Last Sunday we went to church with Miss Peggy and Dee for Easter Sunday. The service was really different to at home – much less formal, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. We then went down to West Bay and spent the afternoon on the beach. I snorkelled for the first time which was really cool, and saw some beautiful fish. It’s a shame to think the coral is dying out and tourism has removed so much of the reef. It was lovely to relax in the sunshine and wander up and down the beach. We made it home mid-afternoon and Miss Peggy offered our house up for a potluck, so all of the volunteers for the Clinica Esperanza brought a dish (some excellent cooking!) and we all spent the evening together eating and chatting. It was a lovely way to meet many of the volunteers and also to get to know everybody a bit better. This week has been very different in term of work – the doctor I was with last week has gone home and it’s now Dra. Cerritos, who is the main doctor for the clinic. My week has taken on a different structure; she normally starts and finishes later so I don’t tend to get home until about half past three so less happens in my afternoons. I still tend to go into clinic just as early though to use the internet and speak to my family – internet at home has been gone for the past week. Life in the clinic is very different too. Doctors from around the hospital refer patients to Dra. Cerritos so normally she has many more patients to see which have more serious medical conditions. Triage is much the same and I am proud of how my Spanish and my ability to engage with patients is improving. The week has seen some exceptional patients too – we have had 2 children very ill in clinic and many presenting with intestinal worms, something I’ve never seen in the UK. There have also been cases of children who are positive for HIV and Hepatitis and it so strange to see them alongside healthly children and know the prognosis of their disease – it is a very sobering experience. I have also come to recognise many mothers and children who have returned to the clinic or who bring their children in for newborn examinations but I met the day following the birth. It is lovely to see this follow through in care and also very pleasant to be recognised and talked to by so many of the people in the hospital. It definitely makes the experience more rewarding. Another thing I have noticed which contrasts sharply with home is that records are permanently getting lost – I have started a new file for the same patient three times in the last week! Very little is computerised and files often have a way of disappearing, never to be found again (or at least not found until a new one has been made!)
In terms of free time here, I have spent a little time in West End in the evenings which has been really good. It’s crazy to think that is the most happening place on the island but it’s so quiet compared to London! I also have two new roommates both of whom are very nice (although 8 years older than me and both engaged!) so it’s good to have a bit more company especially in the evenings. Work for school is going slowly... somehow Biochemistry will never be that engaging!
