Busy Days in El Salvador
Posted on 23 April 2010
We have been busy the past few days. We’ve seen about 140 patients per day. People are coming from villages, walking from 2 to 6 hours to get to the clinic. We are all working long hours, almost 12 hour days, hoping not to turn anyone away who needs help.
There have been many wonderful moments at the clinic. The new team members are flourishing in their roles. Many are wearing more than one hat and embracing new challenges. We are so lucky to have such a great, flexible team.
Megan, one of the newest members, has been busy at registration and eye care. She has helped fit many locals with a new pair of reading glasses. She is working alongside Lois to help maintain order as people come into the clinic. Without Lois´ expertise at setting the pace for the clinic, we would be at a loss.
Olga, another new team member has been EVERYWHERE in the clinic. She’s often at Registration, but then jumps in at Education, then Eye Care, directing flow in line ups, taking blood pressures and helping in Pharmacy. She constantly has a smile on her face as she helps people with hats. She is another person that has embraced her roles.
The nurses have been very busy triaging patients. Soon after Day 1, Ellen and Steph had become independent and are now working on their own. The first day, Max, one of our tenured nurses, was a great source of knowledge and comfort to them. The smiles on Ellen and Steph’s faces, at the end of a long day, are proof of how much they are really enjoying their time at the clinic. The translators assisting them, Daniela and Frank, are doing an amazing job. At such a young age, they have shown so much maturity.
Wednesday was Diabetes Day. We had about 25 diabetic patients come to the clinic. Everyone had their blood sugars and their eyes checked. They were then referred to Jasmine and Rae. Rae provided education on proper foot care. She saw the patients after Kate and Laura cleaned and washed all their feet. Rae then clipped toe nails and inspected their feet. Many had elevated sugars even with medication. Jasmine’s educational info on diet will, hopefully, help take the edge off of those numbers.
We have seen quite a few interesting cases at the clinic. One patient was brought to the clinic by our driver. She was a frantic lady, 80 years old. She was frail, but feisty! I attempted to take her blood sugars, but she would not let me. After being restrained by 2 people, she finally allowed me to get close to her. She got away a few times and had flailing arms that almost made contact with my face!! At the end of the day, she left the clinic a very happy woman. She received diabetic pills, meds for an infection, protein bars and a hat. She was all smiles and blessed us with good thoughts.
The people here have been so kind. They absolutely appreciate our efforts in providing aide. They are blessing us constantly and hugging the STIMMA team. It is such a great thing to witness the smiles on the team faces when they receive a hug. The look is priceless.
Today, we had a man come to the clinic that really affected many of the team. He came in with his friend. They sat patiently through the education and waited in line to be triaged by a nurse. Steph was the first to see him and immediately knew that he had to see the doctor. He was gasping for air and unable to get a breath in. Dr O’Connor tried an inhaler, but it did not work. We had a nebulizer with us and we set it up to give him masking. After working on him for a few minutes, he was able to breath a bit more comfortably. We monitored him and gave him more masking over the next few hours. If he did not get any better, we would have to make arrangements to send him to the hospital as he would have been in respiratory failure.
After constantly being monitored by Pharmacy and the doctor, he left the clinic to go home. His breathing was better, his lower lip was still quivering, but he was able to breath and to speak clearly. It was such a scary thing to witness, but amazing to see the transformation of the patient.
Rae also left the clinic today with Karla and visited some homes of individuals who would not be able to come to the clinic. She drove into Honduras, as well, to visit a family with a son with cystic fibrosis. She went over care with the family on how to prevent sores. The boy was incontinent and at 12 years old, was not wearing any clothes. The family did not have the means to wash his clothes frequently and therefore minimized his attire.
When Rae returned to the clinic, she also brought along a patient. She picked up an 80 year old woman who weighed, maybe 70 pounds soaking wet. She was very frail, dehydrated, weak and lethargic. She had a high fever and was incoherent. After examination, it was discovered that she had a bowel obstruction and an urinary tract infection. She was provided with medication, protein powder to give her strength, and rehydration solution. She wanted us to take her picture, but was most concerned about the state of her hair. She wanted to make sure her hair looked perfect in the picture. She was so kind and grateful. She left the clinic ensuring that each person on the STIMMA team got a big hug!!
The hugs that the Salvadorians give are priceless. They are enough to bring a huge smile on anyone’s face. They have blessed us many times and are truly grateful for any help we can provide them. Even though the facility here is nice, there are no funds coming in and the staff are very limited by the number of people they can see and the type of care they can provide. The blood pressure cuff was amazing for them as they did not even have one at the clinic, yet hypertension is one of the most common chronic disease state presents.
The clinic staff has also been absolutely wonderful. They are working the long hours alongside us and are providing us with whatever resources they can. Even though there is a language barrier, everyone works hard at overcoming these obstacles and effectively communicate with one another so we can all accomplish and attain one common goal. The first few days have been more than amazing and I am sure it is just going to keep getting better.
7 responses to Busy Days in El Salvador
Awesome job Olga, keep up the good work!
Please post some pictures as well. Excellent accomplishments by Stimma Team. God beless all.
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