Wednesday, August 8, 2012
2 days left at the hospital! I can hardly believe how quickly this summer has gone by.
Here are some of the pictures of my summer experience..
A break in the clouds, taken from our roof-top patio in Guayaquil.
An inside of The Basicila del Voto Nacional, or The National Vow, is the Ecuadorian's tribute to the Roman Catholic Church. It remains, though not plainly, incomplete due to the belief that if finished the world would come to an end.
Glowing sunset at Montañita.
A medical student lecture room at Hospital Luis Vernaza.
A picture of ER from the outside of Hospital Luis Vernaza during one of our Guardia shifts.
Here are some of the pictures of my summer experience..
The lush forests of Cerro Blanco, just west of Guayaquil. We took an afternoon after a Guardia shift to explore some natural beauty.
There is a big, open market a good stroll from our house with fresh produce, poultry, carne, y mas. Casey and I decided to go one day to explore and buy ingredients for a tasty home-cooked meal. While there, I ran into a patient from our Guardia shift a few days before. He had had a badly cut finger from a "work accident". Turns out he's a fishmonger at this market. Long story short, he believed in being kind to strangers and gave us enough shrimp for a 10 person feast..
This is a beautiful libélula. They're quite common, but non-the-less worth noticing.
The inside of a Luis Vernaza ambulance cabin. Wouldn't want to get stuck without a spare tire.
The epitome of our morning bus-rides. Nelly (in blue) holding on for unannounced chaos.
A view of downtown Guayaquil from the hospital.
Scrubs! in historic downtown Guayaquil
The Guayas river--flows into the Pacific ocean via the Gulf of Guayaquil and borders the western side of Guayaquil. It's current changes direction on it's own clock.
The Bahia, Guayaquil's black market, just west of the Guayas river.
A view from Malecón Simón Bolívar of the Gulf of Guayaquil.
New born babes at the maternity hospital!
Salvation at Las Playas.
Some flora of the area.
Handcrafted dinghy sail boats at Las Playas.
The in Las Playas ceviche was as fresh as can be.
A view of the the colorful homes of the Santa Ana barrio from the Malecón. ..And of Casey looking stern.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Sorry to my blog followers for not keeping you up to date!
My time here so far has been eye-opening and fulfilling.
We work every weekday at the hospital and on weekends if we have Guardia (24 hr ER shifts). So far I have been able to scrub into two tibia reseting surgeries where I have assisted in drilling rods into and stabilizing the bone with an external scaffolding. I have observed a clean and concise appendectomy, a grotesque abdominal tumor removal that was probably the size of a watermelon, a bunion surgery, and a few more. I have yet to suture anyone in the ER, but as I form closer relationships with the ER doctors I can feel their willingness to put trust into my capabilities.
Guayaquil is a bustling city. It has a tendency to be fairly hot and humid, and between the hour bus ride to and from the hospital we get our fair share of body heat. Ecuadorians are incredibly friendly people who genuinely care about their ability to help you out. At the same time, my desire to explore the city is compromised by my general safety. The city has a a strong sense of division. Ironically the slum is located on what I and most other Americans might consider the most beautiful part of the city; bright and beautifully colored homes packed onto a hill that overlooks the Guayas River. Hospital Luis Vernaza sits at the base of this barrio.
Luis Vernaza is a non-profit hospital and delivers the best care in the city. Personally, being admitted into the ER here would terrify me. There is better quality of care available for wealthier patients in this hospital (Sotomayor and Clinica Del Dia) and are obviously nicer than the rest of the hospital. These clinics have dividers with only two patients in each section, air conditioning, better machines and a hint of higher-quality patient interaction aka bedside manners in this hospital, and I would be willing to bet most of Ecuador is very poor.
The food is pretty good here, a lot of rice and meat. There are fresh fruit, fish, and meat markets every Saturday just down the street. Fresh squeezed juice is big down here and so delicious! Tripe is a pretty common food used in a lot of dishes.. it's animal intestine, usually comes from a cow. It kind of tastes like BBQ'd calamari..
Oh and one last thing until next time.. Don't know how I could have forgotten this! I swam with two humpback whales last weekend!! IT was Incredible. I probably could have touched them, but was intimidated by their massive power, however tranquil they may be.
Till next time
Xo to all
My time here so far has been eye-opening and fulfilling.
We work every weekday at the hospital and on weekends if we have Guardia (24 hr ER shifts). So far I have been able to scrub into two tibia reseting surgeries where I have assisted in drilling rods into and stabilizing the bone with an external scaffolding. I have observed a clean and concise appendectomy, a grotesque abdominal tumor removal that was probably the size of a watermelon, a bunion surgery, and a few more. I have yet to suture anyone in the ER, but as I form closer relationships with the ER doctors I can feel their willingness to put trust into my capabilities.
Guayaquil is a bustling city. It has a tendency to be fairly hot and humid, and between the hour bus ride to and from the hospital we get our fair share of body heat. Ecuadorians are incredibly friendly people who genuinely care about their ability to help you out. At the same time, my desire to explore the city is compromised by my general safety. The city has a a strong sense of division. Ironically the slum is located on what I and most other Americans might consider the most beautiful part of the city; bright and beautifully colored homes packed onto a hill that overlooks the Guayas River. Hospital Luis Vernaza sits at the base of this barrio.
Luis Vernaza is a non-profit hospital and delivers the best care in the city. Personally, being admitted into the ER here would terrify me. There is better quality of care available for wealthier patients in this hospital (Sotomayor and Clinica Del Dia) and are obviously nicer than the rest of the hospital. These clinics have dividers with only two patients in each section, air conditioning, better machines and a hint of higher-quality patient interaction aka bedside manners in this hospital, and I would be willing to bet most of Ecuador is very poor.
The food is pretty good here, a lot of rice and meat. There are fresh fruit, fish, and meat markets every Saturday just down the street. Fresh squeezed juice is big down here and so delicious! Tripe is a pretty common food used in a lot of dishes.. it's animal intestine, usually comes from a cow. It kind of tastes like BBQ'd calamari..
Oh and one last thing until next time.. Don't know how I could have forgotten this! I swam with two humpback whales last weekend!! IT was Incredible. I probably could have touched them, but was intimidated by their massive power, however tranquil they may be.
Till next time
Xo to all
Internal Medicine ward at Luis Vernaza. These patients are treated and cared for in rooms filled with other people. Patient privacy is hard to come by..
Hospital Luis Vernaza
Helping suture an ER patient who suffered a blow to the head from the butt of a gun.
Catching some zz's during our 24 hour Guardia shift can be difficult, but luckily we had these awesome wheel chairs and a kind nurse who gave us hospital sheets to protect us from the mosquitos.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
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