It seems like every week in Roatan keeps getting better. Week 3 at the clinic was a bit busier, but by now I’ve really got myself into a routine. Overall the week was normal but like always there were a few interesting stories.
At the beginning of the week we had an 18 month old come in with a 103F fever. I told Dr. Srinivasan right away because it was the highest fever I had yet seen. He told me I could give the boy Motrin while he waited, so I was able to do that with a syringe. I had never given medicine to a child with a syringe before and at first I was a bit nervous. I didn’t know how quickly to push it and was worried that I’d give him too much medicine at once. It ended up being really easy though and the boy seemed to really enjoy it because it was bubblegum flavoured. After Dr. Srinivasan saw him, he decided to admit him because he looked a bit lethargic, which I learned is not very good in medical terms. The next day when I came in, I was told that his condition had worsened overnight and that he had passed away. It was a big shock because although he had looked sick, it didn’t look like he was dying. It upset me a bit because just the day before I had given the boy medicine and I remembered him so vividly because of that. I was able to accept his death though because I realized that sometimes things like that happen. I did the best I could by giving him medicine and Dr. Srinivasan did the best he could by admitting him.
On a lighter note, I got to use a stethoscope last week! I listened to my heartbeat, which is normal, listened to a murmur, which sounded very different and also listened to an asthmatic child’s breathing, which sounds normal without a stethoscope but actually has wheezing when you listen to the lungs through a stethoscope. Dr. Srinivasan also let me look inside his ear so that I could see a healthy ear and eventually I’ll be able to see what an ear infection looks like.
On Friday we had a child come in for his 10 day check-up who had hyperbilirubin. Dr. Rhee needed to take some blood out to have blood tests done, but since the baby was actually only 9 days old it was very difficult. The doctors had me put my finger in the baby’s mouth so that he could suck on it while they tried to draw the blood. It was amazing to see blood coming out of such a small child. They weren’t able to get all the blood they needed, but I think they got enough to do the tests.
Other than patient cases, the other exciting news in the clinic was that we got air conditioning! Ever since I got here the clinic had been too hot to be able to work comfortably in it. Even the patients would complain because the clinic was hotter than the hallway outside where they wait. Now that we have air conditioning, I’m sure things will be a lot more comfortable. Since Dr. Rhee worked on getting the air conditioner approved, he thought it should be named David, after him. Everyone had agreed to it, but then Dr. Prado thought it should be named Lidia after her, since she was the one that arranged for it to be delivered to the island and picked it up and arranged the installation. As of now it remains unnamed.
Friday was Dr. Rhee’s last day so Dr. Srinivasan and I went out for dinner with him to the Lighthouse. It’s Dr. Rhee’s favourite restaurant in Roatan and I can see why. The ambience was great, the breeze outside was very nice and the food was delicious! We were all so full afterwards that we had to sit there for a while before getting up to leave.
On Saturday, two of Peggy’s volunteers decided to rent a truck for the day, and they invited three of Peggy’s other volunteers and myself to join them on an excursion around the island. I got to see how beautiful the island really is. We went to Oakridge and then took a water taxi to the mangroves and to the Hole in the Wall restaurant. It was a very great experience. We then went to Paya Bay beach, it’s so far off the main road that hardly anybody goes there, but it’s absolutely gorgeous! On Sunday we went to West Bay again and we went snorkelling. The reef is so beautiful and so close to shore! I saw a lot of nice, colourful fish, and luckily no sting rays or other strange creatures!
