Other than feeding a stray dog (who Rachel fondly named Rocky) pieces of chicken outside a restaurant, getting lost in La Cancha (Cochabamba's crazy outdoor market), meeting a man from Rachel's home state, and trying a bunch of Bolivian food without getting sick, we've spent most of our time at the hospital. On Monday night, we all returned to the hospital to work a shift in the Pediatric ER. There were several kids who needed stitches for head injuries, some swine flu scares, and child who had been burned on her arms and face. Rachel was in future orthopaedist heaven when a young boy came in with a totally displaced broken humerus. We got to watch the doctors reset his arm, stitch him up where the bone had gone through his skin, and make him a cast.
On Tuesday, Rachel headed off to the burn center while Paige and Henry worked in the Adult ER. After an hour of playing with the kids, Rachel got to scrub in on procedures for 4 different patients. The first two were dressing changes of children with third degree burns. During the third surgery, Rachel got to assist Dr. Romero in grafting skin to a young boy's hand who had lost a finger. Dr. Romero gave Rachel a new nickname (since he waited until the end of the day to ask her real name). Dr. Romero calls everyone "Morena" or "Moreno" instead of calling out everyone's real names. However, Rachel got to be called "Verdes", which is short for"La morena con los ojos verdes". Now he just sticks to "Raquelita". In the final surgery of the day, Rachel got to assist the doctors in cleaning the wounds of a little girl who had been burned on both legs. At first, Rachel felt awful using what looked like a cheese grater to scrape off the patient's skin, but after the procedure was finished, the wounds looked so much better! By the end of the day, Dr. Romero had invited Rachel out for "pato", which, for all of you who don't speak Spanish, means duck. He had bet that if his procedures went well, everyone would have to buy him and his friend Raquelita a delicious duck dinner. We'll see if that ever happens.
In the Adult ER, Paige and Henry followed around a rotating intern, Jorge, an Argentinian who speaks very good English and is very willing to teach and show different injuries and how to treat them. Halfway through the morning a young boy of 14 came in completely flat-lined because he apparently had touched a live electric cable and gotten shocked. After extensive CPR, numerous defibrulator shocks, and nervous doctors looking around, the boy's pulse came back, thank the Lord. After stabilizing him he was wheeled away to the PICU to be monitored for a few days. All of the madness seemed to take no time at all but when Henry and Paige looked up at the clock it was only 20 minutes time till the end of the day. Time seems to really fly in the ER.
Wednesday morning was even more exciting for everyone. Rachel returned to the burn center to scrub in on another surgery...this time actually getting the chance to suture! The patient was an 8 year old boy, Juan Carlos, whose hand had been burned and his middle and ring fingers were actually stuck in a flexed position to his palm. Dr. Romero cut the fingers free from the palm and then used skin from the boys thigh to graft over the wounds on his hand. While Dr. Romero stitched the new skin onto the boy's hand, Rachel stitched closed the wound on his leg. As a huge confidence boost, Dr. Romero told Rachel that her sutures were beautiful. :) Rachel has also had a blast with the kids in the burn center. Every morning, she helps feed them breakfast and plays with them for a couple hours before going into surgery. They are so adorable and full of life!
And continuing the excitement from the Burn Center, Paige and Henry had another crazy morning in the Adult ER. When they came in to the ER at 8:15 am there was a boy of 18 who was being stitched up by a surgeon. The poor boy had tried to commit suicide when his girlfriend had died a few days before. When the surgeon needed help cutting the stitches and cleaning the wounds, Paige got offered the chance to put on gloves and help. There were a number of wounds that needed to be stitched up, and tendons that needed resewing. The whole process was very interesting, but both Paige and Henry became extremely angry when the hospital allowed the press to come in to take videos and pictures of the boy. Later in the morning after the boy was stitched up they even allowed the newspapers to come in to interview him. Goes to show how different some things are here in Bolivia. After the 18-year old, Jorge had another patient with a broken leg. Paige and Henry were allowed to assist in putting a cast on his leg and getting him set up to go home. As it was getting on in the day, Paige and Henry left for lunch, but were gladly invited back by Jorge to pull a night shift in the ER as he is working during the night as well.
Tonight, Paige and Henry will return to the Adult ER for some excitement while Rachel will be pulling a night shift in the Pediatric ER.
Until next time...
On Tuesday, Rachel headed off to the burn center while Paige and Henry worked in the Adult ER. After an hour of playing with the kids, Rachel got to scrub in on procedures for 4 different patients. The first two were dressing changes of children with third degree burns. During the third surgery, Rachel got to assist Dr. Romero in grafting skin to a young boy's hand who had lost a finger. Dr. Romero gave Rachel a new nickname (since he waited until the end of the day to ask her real name). Dr. Romero calls everyone "Morena" or "Moreno" instead of calling out everyone's real names. However, Rachel got to be called "Verdes", which is short for"La morena con los ojos verdes". Now he just sticks to "Raquelita". In the final surgery of the day, Rachel got to assist the doctors in cleaning the wounds of a little girl who had been burned on both legs. At first, Rachel felt awful using what looked like a cheese grater to scrape off the patient's skin, but after the procedure was finished, the wounds looked so much better! By the end of the day, Dr. Romero had invited Rachel out for "pato", which, for all of you who don't speak Spanish, means duck. He had bet that if his procedures went well, everyone would have to buy him and his friend Raquelita a delicious duck dinner. We'll see if that ever happens.
In the Adult ER, Paige and Henry followed around a rotating intern, Jorge, an Argentinian who speaks very good English and is very willing to teach and show different injuries and how to treat them. Halfway through the morning a young boy of 14 came in completely flat-lined because he apparently had touched a live electric cable and gotten shocked. After extensive CPR, numerous defibrulator shocks, and nervous doctors looking around, the boy's pulse came back, thank the Lord. After stabilizing him he was wheeled away to the PICU to be monitored for a few days. All of the madness seemed to take no time at all but when Henry and Paige looked up at the clock it was only 20 minutes time till the end of the day. Time seems to really fly in the ER.
Wednesday morning was even more exciting for everyone. Rachel returned to the burn center to scrub in on another surgery...this time actually getting the chance to suture! The patient was an 8 year old boy, Juan Carlos, whose hand had been burned and his middle and ring fingers were actually stuck in a flexed position to his palm. Dr. Romero cut the fingers free from the palm and then used skin from the boys thigh to graft over the wounds on his hand. While Dr. Romero stitched the new skin onto the boy's hand, Rachel stitched closed the wound on his leg. As a huge confidence boost, Dr. Romero told Rachel that her sutures were beautiful. :) Rachel has also had a blast with the kids in the burn center. Every morning, she helps feed them breakfast and plays with them for a couple hours before going into surgery. They are so adorable and full of life!
And continuing the excitement from the Burn Center, Paige and Henry had another crazy morning in the Adult ER. When they came in to the ER at 8:15 am there was a boy of 18 who was being stitched up by a surgeon. The poor boy had tried to commit suicide when his girlfriend had died a few days before. When the surgeon needed help cutting the stitches and cleaning the wounds, Paige got offered the chance to put on gloves and help. There were a number of wounds that needed to be stitched up, and tendons that needed resewing. The whole process was very interesting, but both Paige and Henry became extremely angry when the hospital allowed the press to come in to take videos and pictures of the boy. Later in the morning after the boy was stitched up they even allowed the newspapers to come in to interview him. Goes to show how different some things are here in Bolivia. After the 18-year old, Jorge had another patient with a broken leg. Paige and Henry were allowed to assist in putting a cast on his leg and getting him set up to go home. As it was getting on in the day, Paige and Henry left for lunch, but were gladly invited back by Jorge to pull a night shift in the ER as he is working during the night as well.
Tonight, Paige and Henry will return to the Adult ER for some excitement while Rachel will be pulling a night shift in the Pediatric ER.
Until next time...
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