Heather Journal #1

I arrived on this beautiful island only one week ago and already it feels like home. It is a place full of startling contradictions; the natural beauty of the beaches and hills and the kindness and welcoming of its people are juxtaposed against the harsh realities of poverty. I came to the clinic last Monday and was immediately thrown into the 'Monday rush' as interns here have come to call it. Triaging the babies at first was difficult because my Spanish tends to fail me when I'm nervous. Eventually though, I got the hang of it. One preconception (however unfair) that was immediately dispelled was that of the laaissez-faire mother. Seeing all the kids running around barefoot outside at first made me conclude that unlike their overbearing, ultra-concerned American counterparts, the mothers here would take a more let-them-be approach with their children, the way my own grandfather ignored all cuts or scrapes unless one of his children had lost a finger. Instead I find that the mothers here are more engaged and involved with their children's upbringing. The cult of motherhood here is strong. For example, even to come to our clinic mothers come at 7, get triaged in order which means it's sometimes as late as 9, and then wait for the doctor who comes (or doesn't come) at around 11. When she does not come, the effect is chaos as mothers who need lab tests checked and forms signed are turned away. But these mothers assure me they will return to wait again tomorrow.

When the doctor sees patients, I love the way she asks kindly what they are feeding their children and the way she treats the kids, calling all the boys papi and all the mothers mamacita. It seems like a lot of mothers are very adamant that they are feeding their children well, but she corrects them in WHAT they are feeding the kids. For example, many babies which are new to eating are not ready for the meat their parents feed them. She also extensively praises mothers who breastfeed saying that there is nothing better for a baby. She prescribes an MVI to almost every patient and for really skinny 5-9 year olds (mainly girls) she also prescribes nutella. Many many children also get prescribed medication for anti-parasitic piperazine, even without actual lab results just because epidemiologically its likely to have caused their stomach/diarrhea problems. I think the clinic could really benefit from a good nutrition brochure. I am going to ask over at Esperanza what kind of brochures they offer and see if I can't give one here to mothers once the doctor approves it. In the afternoons, I've mainly been working over at La Clinica Esperanza doing pharmacy work. I am excited to see what more I can accomplish this next week.