Clinica

I’m back! Sorry forever to write my blog. I’ve been fitting everything I can into my last few weeks in Peru. Let’s get to it. My last week in clinic was pretty similar to my first few weeks. I hung out with Pamela for day. Nothing too serious went down but, we did have a patient come in with a kidney infection. I love how the doctor’s deal with the resources they have here. She used a very modern kidney test. She punched his lower back to see if it hurt. Impressive, I know. The day I spent with Pamela we had very few patients. So, we got to spend about an hour just talking to each other in Spanish. For the first time, I noticed how much my Spanish speaking had improved. I still can’t speak it well but, I’m not gonna lie, I was pretty pumped. She told me about all the best restaurants in Cusco. She was my fave.

The next day I worked in Topico. This is the clinics version of the emergency room. It’s really basic. Only one nurse works in there. I got to see her re-bandage one guy’s stitches. The afternoon before, he came in with 4 open cuts from a knife fight. I was SO mad I missed it. Supposedly, there was blood everywhere. He had cuts on his arms, head, and side. They said he looked like he could was on drugs and, they were legitimately afraid he was about to start swinging at them. He was a pretty shady looking character. The only thing he had to pay for were the five stitches because it’s a free clinic. Well, he couldn’t even afford that. He decided that the new lingerie that he had for his girlfriend would be payment enough. You can’t make this stuff up. So, the next day we met the girlfriend and they told him thanks, but no thanks on the underwear.

I also got to talking with the nurse in the emergency room that day because it was slow. She has two kids and no husband to support them; a problem far too common here. Our housekeeper is also in the same situation. The husbands usually just up and leave. Not cool. I was very impressed with this nurse though. She had no education and used to clean up Machu Picchu after tourist for five dollars a day. She was trying to support her kids on this. Impossible. She decided to go to school and become a nurse. It had to be extremely tough on her but; it does show that Peruvians are capable of upward mobility.

My last few days in the clinic were spent with the babies in the clinic. They come in for their usual checkups and shots. I was able to do all the tests for the babies. It’s all fun and games until someone gets peed on. Yeah, it’s not what you want. I would test their hearts, flexibility, and breathing. We had babies from three days old to three years old. It wasn’t my favorite; I’m not a big fan of crying and smelly diapers. However, I guess one plus of the baby department is that you can let one rip and blame it on the babies.

Overall, my experience in the clinic was awesome. I found the difference in our two culture’s healthcare really interesting. Hopefully, it will help in the future!

Hasta tiempo proximo,

Bryant