Global Health Medical Campaign

For the past week and a half we have been helping to translate for the Global Health medical campaign. We are all pretending to to sick in the picture to the left.

I worked mainly in triage, which means I took medical history and noted symptoms. It was actually pretty interesting. I got to talk to a lot of people and I learned a lot about what different symptoms could mean. For example, if someone is exhibiting excessive thirst, excessive urination and has recently lost weight, those are symptoms of diabetes. I also learned a lot about urinary tract infections/vaginal infections. Which I could have done without.

Triage would be the first to start (which means I had to wake up at 6:30am everyday to make breakfast at 7am to get to the clinic by 8am) and finish first, which means I got to give people breaks in the doctors' consult rooms. I liked getting to see patients all the way through. Plus, it means I got to see some really interesting medical conditions/procedures.

My nurse Jillian and I. And a cute little woman from the Sierra.

 

Interesting phrases I learned (literal translation, what it really means):
- Me cuido = I take care of myself = I am on birth control
- Ya no me enfermo = I don't get sick anymore = I no longer menstruate
- Me hormegeo = I have ants = I feel pins and needles

Juliane with Brian, the little boy with Progeria.

Interesting (although terribly sad) stuff I got to see:
- A HUGE groin hernia that was close to incarceration, which means that the abdominal wall is close to pinching off the intestine which would kill it (which leads to death)
- Hemorrhoids
- Prolapsed uterus (which the GYN fixed with a pessary, which is a small round plastic thing that is placed in the uterus to hold it up)
- Two different kids with TWO thumbs on one hand
- Minor foot surgery to remove really ingrown toe nails
- A huge mass on the side of a man's face (we had a lot of body masses)
- A child with cerebral palsy
- A child with progeria  (a REALLY rare disease where you age very rapidly)


And the best one: I got to help one of the doctors drain someone's finger of pus. It was an old woman who had an infected finger. We didn't have any anesthesia, so I held her finger still for the doctor to cut into with a scalpel, and comforted her. I got her talking about her kids, and I put my arm around her and help her tight so she would concentrate on that pressure instead of her finger. She was very brave. She didn't cry, although I am sure she wanted to since she was being sliced into without anesthesia.

For the most part it was really fun, but there were some really frustrating parts. Mainly, miscommunication...or their decision to ignore my questions. Still don't know which. Here are some sample conversations of what happened with pretty much every patient:

Me: Are you taking any medication?
Patient: No. None.
Me: Nothing? Vitamins? For pain? Nothing?
Patient: Yes, nothing nothing.
(a few questions later)
Me: Do you have high blood pressure?
Patient: Yes, I take Enalapril for my blood pressure.

Me: How long have you had this problem?
Patient 1&2: Ohhh TIEMPO! (some TIME!)
Me: For how long?
Patient 1: 5 years
Patient 2: 2 months
...so by WOOO TIEMPO, you mean any rate of time? Good. Great. Thanks for the clear answer.

Me: What medication are you taking?
Patient: Ohh and my kidneys hurt...
Me: SENORA, what medications are you taking?
Patient: Oh si Senorita...and my head hurts...
Me: Senora! LISTEN TO ME! What medications are you taking?
Patient: Oh si, Senorita linda...and my legs hurt...
Me: Ok Jillian its time to get this one out of here.

We also helped teach a class on how to heal babies breath when they are first born (which we were definitely unqualified to teach). I am including this in this post mostly so I can include this picture of Tara with our training Peruvian baby, which is filled with water to make it seem lifelike.

So at the end of the week, we were all in need of a little fun. We went to a cock fight, which was terrifying and awful, and then we all went out of a beer. Which is where this happened:

This is what happens when I have to work 12 hour days without a siesta. No idea who the 4-wheeler belongs to.

I can't wait for the next campaign in August!