Tuesday, November 22, 2011
DAY 7: Saturday, November 12
(I apologize for this being posted so late... I can explain later).
This was my final day in Alto Cayma, and as we sat around the dining room table talking about how this mission not only impacted the lives of those we touched... but more so how those amazing people have impacted our own lives, I was overcome with sadness that I didn't realize I felt. I actually wished I could stay longer and revisit some of the people I'd met along this journey... especially Francisca. I've thought about her and her beautiful baby, Christina, every waking moment since that day we met her up in that mountain community. Maybe it's because we're both moms with two young children... maybe it was her sense of peace with what she and her husband have been able to accomplish in life so far... I really don't know what it is, but I know I do think of her often. I hope some day life will become easier for her and that God blesses her family with good health.
On this last day, some of the volunteers boarded a plane headed for the city of Cusco where they planned to hike Machu Picchu, and some of us stayed back and waited for our flight back to the US.... I was one of them. Since my plane didn't leave Arequipa until 5-ish that day (was supposed to be 7:40, but Bob negotiated me an earlier flight out), Denise, Cassandra and I went to downtown Arequipa to do a little more touristy stuff... we did a little shopping, visited the Monastario de Santa Catalina (a really, really old convent which is more like a city in and of itself), had lunch out on a restaurant balcony and also stopped to visit Juanita, the Incan ice mummy at the museum. Next thing we knew, we where headed back to the volunteer house to pack our bags and head to the airport. While I was out shopping, I found a really cute child-size guitar carved out of wood. I bought it for Camden, who is always playing "music" on whatever he can find to make noise. Before we left the house, I had Father Alex write a blessing to my son on the front of the guitar... I meant to ask him what it meant before I left (since it was written in Spanish), but of course I forgot. So to any of my Spanish-speaking friends out there, feel free to help me translate!
Like I said earlier, Bob got me on an earlier flight out of Arequipa... which basically meant I just had more time to spend in the Lima airport (oh, goodie). After tossing back a crummy aiport sandwich (washed down with a couple of Cusquenas - aka beer), I settled back to send a few emails and take in everything I had just been through in the last week. By 11:45pm, I was on my way back to Florida, where I would spend the next few days kicking back and relaxing.
This was my final day in Alto Cayma, and as we sat around the dining room table talking about how this mission not only impacted the lives of those we touched... but more so how those amazing people have impacted our own lives, I was overcome with sadness that I didn't realize I felt. I actually wished I could stay longer and revisit some of the people I'd met along this journey... especially Francisca. I've thought about her and her beautiful baby, Christina, every waking moment since that day we met her up in that mountain community. Maybe it's because we're both moms with two young children... maybe it was her sense of peace with what she and her husband have been able to accomplish in life so far... I really don't know what it is, but I know I do think of her often. I hope some day life will become easier for her and that God blesses her family with good health.
On this last day, some of the volunteers boarded a plane headed for the city of Cusco where they planned to hike Machu Picchu, and some of us stayed back and waited for our flight back to the US.... I was one of them. Since my plane didn't leave Arequipa until 5-ish that day (was supposed to be 7:40, but Bob negotiated me an earlier flight out), Denise, Cassandra and I went to downtown Arequipa to do a little more touristy stuff... we did a little shopping, visited the Monastario de Santa Catalina (a really, really old convent which is more like a city in and of itself), had lunch out on a restaurant balcony and also stopped to visit Juanita, the Incan ice mummy at the museum. Next thing we knew, we where headed back to the volunteer house to pack our bags and head to the airport. While I was out shopping, I found a really cute child-size guitar carved out of wood. I bought it for Camden, who is always playing "music" on whatever he can find to make noise. Before we left the house, I had Father Alex write a blessing to my son on the front of the guitar... I meant to ask him what it meant before I left (since it was written in Spanish), but of course I forgot. So to any of my Spanish-speaking friends out there, feel free to help me translate!
Like I said earlier, Bob got me on an earlier flight out of Arequipa... which basically meant I just had more time to spend in the Lima airport (oh, goodie). After tossing back a crummy aiport sandwich (washed down with a couple of Cusquenas - aka beer), I settled back to send a few emails and take in everything I had just been through in the last week. By 11:45pm, I was on my way back to Florida, where I would spend the next few days kicking back and relaxing.
Friday, November 11, 2011
DAY 6: Friday, November 11
I just got back from spending a few hours working in the clinic laboratory while the rest of the gang went downtown to do a little shopping. The lab is only open in the morning, so it´s been hard to schedule some time to get in there. Hugo, the technician (he´s also a pharmacist), showed me around a little at first... which didn´t take long. The entire lab, including the phlebotomy chair and a small bathroom, is only about 10 feet by 10 feet. Not long after I´m there, a patient knocked on the door needing bloodwork. Hugo asked if I wanted to collect the blood, and I told him I would be happy to. But as we got things ready I realized their process is completely different than what I´m used to, so I told him I´d rather watch him this first time and I can take over after. And I´m glad I did. My lab friends are going to love this....
Here in Alto Cayma, whenever a patient needs work to be done, whether it´s laboratory work, a surgery, dental care, etc... they are responsible for purchasing the supplies needed for that work ahead of time (I´ve heard stories of patients only getting half a surgery than what was actually needed because they couldn´t afford to get all of the supplies at one time). So, when the first patient came to the lab, she had in hand a small bag that included gloves and a needle. The only thing the lab supplies is the tourniquet and the glass vials that the blood is collected in (which are washed and reused after each patient). Nothing here is a one-time-use disposible device, except for the needle... and definitely no evacuated tube systems. As I watched Hugo collect the blood, I was amazed at his technique. First, he prepared the glass vial that would eventually hold the blood specimen. Because we were doing a CBC, he put a single drop of liquid EDTA in the bottom. Then, after securing the tourniquet and cleansing the site with alcohol, he inserted the needle (which is just a straight 21 guage 1.5 inch needle with nothing on the end) into the patient´s vein, and then simply held the small glass vial at the other end of the needle and let the blood drip into it. That´s it! That´s all there´s to it. When he had about 1 mL of blood in the bottom, he pulled the needle out, gave the patient a piece of cotton and let her go right away.
Testing at the lab is very "old school". All of the equipment is dated (I saw a chart on the wall that was published by DIFCO laboratories in Detroit from 1974!!) and most of the work is done manually. Gloves are hard to come by, so if you´ve got them you use them, but if you don´t it´s not a requirement. Pipetting by mouth is also a common practice... yuck.
I drew blood on a few patients, which once I got the hang of it ended up being not so bad afterall. My biggest concern was accidentally sticking myself, since there is no protective devices to help avoid that. I also helped Hugo do a few urine dips and spin a few tubes of blood. I wish I was able to do more, but the language barrier didn´t help much. The most common tests we did today were CBCs, urines and a few parasitology tests. Gastro issues in this area are extremely common. I thank the Lord we didn´t encounter any with worms. We also did a few glucose tests and CRPs. We also did an ABO/Rh on a 6-year-old girl... not really sure why, though. As you can imagine, DX codes are not a part of the their system. After the big rush (which was only 10 patients or so - but it takes so much longer to do the tests because everything is manual), it was time to wash the glassware, including the urine cups and pipettes. Hugo started resulting all of his work, which again was hand-written and delivered to the doctor. By noon, it was time to close up shop. I headed back up the mountain to the volunteer house where I waited for the rest of the group to get back from shopping.... and, yes... a quick nap was definitely in order!
Here in Alto Cayma, whenever a patient needs work to be done, whether it´s laboratory work, a surgery, dental care, etc... they are responsible for purchasing the supplies needed for that work ahead of time (I´ve heard stories of patients only getting half a surgery than what was actually needed because they couldn´t afford to get all of the supplies at one time). So, when the first patient came to the lab, she had in hand a small bag that included gloves and a needle. The only thing the lab supplies is the tourniquet and the glass vials that the blood is collected in (which are washed and reused after each patient). Nothing here is a one-time-use disposible device, except for the needle... and definitely no evacuated tube systems. As I watched Hugo collect the blood, I was amazed at his technique. First, he prepared the glass vial that would eventually hold the blood specimen. Because we were doing a CBC, he put a single drop of liquid EDTA in the bottom. Then, after securing the tourniquet and cleansing the site with alcohol, he inserted the needle (which is just a straight 21 guage 1.5 inch needle with nothing on the end) into the patient´s vein, and then simply held the small glass vial at the other end of the needle and let the blood drip into it. That´s it! That´s all there´s to it. When he had about 1 mL of blood in the bottom, he pulled the needle out, gave the patient a piece of cotton and let her go right away.
Testing at the lab is very "old school". All of the equipment is dated (I saw a chart on the wall that was published by DIFCO laboratories in Detroit from 1974!!) and most of the work is done manually. Gloves are hard to come by, so if you´ve got them you use them, but if you don´t it´s not a requirement. Pipetting by mouth is also a common practice... yuck.
I drew blood on a few patients, which once I got the hang of it ended up being not so bad afterall. My biggest concern was accidentally sticking myself, since there is no protective devices to help avoid that. I also helped Hugo do a few urine dips and spin a few tubes of blood. I wish I was able to do more, but the language barrier didn´t help much. The most common tests we did today were CBCs, urines and a few parasitology tests. Gastro issues in this area are extremely common. I thank the Lord we didn´t encounter any with worms. We also did a few glucose tests and CRPs. We also did an ABO/Rh on a 6-year-old girl... not really sure why, though. As you can imagine, DX codes are not a part of the their system. After the big rush (which was only 10 patients or so - but it takes so much longer to do the tests because everything is manual), it was time to wash the glassware, including the urine cups and pipettes. Hugo started resulting all of his work, which again was hand-written and delivered to the doctor. By noon, it was time to close up shop. I headed back up the mountain to the volunteer house where I waited for the rest of the group to get back from shopping.... and, yes... a quick nap was definitely in order!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Meal Delivery
Every day, food is prepared in these huge pots. That´s Scholastica (the director of the food program) washing dishes at the sink.
Chop, chop, chopping veggies.... and doing it with a smile!
The food is put into 5-gallon buckets and loaded into the van.
Here is Adan serving up some delicious soup!
Chop, chop, chopping veggies.... and doing it with a smile!The food is put into 5-gallon buckets and loaded into the van.Here is Adan serving up some delicious soup!
A sweet old Peruvian coming out with is bowls to get his hot meal for the day.
DAY 5: Thursday, November 10
Today, I was assigned to kitchen duty along with Sally and Karen. Across from the volunteer house is where Scholastica and her staff prepare and deliver food for nearly 700 people who wouldn´t otherwise have much for nutrition. We started cutting vegetables (potatoes, onions, carrots, squash and cilantro) at around 9am or so... and didn´t finish until 11:30. The other ladies prepared meat (one looked like beef, the other was labeled "hot dogs", but not the kind you and I have come to know). Another cook is preparing rice. Two and a half hours of non-stop chopping, and one huge blister later, we were ready to put it all together, cook it, and prepare it for delivery. Every Monday through Friday, these ladies (local Peruvians who are employed through Father Alex´s food program) prepare food to deliver to the poor. On Saturdays, they spend the day going to the market to buy the food needed for the following week.
Once the food is ready (and, we´re talking a complete meal - soup, rice, a main dish that varies day to day, and a protien drink made especially for the elderly), it is poured into 5-gallon buckets and loaded into the van. Karen and I ride up in the front with Adan, the driver, while Scholastica and another gentleman ride in the back with the buckets. We take off through the streets of Alto Cayma and stop every few blocks to drop off buckets. Some of the drop off points were designated as a distribution location. Other places we stopped were just at someone´s house where Adan honks the horn and they come out with their bowls in hand. They must be the people that aren´t able to walk to the drop-off locations - mostly elderly and/or handicapped.
The route takes about an hour and a half and brings us back to the volunteer house just in time for lunch. It´s kinda hard for me to not feel guilty about how lucky we are to have such a wonderful lunch prepared for us considering what I had just witnessed over the last few hours. Even as I sit here and type this blog, I think about all the work it takes to do this every single day for the 700 people out there that have hardly a thing to their name.... and to see the sincere appreciation for that one meal a day they are given.
Once the food is ready (and, we´re talking a complete meal - soup, rice, a main dish that varies day to day, and a protien drink made especially for the elderly), it is poured into 5-gallon buckets and loaded into the van. Karen and I ride up in the front with Adan, the driver, while Scholastica and another gentleman ride in the back with the buckets. We take off through the streets of Alto Cayma and stop every few blocks to drop off buckets. Some of the drop off points were designated as a distribution location. Other places we stopped were just at someone´s house where Adan honks the horn and they come out with their bowls in hand. They must be the people that aren´t able to walk to the drop-off locations - mostly elderly and/or handicapped.
The route takes about an hour and a half and brings us back to the volunteer house just in time for lunch. It´s kinda hard for me to not feel guilty about how lucky we are to have such a wonderful lunch prepared for us considering what I had just witnessed over the last few hours. Even as I sit here and type this blog, I think about all the work it takes to do this every single day for the 700 people out there that have hardly a thing to their name.... and to see the sincere appreciation for that one meal a day they are given.
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