Home

So, most of us are home now. Amanda, Josh, and Maddie are now in the Galapagos (jealous) and Savannah has to drive to Seattle. Otherwise, no more travel. I am happy to flush toilet paper and take a very hot, long shower.

 Just wanted to let everyone know we made it back!

The Story of My Life

Yesterday we had a crazy day packed with adventures. Some of us went horseback riding, others went biking, 4-wheeling, or the zoo.

After our morning activities, we went on a tour of the waterfalls. This is the same path that Alicia and I biked two years ago. We stopped at different locations to take pictures, ride cable cars, and zip line. Oh, we also stopped to hike down to a waterfall. Savannah and I stood under the waterfall.  It was freezing but amazing!!!

Today we will be making the long drive to Quito. We will be going to the market before jumping onto the plane.

Baños

A nice day to relax. We slept in, loaded the bus, and said goodbye to our amazing cooks, cleaners, and friends.

The bus ride to Baños was foggy but uneventful!

For lunch we had a HUGE meal. It was all Ecuadorian style; delicious as you would image. Ugg, I think I only ate half the food on my plate. If you have ever eaten with me, then you know I always clean my plate. Always.

The Spa

About half of our group went to the spa this afternoon. Pool, hot tub, sauna, steam box (for Katty and Savannah), massages (for all), mani/pedi (for some), and waxing (for some). It was great! I'm sure that horseback riding tomorrow will kill all of the relaxation my muscles just underwent!

On our way to dinner our spa group had the chance to try canelazo caña. Canelazo caña is a regional drink made from sugar cane, alcohol (from fermented sugar cane), lemon, sugar and cinnamon. Pretty delicious.

After another huge meal we wandered the city. Being out of a major city center, Baños is refreshing. The air is clean and fresh!

Clínica Terminada

The last day in clinic for the trip.  As expected it was a crazy day. We saw 177 people today and turned no one away!  We did run out of a few meds and sunglasses, but it true EMM fashion we made it work.

There are a lot of dirty ears here. There seemed to be a constant waiting line at the ear wash station. Since today was mostly families, we would load their ears up with lactulose  while we were still seeing their other family members before sending them into the lineup. Even with excessive soaking in lactulose, there were a lot of people who's ear plugs would not budge. Yuck. Lets be honest, the smell isn't that great either. Yesterday I smelled this smell, I thought it was me. I was so weirded out because I shouldn't smell that bad; seriously, I shower every day. It was my otoscope.... sick.


Our most hadsome patient of the day

I gave my first intra-articular injection today. Pretty awesome. Dr. Hall is a phenomenal teacher. He also has a great deal of trust in letting me do something like that with zero experience (with joint injections that is).

Like a pro

In total we have seen close to 500 patients in our time here. That is so many people!!!! So many that have gone for too long without medical care. So many that have gone too long without being loved on. What an amazing experience and what a blessing!

My amazing translator Isaac teaching stretching

I can't wait to see the impact this trip will make on these communities. After seeing the change in Pachancho, it is exciting to see what will come next for Alao, Cebadas, and Calpi.

On the way home a few of us took a pit stop at Katty's new place. It is so cool! She has a nice hunk of land, with walls that are almost totally finished. And the view!! Holy cow, it is stunning! I am so proud of my nana!!!

Katty's land and the wall

Jaunito, one of our veteran translators,  sang a couple of songs for us. He is an aspiring rapper here in Ecuador. In years past he has been a bit timid about singing for even a small group of us. Tonight, he volunteered and sang in front of the entire group. It was fantastic!

We had to say goodbye to a few of our military friends. Most will be coming with us to Baños for some R&R.

Calpi... Only 15 Minutes Away

Our next and final village, Calpi (cal-pee). I must have misunderstood Miss Katty when she said how long it would take to get to this village. I heard fifty minutes; it was much closer to fifteen minutes. The short drive was very nice. Again, we had a wonderful set up, with pharmacy, lab, and clinic all in one spot.

Checking out X-ray's a patient brought in

Most everyone patient we saw today was geriatric (old). As with most things geriatric, each patient took quite a bit of time. I don't think we quite made it into the 100's, but everyone we saw was pretty sick.  Lots of infections of all different kinds. There was always a constant line up at the ear washing. One poor woman had three sessions of lactulose (to loosen the wax), water (to flush it out), and scrapping (for everything that still hasn't made its way out) and you still couldn't see her ear drum!!! Savannah loaded her up with lactulose and a cotton ball for an overnight soaking. Hopefully, by the morning things will have loosed a bit.

The poor woman with the impacted ear

A lot more of the people in this village have access to pharmacies, which is a great thing, but it makes everything a bit tricky. Its complicated because they are taking medications but they do not know what the name of the medication is or even what they are taking it for. The other tricky thing we encountered with patients having access (or "kind of" access as I like to call it) to health care, is that they have possible diagnosis's that a doctor told them they might have:

"A doctor says I have hypertension" Patient shows us blood pressure reading from the last 6months, all normal.
"Are you on medications?"
"No"

"I have diabetes"
"Why do you think you have diabetes"
"A doctor say I have diabetes"
"Did you have any tests done? Any blood glucose readings?"
"No"

Other times, just like in the U.S., it can be pretty comical the things people come up with for what is causing their ailments:

"My liver is swollen"
"Why do you think your liver is swollen"
"Because I have back pain and my knees hurt. And, so does my head"

"I need reading glasses"
"Can you read this without glasses"
"Yes, but I need reading glasses"

Hahahahahah!

After dinner tonight, the Pastor's wife from Alao (Village 1) came to share her story with us. Her family has faced persecution, abuse, and rejection. Over time things have changed, the communities and people that once persecuted them now accept them. In fact, some of those people were the first people in line for clinic when we went to Alao. It was an amazing story! She also sang us a beautiful song after her moving story.

Tomorrow we will be seeing mostly kiddos and families. It should be crazy day!

Selfie! I look extra pale next to the beautiful brown skin

Day of Rest

No clinic work today. Today we slept in and heard Katty's story. Her story is so moving and powerful.

We had an opportunity to explore Riobamba a bit. We went to the market and to a number of touristy shops. The market was full of fruits, fish, meat, and clothing. It was fun to see all of the colors, but maybe not so nice to smell all the smells (like "aged" meat). A few of us purchased alpaca blankets, coats, and sweaters. I know my Sis will be thrilled with that... She always is mocking me for my alpaca coat and my clown pants. I'm getting her a pair :)

 
 
 

Outside of the Market

Shopping

Then, pizza, napping, lounging, and an ice cream trip.

The Ice Cream Crew

There was a bit of prep work for tomorrow. But, as the saying goes, many hands makes light work. Tomorrow

Cebadas The Village of Many Patients

Today was a short one hour ride to Cebadas.  There was already a line of people waiting for us. So many kids came running up to give each of us a big hug. Melts my heart!

Byron's tag was bothering him... Naturally,
Anitia cut it off while he was still driving

It was a great set up. Everything was located in one place. We saw 200 people in our eight hours. There were 14 people who did not get  to be seen, but they did get vitamins and deworming medication.

Isaac teaching a little girl how to use a tooth brush... Cutest thing ever 

The kidos in this village were sicker than in Pachancho. A lot more cavities and infections. There were also a few crazy cases that I saw today. One of my patients had a double eye infection. By the way, eyes really gross me out! Both eyes were covered in puss, red, and drooping heavily due to the infection. It started over three years ago. Her right eye, just a shriveled mass. I nearly threw up. The gag and aim technique came into play. The other eye was also severely infected with scaring over the cornea.