Butterflies, Bugs, & Buses

We had matching butterfly scrubs! :-)

"I love you," said a patient to Frances in the ward today after teaching her how to walk with a walker! We are in aw of the gratitude expressed to us, by 99% of the patients. 

The skills demonstrated by the staff in performing every activity from podiatry to brachial plexus injuries is inspiring, due to relative limitations and resources. A sock and a cast boot for a pediatric patient (donated) became a stump shrinker and prosthesis for a patient with a foot amputation. It is also wonderful to see the staff so engaged in Barb's educational presentations. Although Barb wasn't sure if she should cover multiple sclerosis since its prevalence is 1/100,000, we treated a patient with MS today.

Patient Education on Steph's iPad

There is an IT department that works out of a trailer next to the stadium. A young man learned his trade via the Internet and trial and error and has been able to connect the hospital to wireless Internet. He is getting ready to set up the IT "things" for the hospital that is being built. Due to his knowledge and graciousness, we were able to connect our devises to the hospital's server. This technology has helped us better serve our patients. Steph and Barb were seeing the woman with MS and she told them that her son has access to Internet. It was great to be able to show her the website for the national MS foundation so she could understand how to navigate the website and learn about the disease process.  

Debridement of a venous insufficiency ulcer

Wound care is very common in this setting and we are impressed with the skills and sanitation
measures taken by the physical therapists. As students, it has been a real privilege to be exposed to such a specialized aspect of our profession. 

Next up on night time adventures...

Becca, Barb and Steph went out for a walk...and guess what?!...it began to rain...again. So, to keep Becca's  leg from rusting...again, her and Steph made a run for it home, only being slightly soaked by the time we made it there. It was a fun time! 

We were all missing contact from people back home so we had a mini Skype night with friends back in the States, which ended up being a mini class of 2013 reunion! It was so nice to hear from them; as much as we are enjoying our time down here, we miss home!

Dinner was delicious! To get back to our apartment from the hospital, we take a minibus from the hospital to Vieux Fort, walk a block, and then take another bus to 'O.J.' (Old St. Jude hospital). The first stop is near a supermarket, so we quickly stopped in for a few odds and ends. Barb made pasta, carrots and green beans! 

Fran murdered the 52nd bug

We have found that Clearasil works wonders on bug bites! So does smashing the bug before it sucks too much blood!  We currently between 51...oh wait 52 bug bites between the four of us.

Well that concludes out sixth day on the island...until to,or row, happy reading and have a great night!