We boarded the buses and prepared for out 35minutes - 1 hour bus ride to the batey, we were surprised by a 5 minute drive to a church right in the town of La Romana, where we were setting up out clinic for the day. I was a bit disappointed that we weren't going to be at a batey, but soon realized there was a need right there in the city. The people there also were sick.
Friday was supposed to be a half day of work, and we were going to spend the rest of the day as a whole team at the beach and then at the compound for reflection and story sharing time. While we had less time, we still saw 130 patients. We had to move at a faster pace to accommodate all of the patients and their needs but we did just fine.
Lucia was my interpreter for the day. I saw alot of patient with hypertension, respiratory, and vaginal infections. One of my patients was a 41 year old man who complained of swelling to his legs. He had severe +4 pitting edema to his legs (for those who don't know what that means, they were so swollen that when you squeeze them, your fingers leave imprints), a blood pressure of 194/110 and a heart rate of 146. His right arm was also edematous and he reported that now his abdomen was becoming bloated. He denied making enough urine and reported having headaches. These were all signs that he had a cardiac problem, probably congestive heart failure. I referred him to the hospital for a cardiac workup.
We have referral forms available to give to patients who we feel need to go to the hospital. They can be for surgical or medical referrals. During the week, we would send people to the hospital for wound debridements, surgical referrals, GYN consults, etc. It was more difficult to send someone from the bateys to the hospital in the city because of transportation issues. It was much easier in the city, and i was able to get someone from the church to bring this man to the hospital right away.
After him, I had another patient, a 35 year old father, who had complaints of headache and dizziness and blurred vision. After asking many questions, he told me that he was hit by a car about 1 year ago and has been having these symptoms since then. I didn't know at first what to do for him, because whatever damage was done a year ago, is probably permanent at this point. I questioned whether to send him for a referral for neurology, but after a normal neurocheck, i felt it would be unfounded. The situation was unfortunate. He stated that sometimes he does lose his balance, but also said he has never fallen. I gave him pain medication for the pain and told him he needs to talk to his health promoter if the dizziness gets worse. I felt bad that I couldn't help him more. If he had gotten proper medical care at the time of the accident, he may not be having the symptoms he is now. I felt like I didn't really help him.
I also saw another women who had had a tubal ligation about 1 year ago and had been experiencing pelvic pain since then. I also had to give her a referral for an OB/GYN consult. There was no way of identifying what was causing her pelvic pain after ruling out vaginal or urinary tract infection.
Because we were in the city, I assumed that the people have more access to health care than they do in the bateys. But I saw differently. I don't know if it has to do with money or if the people just aren't educated enough about what we in the States believe is basic medical knowledge. We as a med team gave alot of education on that day. We educated about low sodium diets to prevent hypertension, adequate water intake to prevent dehydration, and how to properly clean water. One major difference between the city and the bateys, was that the people of the city were more literate. Some of them could speak basic English and most of them could read.
Overall, it was another great day!
 |
| some of the med team |
 |
| Lucia, my interpreter |
 |
| Juan Roberto, our team interpreter |
 |
| Juan Carlos, another interpreter |
 |
| Lucia and I |
 |
| Emelio, our team guide |
One member of the team shared how he became attached to one of the children on last years trip and had been sending him clothes during the year. This year, he was able to meet the child's father, who thanked him for all he had done for his son. He then told the team member, that if he wanted he could have his son, believing that this would allow his son to live a better life. I was touched by that story, knowing that the father loved his son so much that he wanted what he believed was best for him. Very touching!
Others from the evangelism team shared stories of people who were healed from all sorts of ailments. The blind could see. The crippled walked. And some with tumors were now tumorless! God did some mighty works that week and it was so exciting to hear the stories from those who witness them.
After our feedback time, a local band put on a concert for us with great music and dancing. It was a great last day of celebration!
No comments:
Post a Comment