Day 2 - Sunday, January 27

Sunday was NOT a day of rest for the "medicos en accion" team! We were all at the hospital before 7:30 where we were greeted by hallways full of waiting patient holding onto there medical charts and X-rays. We headed directly to the operating room area where we had breakfast (scrambled eggs which looked more brown than yellow, black beans and bread) and were given a talk by the head Guatemalan nurse Odra (most of which dealt with medical surgical procedures...she was very knowledgeable).

Then the Priest arrived, with an interpreter, to thank us and give us a tour of the hospital. Hospital Harmano Padro is associated with the catholic church. I was surprised that apart from the surgeries, performed by the volunteer doctors who descend on the hospital each week, the remainder of the hospital is, for the most part, a long term care facility, with severely handicapped patients. The first area we visited we were met by a young woman, a patient, who asked everyone their names. Once you said it she either said no gusto ( i don't like your name) or gusto, For both Laurie and I she was neutral. It was very amusing. The baby room, "the room of hope", is one I hope to have an opportunity to return to to hold/play/feed some of the babies!!! The babies are either abandoned or under nourished, and many seemed happy just to have a little attention! One little guy was wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. I am not sure if that was a coincidence or if the nurses dressed him knowing it was a team of Canadian doctors who had arrived.

The tour ended at the clinics where the doctors were greeted by hundreds of clapping patients. The patient have all travelled, many from great distances, to be seen by the doctors today in hope that they would be scheduled for surgery. The surgeons spent the entire day meeting the patients by the hundreds!

The Audiology team leader is none other than my dear sister, Laurie Pollock, who was nothing short of amazing leading us in setting up the audiology clinic where i will be working for the next two weeks. I learned how to use the audiometer and how to fit hearing aids. For us, today was mostly about getting set up, but we did see about 15 patients. As I understand it, tomorrow the hallways will be filled. When I say hallways, the hospital is all open air, so the hallways are actually outside.

We finished around 5 today but not before the first injury occurred! To ME! Laurie had warned us when leaving the "sound proof room" which is not sound proof at all, that it was easy to jam your finger! Well I jammed my thumb, took out a big chunk of skin and had to leave the testing behind to stop the bleeding. Lucky for me there are a few doctors around! On the way out to dinner we stopped by the hotel room of one of the doctors and she set me up with some steri strips. (first she asked to see my OHIP card, I told her I would need to pay cash as I am now from Jersey)

We then went to HECTORS for dinner. Trip advisors number one restaurant in Antigua. it was amazing! It is a hole in the wall place that sits only eight people. We went with Cindy and Murray (aka Dr. Mario)! Murray and Cindy have travelled a lot and have studied spanish. Early in the morning Murray was practicing his Spanish on one of his first patients by telling them to inhale and exhale while he was listening to them with a stethoscope! He was quickly corrected by one of the local interpreters who told him he actually had told the patient to inspire and then expire (as in DIE)!

Good night!