I am sorry that my blog posts have been few and far between
these days! Sometimes I get into such a routine here that I forget that I need
to update this! After I recovered from being sick, I headed back to the
hospital! I have been spending the past few weeks in surgery and the past week
has been a mix of the ICU and surgery. While I was in the surgical rotation, I
took for granted the fact that things went relatively smoothly. Well, as
smoothly as it goes in Cambodia. Things get a little bit lost in translation
sometimes and so it appears to be fairly unorganized around here. Usually it is
actually the fact that everything is more laidback and slightly chaotic in
Cambodia, but I have also found that things would be discussed in more detail
if I spoke Khmer. I observed a few weeks worth of surgeries and enjoyed
learning from the surgeons. We had a bunch of random public holidays where we
didn’t work so the weeks would fly by! I changed into the ICU department last
week and it is fairly emotionally draining. The doctors are very helpful and
some of the medical students speak English very well! I asked one of the
students why the charts (and everything in the hospital) are in English, French
and Khmer. Why don’t they just pick one language? He explained that some of the
doctors/students study at private universities and some at public. The private
school students learn medicine in English and the public school students learn
it in French. Some things are written in Khmer, such as prescriptions, because
a lot of the patients and their families only speak Khmer. I find this to be
fairly confusing and complicated…but then again I only understand about 1/3 of
what is going on! The key to surviving as an English-speaking intern in the
hospital is finding an English-speaking medical student to translate for you,
download a LOT of apps on your iphone and wear comfortable shoes!
The ICU was very different from pediatrics or the surgical
floor. Unfortunately, most of my patients were moto accident victims. On my
first day, one of them went into a coma and passed away the following
afternoon. The other 28 year old man is really struggling to hold on. A lot of
them are conscious but incredibly beat up. Most of them wear were wearing a
helmet but sometimes that isn’t enough. I see some women after they have a
C-section and I also saw one woman who had complications after her
thyroidectomy. One older man has been in the ICU for one week after removing a
portion of his colon because of a tumor. I have also seen a young man who came
in with a knife in his head because a gang member stabbed him. I also saw a man
that was doing some work and fell down 30 feet onto the cement. His swelling
made him unrecognizable but he is lucky to be alive. We will see if he makes
it. The doctor told me today that his body was going into shock and it isn’t
looking good. Today I saw a man with a “ruptured intestine” from being kicked
by a cow. I was told that he had to travel 500 km on a motorbike from his
province to get medical attention. Since the main method of travel is a
motorbike, I always think of how terrifying and painful it must be for some of
these patients to get on the back of a motorbike to the hospital in their
condition. Needless to say, it’s been a heavy couple of weeks and I can’t wait
to come home and hug each and every person that I love! I know I take my
health, and the health of my friends and family, for granted. On a lighter
note, I got to scrub-in on a surgery! I was able to help take a kidney stone
out of a young woman. It was about the size of an almond and the surgeon said
he has taken stones the size of coconuts out of bladders! I can’t even imagine
how horribly painful that must be.
We have been having so much fun with our time off of work
and with our weekends. The group of people that is here now is so wonderful and
I know I will be devastated when we all part ways. We have become a little
family and although it’s an incredibly diverse group, everyone adds a little
something to make it great. We eat all of our meals together and usually spend
our evenings in the main area of one of the apartments to watch a movie. The
picture on the screen is really shaky, it’s incredibly hot and mosquitoes eat
us but we’re used to it by now! A few weeks ago we all took a cooking course together
on a Saturday. Last weekend, the Peace Corps volunteers were in town so some of
my friends were excited to meet them. It’s always fun to meet other Americans!
Travelers from the United States are very rare around here.
I am technically done with my projects abroad work today,
the 16th, and was supposed to move out of my apartment and stay in a
hostel until my parents get here. I woke up really sad to be leaving my friends
and although I would still see them, I would miss our time in the apartment
together. So, I made a few phone calls and have extended my time in the
apartments and I am very excited about it!
I found a restaurant in Phnom Penh that will serve an actual
Thanksgiving dinner so we have a group of 23 volunteers going! Since I am the
only American, I am excited to share this American holiday with all of my
friends from all over the world. I have plenty to be thankful for this year!
One thing I am VERY thankful for is that Mom and Dad arrive in less than 2
weeks! I can’t wait to show them around and have them see where I have spent
the last 3 ½ months. I can’t believe I will be returning to America in less
than 5 weeks! Can’t wait to see everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!
