Happy Birthday Juana!

Yesterday we had the day off after our night shifts in the hospital on Monday. We slept in and later that day we visited the Albergue, a Fransciscan owned rehabilitation center for children who are well enough to leave the burn clinic. We had a brief meeting with Laura and Jenny concerning the development of a burn prevention plan we are assisting with at the request of some public health graduate students from back at USC. We also had the chance to play with the kids for a few hours, most of whom we had already met during their checkups at the burn clinic.

Today:

Craig - I spent the day back in the labor and delivery room. It was another amazing day which started with a personal tour by Dr. Urponna, a great guy who let me help out with various minor procedures taking place. I was allowed to measure contractions and dilation, and also operate the ultrasound machine. After we completed rounds I was able to observe a cesarean section to remove premature twin baby girls. They were tiny and at first there was some concern about the functioning of their lungs, but after the administration of surfactant they appeared to be well and thriving. I then had the chance to watch a complete hysterectomy on a woman who had had 16 children and had recently been diagnosed with stage 1 cervical cancer. The operation was a success and the woman should be out of the hospital in a coupe days. Happy Bolivian Mother's Day Mom!

Mark - After Monday night, it was a nice relief to sleep in and have the day off yesterday. We spent the day shopping (and being lost) in La Concha, the 5 square mile market in town. After that, we headed to the Albergue for a meeting and a chance to play with the kids that were staying there.

I spent the morning today in the Pediatric Emergency Room once again and had a pretty slow morning. I followed Carla, a medical student here, around and we only saw two patients. The first baby had pneumonia, which seems to be a pretty big problem here from my experiences so far. He ended up being admitted to the hospital. The second child had a widespread rash in places all over his body. He was sent home with some ointment to hopefully take care of the rash. Happy Bolivian Mother's Day Mom and Happy Birthday Sean!

Cory - Today I spent the morning in the burn clinic. The kids were just waking up around 8 when I got there. The nurses wake the children up in the morning to feed them, wash them, and move them out in front of the TV they share in the hallway. Little Marta (the girl pictured) was awake when I walked back to her room so I gave her a toy to play with while she waited for a nurse to come and get her. Last week when I first saw her, it was almost impossible to get a smile out of her. This week though, she was smiling and giggling when myself and other volunteers were playing with her. It was great to see her doing much better.

Another little girl, Jhoselin, who is staying at the clinic has been progressing very well too. She received burns to her face wrapping from one ear, underneath her chin, and back up the other side. When I first saw her last week, almost half her face was covered in the analgesic cream they put on the burns. Today, half of her face is visible as pink skin and looks much better. She asked me today to play a game with her on a little, half broken magnet chess/checkers set. We ended up using a mix of chess and checkers pieces (pieces are missing from both sets) and we played a checkers-like game. Regardless, I got beat. Twice. Today was a great day. I was able to sit back and play with the kids. It was fantastic. And by the way, Happy Bolivian Mother's Day!

Pete-Well, sorry to mislead you all but I guess I'm currently in the PICU with overflow from NICU right now, this is according to Dr. Montoy, who let gave me a reprieve from presenting at rounds today. The rounds today were a little somber as we lost a 8 year old boy last night to Chagas' disease. I was in early to prep my presentation, and my partner a 1st year intern told me that he passed around 8 the previous night. The X-rays showed the young boy's heart, spleen, and GI tract had enlarged too much, and he entered into septic shock. It is hard to lose a patient for any medical staff member and you could see it on their faces this morning. Dr. Montoy was less chipper, and Gabriela, my partner, seemed a tad distant for her usual talkative self. Yet, you always seem to find hope amidst a lost in hospitals. Little Patricia, my 4 month old patient, had been taken off her ventilator, and was breathing through a mask. Her once pale skin had been replaced with a slight pink tone. The best part in my book was actually hearing this young girl cry. Some people may be annoyed by such a notion, but in those circumstances a baby's cry means that a baby is alive. It brings hope to nurses, physicians and support staff that they have been successful in their attempts. In closing, I want to say Feliz Dia de Madre to my Mom and all the mom's in our lives. Thanks for the help, guidance and bringing us into the world, we'd be lost if it weren't for you all. Also, Happy Birthday Juana, thanks for being our house mom and making our apartment more like home than we could have imagined.