Week 2 - El Centro de Salud

So week 2 included the beginning of my first week at the clinic called El Centro de Salud in Cusco just down the street from the Family House. For the first two weeks or so I will be in 'Topico' which focuses on minor wounds and injections. My first half hour focused on an emergency case where a woman was bought in by a couple guys who had no idea who she was or what had happened to her. At first unconcious, when she came around she was very confused. Not until about an hour later were her daughters called to come take her to the hospital. Why wasn't this woman taken to the ER? Why weren't any tests performed? Not even a blood sugar was taken... My first day continued to be crazy and me and Mary Beth, my friend from my Spanish classes didn't get out until 6:30PM when we were supposed to out by 6PM.

The rest of the week in the clinic was nothing like the first day, though we helped clean wounds as well as make 'gasas' (bandages) and cotton balls. Everything the clinic has is what they can make or save or re-use. The lady from the first day? No oxygen was administered. Gloves? Not always available. My first week working in the clinic has shown me how lucky we really are in the states (as corny and over said as that is). Not only that, but I cannot wait to return with more schooling and more to offer than making bandages and pouring soap and water on gauze.

Unfortunately, this week I also experienced what practically every gringo visiting a country where tap water is not legit to drink experiences - A Parasite! Not just any parasite, Giardia... I started sleeping more and not having much of an appetite. Thursday I almost passed out in the clinic twice and was sent home. I have a sinking feeling that the head nurse working that day now thinks I cannot handle the sight of blood. Friday I went to the doctor and got to experience life on the otherside of the stethoscope....

I went with a girl from Maximo to a clinic off the main road and snaked around the clinic until we ended up down a seemingly random hall with a door for a dermatologist, a door for a OB-GYN, and another unmarked mystery door. Another volunteer was with us and went into the mystery door first while I waited my turn outside. From the white plastic chair I couldn't see who I assumed to be the receptionist behind the giant desk. When I made it into the doctor's office, it was basically like any other doctor visit, except for the whole language barrier. I then received my lab orders and made my way with the others through the maze of the clinic. The lab experience I won't go into, but I will mention the blood draw. Normally when you get poked blood only gets added to a sample tube when its connected to the port as oppposed to spraying out the other end of the needle, which is what happened. When the lady was finished, she basically taped a cotton ball to the inside of my elbow and sent me on my way. I didn't make it too far before my arm felt wet... I tore off my fleece to find blood everywhere!! The poor girl who came with us freaked out and I had to go back to the lab tech to get my arm fixed. This time she told me to keep my arm bent and keep the new cotton ball there. I then had to return for my results at 8PM that night. And so it was, I had giardia and had to take 3 pills a day for 5 days!! The bright side of this whole experience was that the pills were extremely cheap!