This week proved to be much busier than last week. On Monday we probably saw close to thirty patients between the two doctors. Tuesday was nearly that busy as well. I find the feeling of working in the clinic with two doctors much better than with just one as it was last week. There's much more for me to do and I don't find myself sitting around while the doctor is seeing patients. It was really great to have Rebbecca back and in the clinic. She is really an amazing new doctor and works so wonderfully with children. It's great to observe her and see how easily she gains the trust of her patients. I can tell that she truly loves being a pediatrician. She is also extremely helpful to someone like me who is interested in becoming a doctor. I ask her questions all day and she never seems to tire of answering them, despite how silly they might be.
We had a couple of noteworthy patients this week. The first was eight year old boy with a giant abscess on the top of his head, exactly the size and shape of an egg. The poor guy kind of resembled a cartoon character. I watched as Lidia and Rebbecca worked to drain it and was amazed and just a little grossed out about how much pus and liquid came out of it! The second patient of interest was a very premature baby (Rhoany Collins' baby) that was coming in for the second time to get checked-up. She weighed barely three pounds, but that was a huge improvement from the last time she was in. It was amazing to me to see a creature so small (was she really human?) and I instantly fell in love with her. Even though she was so tiny had strength in those miniature limbs, as I found out when she grabbed onto my finger. The mom seemed really receptive to all of our medical advice and I felt hopeful that the little girl would grow up to be healthy. The third patient was also a baby girl, coming in for a check-up. Everything about her was healthy, but there was another reason she came in that day. The mom had come in have stitches on the sides of both of the little girl's hands taken out. Apparently the girl had extra digits on both hands that were surgically removed after she was born. I helped Rebbecca take them out, which proved kind of difficult. The mom had waited much too long to take them out and they were buried under a thin layer of new skin. Eventually Rebbecca managed to get them out and we sent the little girl home, with only five fingers on each hand.
Next week the clinic is closed for Semana Santa and I look forward to having some time to relax on the beach. My friend Lindsay is coming down and I can't wait to show them around. I feel like I'm already getting really familiar with the island. I won't write a journal entry for next week because I won't be at the clinic at all. Hopefully it won't be too crazy what with Spring Break and the holiday. I expect taxis to be more expensive and tourists to be everywhere!
