Today was our first full day of working in the hospital. Some of what we see and experience is similar to the US but much is different! In both venues, we see caring health care providers, sick patients, loving families. In Cambodia, however, families are feeding, bathing, and turning their family members who are sick; nurses are regulating IV rates by counting drips rather than using IV pumps; medical decisions are being made with less sophisticated equipment (X-rays rather than CT scans and a plastic chair on wheels rather than a wheelchair, for example.) One patient that we saw today (left image above) had a leg wound that had been treated months earlier in the hospital but who had then resorted to Cambodian traditional medicine, having the leg wrapped in a grass bandage. By the time he was brought back to the hospital, he was disoriented and the infection had spread throughout his body.
Another patient had a textbook case of ascites (right image above). We have many opportunities for learning–about skills, culture, and even about ourselves. Our group is awesome and positive even in the face of obstacles such as transportation and scheduling issues. Thank you for your prayers and continued support. Continue to pray for us and the people of Cambodia.
Click images for enlarged versions.