Stitch Away!

Hola! Once again I have failed to update this blog as regularly as I had originally planned on, but I think this makes the posts more concise and interesting. Hopefully you feel the same!

As I enter into the last week of my internship, I can’t even begin to describe what a valuable experience it has been to work in the hospital here. As the weeks have passed I have learned a tremendous amount about the process and practice of emergency medicine. I’ve also become more confident in my abilities as a healthcare provider. I see the pain in the eyes of the patients as they wait to be examined, and the peace they feel once they’ve been treated. For me this has been a lesson in compassion because when a patient comes into the ER, they are usually at their most vulnerable point, and it’s more important than ever to care about them.
During the past two weeks I have taken a more active role in the ER. I now routinely (and confidently!) give EKG’s and clean wounds. And although I have only done it twice, I am very proud to say that I have given two people stitches! Both times the patient had a head wound. Stitching is surprisingly easy, but of course it takes a lot of practice. I also take vital signs and help out with other procedures as needed. I am very fortunate to work with doctors and interns that are willing to take the time to explain to me what they’re doing and teach me how to do it.

There is one other American student that is working in the ER for the same time period as I am. Her name is Michelle and she is a Physician Assistant student at George Washington University. I love having her there with me because she’s able to explain to me (in English) the medical things that I haven’t learned yet. I also get to ask her questions about PA school (since that’s what I will be doing after I graduate) and she’s offered me some good advice. In a lot of ways I feel like a younger version of her (although she is only a few years older than me) and it’s pretty cool.

Along with working almost full-time at the hospital I have started to write my monograph, a 20-25 page final paper that is required by my program. I am writing about how the public health system works in Ecuador, and about socio-economic discrimination that exists within the system. It’s a topic that I find very interesting and I enjoy learning about it. However, it is incredibly time-consuming especially because I find myself completely unmotivated to do anything academic. I know what you’re thinking, “Lindsey, you have had the easiest semester of your life. Suck it up and work!” and I tell myself the same thing every day. But somehow that doesn’t motivate me! ;) My biggest struggles have been organizing the mountain of information that I looked at, and figuring out the format of the paper. I’ve never written in this format before, so it’s helpful that I have a tutor (as is required by CIMAS) to guide me along. Hopefully I will have it finished by the end of the week, and then I will be done with the hardest part of my semester. All I’ll have left is a reflection paper and a few forms to fill out!

I should also mention that alongside working and writing, I manage to find some time for fun! Two weekends ago I went to the Cloud Forest in Mindo, which is a small town about two hours north of Quito, right next to San Miguel de los Bancos (where I went with my group our first weekend here). I really liked the small-town charm of Mindo. There are a lot of sporty and adventurous things to do there such as rafting, hiking, repelling down a waterfall, canyoning (ziplining through the forest) and much much more. I went canyoning which didn’t give me the adrenaline rush that I’d hoped it might, but nonetheless I enjoyed “flying” through and above the forest. We also went on a hike to get to the waterfall, but we were given bad directions so we ended up hiking almost straight up and then straight down the mountain without even realizing it until we got back to the bottom. That part was a little frustrating, but at least it was a nice hike. On this trip I also got to try Fanesca, which is a dish that’s only served during Holy Week. It’s a hearty soup that’s made with twelve different ingredients, to represent the 12 apostles. (I will admit here that I didn’t know this fact until I looked it up on Wikipedia). Every place will make fanesca a little differently, but generally it includes fish, quinua (an Andean grain that is actually a super-food), corn, and a bunch of other things. It’s served with boiled egg, fried banana, and empanadas. This may seem like a strange combination, and a lot of people don’t like it, but I absolutely loved it!

As my stay in Ecuador dwindles down, I find myself thinking about the things I will miss the most. Like the street vendors that come onto the bus and try to sell you everything from gum to CDs to sewing kits. And the bakeries that serve freshly-baked cheese empanadas for only $0.19. And the way that the people interact with each other here, always cordial and polite. But I am also thinking about what I’ll be coming back to in the US. I miss my friends and family very much, because as much as I love getting to know new people, they could never replace the people that already know and love me. I am increasingly excited to live in Minneapolis this summer and work at ACR Homes again with the wonderful residents and staff, and to live with one of my best friends. I also look forward to eating American food, as greasy and unappetizing as it may sound sometimes. I think about these things more and more every day, and so I am determined to live-it-up during my last 3 weeks in Ecuador and do as much as I can. I hope to go to the beach one more time, to the jungle, and spend time with the people I’ve grown closest too. I should also mention that I will be buying souvenirs soon, so if anyone has a specific request, SPEAK NOW or forever hold your peace.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! If you don’t hear from me, it’s because I’m working on my paper. I suppose that tonight it would have been a wiser choice to write that instead of this blog, but I think they’re both important. 