I enjoyed this week although I was battling some GI upset and feeling pretty tired. Here are some highlights:
- Seeing grateful patients return, feeling better. What a priviledge to be on this path with them.
- The “cooler” weather. It is still in the 90’s but the humidity seems to have dropped significantly as my scrubs are not soaking wet by midday.
- Sleeping through the night mostly for the last 2 nights.
- Walking home from the hospital in the heat of the day because no buses were running...the current government was throwing a big caravan party to all the major towns and they needed the public transit system for their own purposes so it seems. Many trucks loaded with Nicaraguans dressed in Black and Red passed me, the passengers hanging out the tailgates yelling and waving big Nicaraguan and FSLN (current party in power) flags. After about an hour of stopping in the shade for a drink and re-rolling up my scrub pants, a neighbor picked me up on his motorbike and brought me the last mile. Although it was hot, walking was a nice pace with which to witness Nica life in the pueblos along the main road. I aslo saw the air strip progress up close and personal. The 2 gates are nearly finished, which will serve to stop traffic in both directions along the highway when a plane is scheduled to land on the airstrip which spans the only main road on the island. I'm mostly concerned about the loitering cows that may not be quick enough to get out of the way.
- Delicious Pineapple, Papaya, Ginger smoothie at the corner house.
- The drops of rain I felt on my skin today. It hasn’t rained here in over a week. I miss the intense thunderstorms with heavy rains that sometimes happen here during the night.
- Squeezing through the packed aisles on the bus to make my way to the front with my large medical bag, while the bus is going over speed bumps and everyone behind me is pushing forward.
- Our water pump has been fixed so no more bucket showers.
- Playing cards with Emilse and Dennis on our Lunch Break in the Hospital. We all squeezed around a desk and ate flame cooked rice and beans on a styrofoam plate and plastic fork from the Hospitals kitchen. They bought some fried sweet plantians and cabbage slaw that they shared with me as well. No one talked as we ate. The refreshing breeze outside was the only audible sound. Afterwards they taught me a card game without really explaining the rules. Based off of their actions I figured out what I was and wasn’t able to do as they laughed and won every game. I didn’t have many patients on my list to I recruited the head nurse, the front desk worker and another hospital worker to come in for treatment. Just amongst those three I treated Diabetes, Constipation, Insomnia, High Blood Pressure, Osteoarthritis, Migraine Headaches and Anemia. I also learned when the weekly hospital meetings occur, that it takes up to 3 months to receive results from Pap exams done in the hospital and I learned a bit about the history of Nicaragua.