It’s hard to believe that today is my last day at the clinic and in Roatan. Where did the 5 weeks go? Yesterday I introduced Israel to the clinic and he has already settled in nicely. He’s very meticulous in his work, a quality I’m sure will serve him well as a doctor. With him here, I’ve been able to spend a lot more of the past two days shadowing the doctors, which has been fun and informative. A few of the patients these past few days have been repeats, and I love it when they recognize me and that I get to see the follow up. Most of the kids look so much better!
As I’ve shadowed the doctors, I have noticed that they always make sure to go over basic health practices with each patient, beyond the specific complaint (things like “wash your hands” or “try and keep their wound clean”). I didn’t see the necessity of such common sense advice until last week, when I learned the importance first-hand. I spent most of Thursday and Friday in bed with an upset stomach and a diagnosis of parasites and dehydration. Apparently I needed one of those basic reminders: “make sure to drink a lot of water”.
There have been lots of newborns in the clinic these past few days, so I’ve had the opportunity to see a lot of illnesses common to that age. The most striking was the little baby who had swollen nipples and a “baby period”- I never would have thought mothers could pass their hormones on their babies. There were also a few rashes and a couple babies with a yellow tint in their skin. However, there were very few cases where the doctors prescribed more than vitamins, as most conditions just disappeared with time. Sometimes the body’s ability to autocorrect amazes me.
It’s fun to think back over the past week, and over my whole time here. I have really enjoyed my stay in Roatan and at Global Healing. I’ve seen a new side of medicine, met lots of great people and practiced my Spanish (and, of course, enjoyed the beaches of this little island immensely). I am excited to go home, but it is hard to leave - this isn’t the first time in my life I’ve wished I could teleport.
Goodbye Roatan (at least for now),
Jena
