Clinic Numero Uno = Santa Familia

Jan 07, 2013

After an exhausting day of jumping borders the day before, we were ready to start our first clinic at Santa Familia. My group, which called ourselves Dengue Fever, were assigned to do triage, meaning that we were to intake patients, get their weights, heights, and find out what is wrong with them, so that the people who were in assessment could easily pinpoint the issue.

Jumping the border

Jan 6, 2013
On our tour of San Ignacio, we saw a sign for a trip to Guatemala. Considering our Sunday was going to be free, we decided that we should go not only because it was going to get us more stamps in our passports, but also because we would be able to visit Tikal and Flores.

We agreed to meet up at an ungodly hour (6:45am) at Proworld, but considering it was Belize, it took about another hour and a half until everyone got there. Lets just say that slow clapping was involved. After playing our fees, we got into vans and made our way towards the border, totally didn't feel sketchy.

Rain and Inventory and Quesadillas, Oh My!

Jan 5, 2013

We got a fresh (and cold) start to the day, getting out of the house at 7:35 am and got to Proworld very nervous about doing our first clinic at the Market in San Ignacio. When we got there, we were all relieved to find out that because of the torrential downpour, the clinic was canceled since the place where our tents were supposed to be got flooded out. To put our time to good use, we spent about an hour and a half doing inventory.

Dr. G was very impressed with the amount of equipment we bought, considering that last year's group had little to no stuff. When I say we had a lot of equipment, I am not exaggerating -- we literally had an entire pharmacy, without all the prescription meds.

So, instead of holding clinic, we got a tour of San Ignacio and I think that a pre-req for this course should be a continuous workout program for five months prior to the trip, because this city is extremely hilly. I probably worked off my breakfast of tomato egg omelet by the time we got back to Poworld.
Our tour took us into the heart of the city -- found out that one of the main streets with restaurants and bars closes at 6pm so that people can walk around.

Green Green Everywhere, but Not a Leprechaun in Site

Jan 4, 2013
When we got off the plane, I knew this trip was going to be fantastic -- we got a presidential welcome...well kind of, since we got to get out of said airplane via a ladder, which makes everyone feel important. It then immediately started to downpour, which seems to also have set a theme for the duration of the trip.

Mysterium Tremendum Et Fascinans

A few days ago I finished reading another of John Green's books, which is filled with a lot of literary deliciousness, and one of the phrases was the title of this blog post -- mysterium tremendum et facinans -- which roughly translates (via the book) as, "that stomach flipping mix of awestruck fear and entrancing fascination." (Abundance of Katherines, pp 36)

I'm trying to manipulate said quote to my current emotional state -- I both have a nervousness and excitability in me that is, for lack of a better word, a bit overwhelming. It hit me yesterday, and has been in the pit of my stomach ever since (though, it could just be the Malaria medication).

FOUR DAYS

FOUR DAYS

FOUR DAYS

Pre-Trip Self-Reflection

Last March, I was sitting in the lecture hall, getting ready to listen to another lecture on one of my most favorite topics -- infectious disease -- when two students walked in and gave us a mini-presentation about their trip to Belize the previous January. These students told us what the trip entailed and that because the trip was a huge success, another was being planned for the following January, with an elective being offered to prepare students for their 'adventure' in Belize. Right then and there, I knew that I wanted to do it. I knew that it would be an experience that would help me grow as a person, increase my confidence in my skills that I have tried hard to hone over the past five years, and be able to help people in need, which is what I strive to do most in my life.

Prior to hearing about the course and the mission trip, I am ashamed to admit that I had little-to-no information about the country; I only knew that it was a country because I remember seeing them at the previous Summer Olympic Games. As we started learning more about the history and culture of the country I felt myself becoming more interested and amazed at the pride that Belizeans had; I was especially amazed at their desire to maintain a national identity, while keeping with and celebrating the traditions of their ancestors. This really captivated me, because it reminded me of Native Americans in the United States, and the barriers that they have to overcome in order to maintain their identity.

Throughout the class, we had several student-led discussions/presentations on various topics, and one of these topics included comparing the health systems of Guatemala, Belize, and the United States.  If a Belizean has a medical problem, they are more likely to go to a Traditional Medicine Healer than to a Hospital or Health center; this could be due to the impaired availability of Western Medical clinics or simply to the cost of Western Medical Treatments.

This is drastically different from the way in which the majority of Americans act; of course, some will prefer to self-medicate with herbal medications prior to seeking treatment, however when looked as a whole, the majority of Americans will prefer to take a synthetic medication rather than an herbal product. When in Belize, I hope to take advantage of this situation in terms of being able to experience first-hand the types of herbal and natural medications which both my host family and others utilize for their most common ailments, as I am extremely interested in herbal medications and ethnobotany.

During the time when we were introduced to the entire pharmacy practice faculty in our third year, we were given the generic talk about "not learning simply for grades, but learning for your future patients." Even now, I sometimes find myself having a hard time remembering the future patients I will be treating when exams loom above my head.  However, this course has forever turned on a primordial switch, which has given me the ability to look at my schooling from a different perspective; its allowed me to truly appreciate the impact that I will be having on my future patients. I look forward to going to the wonderful country of Belize to not only experience its beauty first-hand, but to impact the lives of Belizeans.