Now that I've dipped my feet into the cool waters of M4 year, there has been enough time for me to reflect on the medical mission to Honduras.
One of the pleasant surprises of the trip was being able to utilize the Spanish that I had learned during high school. It was awesome to still be able to converse (albeit rather brokenly at times) after more than 7 years out of the classroom. The experience has reassured me that I might be able to (barely) get by in a Spanish-speaking country for an extended period of time, if the opportunity ever arose.
I was also amazed at the resourcefulness of Hospital Suizo. By necessity, team members were limited to one surgical mask, one hairnet, and one pair of shoe covers each day. The surgeons had to be extremely mindful of what instruments were needed in any given procedure; if possible, they would try to use equipment that was already on the field rather than open up new packages. And in clinic, we had to sterilize and reuse otoscope funnels instead of throwing them away after a single use. Outside of the OR, the people of La Ceiba have to get by with less as well. The church we visited on the Sunday before clinic started had to use a pay-as-you-go system in order to expand the building. Instead of paying everything up front and constructing the building straight through, the church pays to build one floor, raises more money, then builds the next floor, etc.
Finally, I treasured the relationships I developed on the trip. I met new friends and reconnected with old friends who had grown distant during M3 year. Most importantly, the trip has made me more comfortable about my relationship with God and about associating myself with Christianity. This isn't to say that there were thunderbolt revelations or anything on the trip. However, over the course of the past 6 months or so when I started exploring Christianity, there have been times when I've felt God's presence, and I have no doubt He steered me toward this mission trip to do good work. Since returning, I've also become more open to talking with others about my beliefs. Just the other day I had a genuinely civil discussion with a housemate about my journey to Christianity and why I believe what I believe. Recounting this entire spiritual journey would probably require an entirely new blog, not just a separate blog post. Needless to say though, I hope to continue the conversation with others and welcome dialogue.
In the end, the trip was an amazing success. This year was the single biggest year ever in terms of number of patients treated. The final numbers over the course of 5 days were as follows: 500 patients seen in clinic, 58 surgeries, and 16 in-office procedures.
It's now almost a week into M4 year and Emergency Medicine. During orientation and in the ER, I was definitely thankful that I had the chance to practice IVs while in Honduras.
[The true test of friendship: starting IVs on each other (left: me; right: Brandon Smith)]
[The aftermath of the IV workshop during Emergency Medicine orientation.]
[I offered to be a human pincushion for the day.]
My rotation at St. Joe's has been pretty good so far. Reasonable hours, enough time to enjoy pleasures outside of school (e.g. 2011 commencement, Biorhythms). Lots of things to look forward to in future blog posts!