2010 Mission Trip to Guatemala
from: Natalie Eaton, Megan Oakley & Beth Higney
Hello from the nurses! Sorry we haven’t updated lately, we couldn’t get to the computer last night but hope we got your attention with the title. No, there was no emergency but we did spend Thursday working in the emergency room at the Children’s Hospital.
After utilizing the translator we were able to meet with the director of the hospital and arrange the opportunity for us to work in the pediatric emergency room on Thursday. The translator was so helpful and made it possible for us to finally express how much we really want to help. Yesterday was the first day that we were asked to really jump in and “do” something. I think it took a couple of days for them to warm up to us and really see how much we know and how much we really can help. The nursing roles here are a bit different compared to the states. For example, nurses do not do any assessments on the patients; in fact, we have yet to see one use a stethoscope. Luckily, we had a translator and one of the doctors in the ER spoke English. We were able to help with assessments and initial diagnosis as the patients came in. We administered medications, started IVs, and drew blood. Like we stated earlier, things are done a little bit different here but it is interesting to see how their hospital units function.
Well, today was an incredibly emotionally draining day for me (and many of us), so I am going to use today’s blog to kind of unload and filter through my thoughts. While Kim went on the hospitals mobile clinic and Stephanie worked the emergency room and operating room, the other three of us (Emily, Victoria, and I) had our turn to go out to the slums to talk with the HIV patients. Because we had a lot of time, we got to sit in their houses with them and have conversations through our interpreter Chaveleth.
Today was a day full of new and heart wrenching experiences. We began our day at a support group meeting for HIV patients. I volunteered to be the spokesperson for our group. We stressed the importance of taking their medication and taking it on time. Apparently, it meant more coming from us because we are foreigners, and we were wearing scrubs. The meeting was very eye opening to me to see how devastating the effects of HIV are physically, mentally, and emotionally. For example, this was some patients first time to visit because they were ashamed, and others were completely abandoned by their families. After the meeting we split off to go back to the hospital (Chelsea, Emily, and Victoria) and to HIV home visits (me and Stephanie).
We would like to preface this by apologizing for our error yesterday by replacing split with splint… Now onto our day!!!
Today was our first day in the Center for Hope Hospital. Phalla met us outside the hospital to take us on a tour of where we would be working for the next two weeks. The hospital is a lot different than I expected, a lot more advanced. All the nurses were so excited to see Mrs. Taplin, they were all saying OH SUSAN!!!.
We have arrived in Phnom Penh! It has been one hot, fantastic day! After settling into our hotel, we walked down the street to a cafe for lunch that had amazingly good food– pumpkin soup (the group favorite), lime soda, and pizza for those of us who needed a little break from Asian cuisine! We seemed to cool off a bit during lunch, but once we reached the market all bets were off. There is more stuff crammed into a teeny tiny space than I thought humanly possible. Mrs. Taplin knows many of the dealers, though, so we got the best quality and lowest price. Needless to say, we became shopaholics (well… I was a shopaholic)… Most of us walked home with armfuls of merchandise, some for ourselves and some for you at home! 🙂
Just a quick little blog as we drive down the roads of Guatemala City. We have all arrived safe and sound after an EARLY morning, very long layover in Miami, and a adventurous landing in the rain. We are on the way to take a tour of the Shalom Surgery Center. More to come later!!
What a day! We all woke up this morning and boarded a van that took us on a 3 1/2 hour journey to Hon Long Bay, which not only showed us the beautiful countryside of Vietnam, but let us experience some of Vietnam’s culture in one of their most popular tourist spots. Once we got on a boat that would take us around the bay, our tour guide (Hong –> greatest tour guide ever!) educated us on some more Vietnamese culture and history.
Belmont University School of Nursing Professor, Dr. Debra Wollaber, has been selected to receive the Distinguished Nursing Alumnus Award by Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. The award honors a select few who represent the best of nursing through their contributions to practice, research, education, and/or service. Dr. Wollaber received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Hartwick in 1973.
From March 15 through 18 we took our second safari, traveling west and south to Queen Elizabeth Game Park and then to the far southwest corner of Uganda where it meets Rwanda and Congo. The road between Kampala and Mityana was dirt and bone-jarring; it has been under construction for about seven years. From Mityana westward was a smooth, paved road, steadily climbing in elevation until we reached the lush tea and matooke plantations of Fort Portal. Beyond Fort Portal were the majestic Renzori Mountains, the Mountains of the Moon.
The public is invited to join A Dialogue to Build a Healthier Community, part of the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing Diagnosing Our Future speaker series. Admission is free.
Probably Newtonian mechanics sufficed for explaining the movements of your vehicles on ice and snow this winter in the U.S. The reports about your winter have been remarkable, especially since, while the Equator crosses southern Uganda, the elevations are high enough to make it balmy most of the time. Some days have been downright chilly, a few hot in the afternoons. Mornings in paradise are almost always perfect mornings of comfortably cool freshness. And the look from our “tree house” apartment is always one of lush rain forest. Here is a photo from the family home in Ohio where I spent my teen years and one from where we are living now to show the difference this winter. We also see monkeys in the trees around our house, unlikely in either Ohio or Tennessee.
