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