Roatan - Day 11

This morning was basically a repeat of yesterday morning – lounging about on the dock.  The only difference was J forgot her beach towel and I picked up a huge conch shell (about the size of your foot) from the bottom of the ocean floor (shallower than it sounds) that J pointed out with her keen eye.  We brought it back with us to spiff up our apartment décor.

I worked with ER #2 again today and he is definitely emergency oriented.  When talking about my differential diagnoses, he ALWAYS mentioned the most serious option FIRST.  These guys just aren’t focused on primary care.  They do a good job anyway.  I know ER #1 was impressed with J’s family medicine approach.  The day seemed to be filled with ordering labs and patients with gastrointestinal worms (maybe I should stop brushing my teeth with the water here…).

We made it out of the clinic exactly on time so J, L , and I took a taxi to West End for some real food.  Not being able to cook in our apartment really limits our options.  Plus, we forgot to sign up for the weekly hydroponic (look it up) lettuce handout.  It was SO great to be out enjoying each other’s company over a delicious meal instead of kicking it, back at Ed’s.

Getting home was entertaining.  Felt bad for J who was out of the loop since she doesn’t speak Spanish, but I was having a good time.  So we only paid $1 each to get to West End from Sandy Bay (where the clinic is and where we live) so naturally you would expect to pay the same price on the way back.  Apparently the taxis charge more during the night so all the taxis I was hailing wanted to charge $1.50 each.  Heck with that (or so I thought at the time).  It was dark on the way there so why should it cost more when it’s STILL dark?  Well, after talking with at least 5 different taxis, no one was budging.  The first cab driver I spoke with was just sitting across the street pointing out the next taxi, watching me flag it down, failing to agree on the $1 return fair, thus proving his point and enjoying every minute of it.  Finally, I grudgingly said he could take us for the $1.50 each.  After the 3 of us piled in the back and another passenger got in the front, our cab driver asked the passenger to scoot his seat up so I’d have more room in the back (yes, I am a tall lady).  After he scooted forward, the cab driver asked if that was better and I replied it would be better if he only charged us $1 each.  He gave a good chuckle in response.  I decided to have some fun with the situation.  And THAT’S why I love traveling.  I love to joke around with the locals – taxi drivers, waiters, and people selling their souvenirs made in China (ok, Guatemala maybe).  That way, they laugh, have fun and cut me a deal.  It’s a brilliant strategy.  Works every time!  But not this time…

Most people on the island know Nurse Peggy so I even told our driver that she had told us not to pay more than $1 each.  “Well she doesn’t know the prices then.”  Of course she does.  On the way back to Sandy Bay, the cab driver and I got into a discussion about the usual prices - $1 during the day and $1.50 at night.  So then I asked why we only paid $1 at night to GET to West End?  “Because some cab drivers don’t know the prices.”  I asked how could that be?  “Because they are ‘new’ on the island.”  Ha, yeah right.  Good one sir.  I had to laugh at that.  So then I told him I’d just have to seek out the “new” drivers then.  L had a good laugh at that.  Poor J, had no idea what was going on.  I was done by that point.  This guy was no fun, way too serious.  And what a waste, half my post ended up about him…

Cab Driver 2 points, Kristina 0 points.

Roatan - Day 10

J and I FINALLY made it to the beach this morning!  And when I say beach, I mean a dock extending 50 yards or so out into the ocean.  A perfect respite from the sand fleas and mosquitos.  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  Just the way I like it.  While J studiously read about obstetrics, I gluttoned (yes, I made up that word) myself on the sun rays, enjoying the warmth and cool gentle breeze.  After 2 hours of dedicated sunscreen application, we headed back to the apt. to get ready for work.  I thought I had it bad by not having showered in over 48 hours, but J wins!  AT LEAST 60 hours since she last showered.  No wonder there weren’t any fish in the water around us.  Ha, I kid.  We’ll do anything to avoid taking a cold shower.  I will anyway.  But after pushing J up a steep hill and making sure she didn’t go too fast down another steep hill, I welcomed the freezing downpour in the shower with open arms.

Our 5 hour shift at the clinic today turned into 6.5 hours.  I know, we have it rough.  It IS rough when you make dinner plans with L after her invitation and you have to turn them down because you are behind schedule.  By the way, can I just say I love L?  She is the greatest and super sweet.  She’s a Canadian, probably in her early 40’s who took all of her vacation time for the next 2 years to come down here to work in the laboratory at the clinic.  We’ll just have to do dinner with her tomorrow.

J and I worked with 2 third year ER residents today (their first day at the clinic).  She worked with one and I worked with the other (we’ll call them ER #1 and ER #2).  By default, ER #1 becomes #1 since I met him first.  Because ER #1 speaks Spanish and J doesn’t, they worked together.  I worked with ER #2 because he didn’t speak Spanish (very little).  It was a great set up – I got to see my own patients and present to ER #2 AND translate for him while he saw his patients.  I really like those guys.  They are great teachers and they actually have a personality – fun to work with.  J and I are really looking forward to tomorrow. 

My highlight of the day was translating for ER #2 (who speaks very little Spanish) who was seeing a 9 month old and his mom.  He correctly asked her twice in a row (in Spanish) if her 9 month old had any allergies to any medications.  After she stared blankly at him, I stepped in and we solved the issue.  Then she started laughing uncontrollably… then it was our turn (for ER #2 and me) to both look at each other with blank stares.  We had no idea why she was laughing… she told me that she would have no idea what ER #2 was saying if I wasn’t there to help.  It made ER #2 feel quite sheepish about his Spanish, especially since he was conversing with her earlier without me in the room.  On the other hand, it was my moment of triumph :)  I even helped ER #1 (who does speak Spanish) a time or too.  Booyah!

The lowlight of the day (I guess you could call it that, due to the probable outcome) was a patient I saw presenting with 4 day vaginal bleeding (11 years post-menopausal), 40 pound weight loss over the last 8 months, and lower back pain.  It could be something benign, but it could also be a cancer.  As far as what we are able to do on the island to manage her care isn’t much.  The resources just aren’t there.  She’ll come back in a few days to follow up with the OB/GYN doc, but will most likely need to go to the mainland for imaging and a biopsy.  She was the cutest and sweetest little lady, but spoke faster than Speedy Gonzalez himself.  I had to ask my questions at least 2 or 3 times to clarify.  She gave me a hug at the end and said she was very glad to meet me.  I can only hope for the best for her…

Perfect ending to the day: surprise knock on the front door from our upstairs neighbor (she works at the clinic) with a plateful of grilled meat, corn tortillas, and pico de gallo.  Buen provecho!

Roatan - Day 9

Not until this morning when I tromped through a whole field of grass at 7:30 am to drop off a load of laundry did I realize just how hostile of a climate it is here.  NO DEW ON THE GRASS?!  Maybe it wasn’t early enough, but the morning sure dawned way too early in my book.  J and I were up an hour prior to that so we’d be ready for pickup at 7:30 am.  We were to be judges at a science fair competition.  Little did I know I’d be riding 20-25 min in the back of a truck both ways (most likely getting fried by the sun), or eating less than satisfactory fast food pizza for lunch, or working the afternoon shift at the clinic as well.  A day full of surprises.  I like surprises, mostly, but today J and I got the life blood sucked out of us by those kids at the science fair, or something.  We just didn’t have the energy to keep us going at the clinic.  All I wanted was a big fat nap.  That, or a large Coca-Cola filled with sugar cane to pump through my veins.  At least I got to translate for J during one patient visit.  I LOVE IT.

The science fair was actually pretty fun.  About 10 of us from the clinic were paired up with other local Hondureños to judge projects, grades 3-10 at a bilingual school.  Everything was expected to be presented in English: poster, project, paper, AND presentation (love the alliteration).  I was assigned to the 3^rd and 4^th graders.  It was the first year their projects were being judged so they were a bit timid (and when I say a bit, I mean A LOT).  They were just the cutest things.  When I expressed to the lady I was working with that I hoped I wasn’t being too harsh, she assured me I wasn’t and that SHE is the one who usually grades hard.  Ha, little did she know I taught high school for 4.5 years.  After spending a good 20 minutes with each group (five total), we compared our scores to rank the winners.  Turns out I was much more harsh.  Oops.  Poor little things. 

One group made a model of the solar system (what would a science fair be without at least ten of these?!  You know you made when you were a young innocent kid…) and was explaining how Pluto is no longer a planet.  We asked what happened to it and one girl’s response, “It disappeared.”  Another girl’s response, “It exploded.”  Bahahaha, almost cracked up right then and there.  Dead giveaway on the amount of research they did.

I triaged a lady today who said she had been punched in the ear.  She was having pain, dizziness, and couldn’t hear.  Dr. Molina walked in an hour or so later asking me if I wanted to see something I probably wouldn’t normally get to see.  Jumped at the chance!  When I looked into her left ear, I was looking directly into her inner ear.  Found out later from J that her husband had slapped her and the air/pressure acted as a knife, rupturing her eardrum.  SO SAD.  I can’t believe so many people suffer from abuse, let alone other types of abuse.  I’m sure it’s fairly common on the island too…

After 9 days on the island, J and I YET to have a true beach day.  We are kind of dying inside.  Tomorrow morning we WILL be at the beach to actually start on our rockin’ tans we are about to get.  I think we’re the whitest ones on the whole island, cruise ship tourists included. 

Roatan - Day 8

Wasn’t Conference so good?!  Sad I missed yesterday, but I’ll just have to catch up soon.  I took a taxi to Coxen Hole to the church building, walked in the door and was walking into the chapel when one of the gringo missionaries said to me, “Oh, they’re showing it in English in that room down the hall.”  My first thought – What?!  I probably speak Spanish way better than you!  Ha, not really.  I was actually very grateful to watch in English to make sure I didn’t miss anything important.  I met a lovely family from Kentucky who are here for a few weeks, the husband on business.  Turns out we flew in on the same flight last Sunday.  They invited me over for dinner, but I already had dinner plans (keep reading to find out what, I know the suspense might kill you…).  Then they asked if I would like to come to the beach with them some time.  Definitely!  Then I met another lovely Hondureño family.  She was probably just a few years older than me, but said she wanted to get to know me and be friends.  Can’t wait!  I love going to church abroad.  It feels like I’m at home, every time.  So glad I ran into the missionaries yesterday.

Because Coxen Hole is a little ways from Sandy Bay (where we live), I just stayed at the church during the 2 hour break, bumming the internet and catching up on emails.  I was really hoping to post more photos to Instagram, but access was blocked.  Darn, you’ll just have to wait on photos for now.

This evening J and I went to another potluck with all the volunteers at the clinic at the lovely beach house that I wish we were staying in.  I was starving and somehow the combination of food just didn’t do it for me tonight.  I’m craving some more fresh coconut fish.  I could eat that every day and be completely happy.  Fighting a new onset sore throat tonight so I guess I should down the 5 liter jug of water we just stocked up on at the grocery store.  Somehow, I don’t think J would appreciate that.  Also, I’m jealous J still has half of her Snickers bar to enjoy later tonight… Eat it when she’s not looking?

Roatan - Day 7

What a GREAT day!  Loved seeing more of the island today!  J and I slept in – that girl can sleep way longer than I can, which is really saying something.  We went out exploring to find beach access close to our apartment so we won’t always have to take the taxi all the time.  So I pushed her up the steep hill to the main road, then walked a treacherous 100 yards to the next side road (continue reading for my explanation of treacherous…), which turned out to be paved all the way to the beach.  Not very far, and we found ourselves a nice little dock to camp out on – to study and/or soak up the sun.  Next time we will for sure be in our swimsuits.  There are even some steps down to the water from the dock to take a little dip and cool off.  Unfortunately the water is too shallow and the coral too high for any sort of snorkeling or swimming.  Good to know it’s so close though, mission accomplished.

Then J and I met up with 3 other girls that are also volunteering at the clinic and we drove out to a tiny native town in Flowers Bay for a health fair.  We spent three hours inside a church passing out medical supplies, checking blood pressures, checking glucose levels (the infamous finger stick – you know you’re scared too…), and handing out reading glasses.  It was really very rewarding.  A young group of kids took to J and so she tested all their sugar levels.  I always love meeting and talking with new people.  We got to see much of the island on the drive there and back, and even though I’ve seen a few third world countries and the different circumstances people live in (Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, even parts of China and the Caribbean), it STILL amazes me how people can live like this and how lucky I truly am in the United States.  I will always need that reminder.  I love to travel, but there is just something so rewarding and humbling about dedicating your time and working on behalf of others that even makes your travel experience that much better.

[Side note to Elise: Apparently there is a house in Flowers Bay (pretty fancy) that was featured on House Hunters International.]

I love driving on the main road that circles the west side of the island.  It’s twisty and turn-y, parallels the beach (saw a basketball court built OVER the ocean!!!), is lined with palm trees and people’s less than ideal living situations, and the tires screech around every corner.  It truly makes you feel like you are on some wild exotic racetrack, except for the people walking along the non-existent shoulder which you have to steer clear of to keep from hitting.  It’s a wild ride.

After volunteering at the health fair, we did some grocery shopping in Coxen Hole (found ourselves each a Snicker’s bar!) and then had some dinner at a 3 P’s restaurant – Pizza, Pollo, Pasta.  Since they were out of pizza, pollo, and lasagna, that didn’t leave very many options.  So I had an Italian version (margherita) of the pastelito described in my previous post.  I MUCH prefer the hondureño version.  As we were eating dinner, I looked out the window and to my utter amazement saw 4 missionaries walking up the hill.  I had given up on General Conference this weekend since I didn’t even know 1) where the church building was, 2) if they would even be broadcasting Conference, and 3) if they would be broadcasting it at the same times.  I thought about just showing up tomorrow and trying to figure it out, but all the volunteers were planning a big outing to the beach and fancy resort (Infinity Bay – we get in free every Sunday for working at the clinic).  Such a tender mercy to see them, talk to them, and ask them about Conference tomorrow.  It couldn’t have been more perfect.  I feel bad leaving J to her own devices tomorrow, but am SO GLAD I get to listen to Conference for at least one day.  Ha, I forgot to explain myself to the missionaries… I just walked around the corner to confront them and shouted, “Missionaries!”  They probably wondered where the heck I came from.  Ya, I’ll make sure to do that tomorrow.