coming to an end.

We watched a movie afterwards, and had a great night overall.

Day 50/51/52

Another fantastic weekend :)

We left Friday afternoon for San Juan del Sur - well known as the most touristic location in Nicaragua. Between the white sand beaches and the vibrant community, we understood why. After a delicious meal at a Reggae restaurant called "The Black Whale" and a few games of pool, we spent the remainder of the night sitting on the beach and talking.

We were up bright and early on Saturday morning to head to Maderas beach, about 20 minutes away. The sun wasn't out when we left, but we figured the clouds would burn off by mid-morning. We were very wrong, unfortunately. We spent the first few hours at this very isolated beach reading and swimming. Although it was heavily overcast, the air was still warm enough. It started to spit rain at first, and within about 5 minutes, a full-blown storm had moved in. There wasn't much for shelter at this beach - only a little shack with a few tables and a hostel. Between the pouring rain, and the violent wind blowing the water off the sea, we were utterly drenched. And it was freezing. And we were stuck out there until 3:00 (the storm started at 1:00), which was the time we'd told the taxi to come back and pick us up at. And when I say taxi, you should know by now that I really mean the back of a truck.

It was a long 2 hours in the rain...we all had the chills, and it took us a while to warm up. We went out for dinner, and walked around the town. Very fun night!

Sunday, we woke to sunshine. Yay! We enjoyed the sunshine on the beach after breakfast. We headed back to Jinotepe early in the afternoon. I spent last night reading, and sorting out some stuff for school. The other girls (the two who came with me!) have started packing, as they leave to go back to Canada on Friday morning.

Day 49

I spent the day at a rural health clinic in a small town called Canas Blancas with a doctor and a nurse. We were driven out there at 8:00am, and we were swamped right through til 1:00pm. The town itself only has 200 people in it, however people come from the many small surrounding communities to this clinic as well. It ran very much the same way as the clinic here in Jinotepe does, just on a smaller scale. It was interesting, and it really allowed me to get to know the other 2 women really well. The doctor was wonderful and very friendly...she was sure to make sure I understood everything, and she was keen to explain things when I didn't. The nurse was wonderful also! Although I didn't spend as much time with her, as she was in a separate room, she was easy to talk with and get to know. Our driver forgot to come and pick us up, so about an hour and a half later than he was supposed to come, he showed up. We had to walk a fair ways to find someone with a phone to call the driver. It was an extremely hot day, and we were waiting out on the road in the sun, in our scrubs, for what seemed like forever. Needless to say, we were happy to see that driver when he finally came!

I crashed around 9:00pm - the earliest I've been to bed in as long as I can remember. I was just utterly exhausted. Between the heat and the busy week, I needed to catch up on some sleep.

Day 48

Today was certainly a lot quieter than yesterday!

The unit was dead...not a single patient in the delivery room all morning! This was a good thing though, because there were some American students in the hospital today! It was great to get to talk to them, and hear of their experiences so far. And I must say, it was nice to socialize with some other English-speaking people! haha

My afternoon at the clinic was even quieter than yesterday! All of the work was finished by 2 hours earlier than normal! It was crazy! I had a lot of time to sit and talk with the staff...get to know them a little better.

I proposed going out for dinner to my new friends from the hospital. So the 6 American students from the hospital met the girls and I at a restaurant. It was a really nice night!

Day 47

Today was AMAZING. What an opportunity!

So when I first started my volunteer placement, I often felt like I was more of a burden than a help. It was frustrating to try and learn how I could help when I didn't fully understand the language, especially when others weren't always willing to be patient! I remember at times feeling like I wasn't really wanted there...and there were times when I felt like I should try a fresh start in a different unit.

I feel as though my perseverance has been worth it! I feel like I am a welcomed and appreciated part of the maternity and delivery room team! Especially in the delivery room, which is where I spend most of my mornings. After a lot of observing and just following the nurses around to figure out where things went and what tasks had to be done when, I was finally able to take initiative in doing these tasks on my own. I really realized today how far I've come since my first week! I am right there with the nurses and doctor when the mom is crowning...I'm comforting her as they are, and I'm well aware of what's going on. When the baby is born, I take the baby. I either do the measurements, or I record. I'm needed there. They treat me as if I am staff. It's a wonderful feeling to feel like I'm a part of their team. I know what tasks need to be done, and it brings me joy to be able to finish these tasks before the other nurses get there. I am quick to clean the instruments, change the sheets, sterilize the beds, and update the records. I think that they appreciate my perseverance in learning how I can really be of help to them, and that they appreciate my willingness to help. The ones who used to roll their eyes when I asked them "Puedo ayudarle?" (Can I help you?) now smile at me. They are so much more willing to teach me things, to give me tasks to help with. And they all know my name. I can't even say how happy this makes me. And patients know my name too. When I take their vital signs, I am sure to introduce myself, to ask their name and to get to know them better. I go out of my way to see how someone is feeling, and to talk to them if they seem lonely. Often, these women are there for two or three days before having their c-sections or going into labour or being sent home. They actually seem to smile when they see me, or when I bother them with taking their vital signs. I'm finding that it's in these little successes - the smiles, the use of my name, the laughs at my questions and the time they take to make sure I understand - that bring me joy. I know now that no matter what happens for the next 3 weeks of this volunteer placement, I feel like I've somehow contributed. It may be in a small way, but I've helped in some small way at the very least.

Over two weeks ago, I approached the hospital director with the BaseCamp coordinator to see if I could have permission to observe a surgery. The answer was no. That simple. I understood completely, although I must admit I was a little disappointed that there was no hope of exploring that aspect of medicine during my time in Nicaragua.

Since then, I've become quite good friends with the director. I actually don't even think he remembered me from that time when we first met. He wasn't interested in me or why I was there. He was actually the one who hardly looked up from his paperwork. Now, he comes to see me every day in the delivery room. He speaks french, and loves that I do too. We always speak french together. He always has thoughtful advice for me, or an incredible story. He worked for Doctors Without Borders for 14 years, and he has a lot of wisdom to share. I admire his passion for humanitarianism above all.

When this doctor came to see me today, I decided to ask him again about seeing a surgery. I asked him if it would be at all possible for me to observe a surgery. I emphasized that I completely understood if it wasn't appropriate. He just smiled at me, and said "I'll send someone to get to for the very next c-section.". I was afraid to get my hopes up, simply because in Nica, everything runs on Nica time...

But sure enough, hardly 20 minutes later, someone came in to the delivery room calling my name. I was in the middle of cleaning something, but the nurses came and basically pushed me out the door, insisting that they would finish up what I was doing. I was more touched by the fact that they were so willing to help me have this opportunity than anything.

I changed into surgical scrubs...cloth booties, cap, face mask and all. The director was the one performing the c-section, along with 2 other doctors, and he welcomed me. He made sure to bring me a stool before starting the surgery, just in case I felt dizzy...

I was too amazed and curious to be dizzy! Right from the first cut, I forgot any fears I had and just became captivated by the surgery. How fast they worked, and how efficiently! The work itself is extremely tedious...they truly were masters of their instruments. Everything from the cuts to the stitches was done with such precision...it was honestly incredible to watch. The baby was born and healthy, but quickly taken away for measurements and clean-up and such.

The time from when the first incision was made to the time when they had the baby out was easily less than 5 minutes. The time from when the baby was born, to when the mom was fully stitched up was over 20. It became evident to me very quickly that getting the baby out was only the first step in the surgery...and just as everything in life, the damage is a lot more easily done than fixed. The incisions were quick, but the stitches took far, far, far more time and effort.

I could honestly not believe how little evidence there was that this woman had undergone surgery. Their stitches were so perfectly buried that when the thread was pulled taught, you could only see a faint line. Incredible.

After this surgery, I went in to observe another. They were resetting a broken elbow. It was fascinating to see the tendons and muscle and joint. They were drilling 8-10 inch long rods into the elbow are various angles. There were 4 separate rods sticking through this man's arm at one point. I had no idea what they were doing... They stitched back up his arm, and it was only then that I realized they were done their work. But how? This man had 4 rods sticking through his arm! I still don't know what happened...I didn't want to bother these preoccupied surgeons with pesky questions, and I figured google could help me out once I got home. So far, it hasn't given me any answers! We'll see...

My afternoon at the clinic was quieter than usual. I sat in on part of an HIV test, which was somewhat interesting. This part consisted of determining the patient's sexual history. I found I understood very little of their conversation, I think primarily because I was unfamiliar with the new words associated with sexual histories! haha

I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to see what I did today. Another little dream come true...