This week is my last week in Ecuador. I am really excited to be coming home, but that doesn't mean I haven't enjoyed my time here. I've learned so much, and even though I'm preparing to return to the US this week is still an adventure for me.
This week my clinic placement is in Cacha. Each day I travel from Riobamba to Cacha with five other students and the doctors who run the clinics. Our driver's name is Segundo. Segundo is the man! He works for Cachamsi and is such a great asset to the students. Today I saw Segundo help a nurse whose car had gotten stuck in a ditch. With just his strength, the materials he had in his car, and help from some of the male students he help this woman move her car. Not to mention that we were literally driving up a mountain when this happened. After the car was out of the ditch Segundo made sure the car was safe for her to continue driving, and then followed her in his truck up the mountain to the clinic. When I saw this I was reminded of how brothers and sisters care for each other. In his manly strength he helped her with no expectation of repayment. He saw it as his duty to be sure that she was safe and taken care of. I hope that there are many more men like Segundo in the world.
Today there were no doctors working in the clinics. There was a dentist and a nurse, so our clinic hours turned into a day of tourism with Segundo. He drove us around the mountains of Cacha and in a tour guide fashion explained to us the history of the land and people. He even allowed us to get out and take pictures when we wanted. One highlight of the day was seeing a field of Quinoa. We also went to another city named Colta where we paid 25cents to enter a park named "Colta Lagun" that was beautifully built complete with a playground and gazebo. It was really relaxing to sit in the grass at the park and enjoy the perfect sunny but cool weather. It was also fun to stand on the rope swing contraption on the playground and be pushed in circles until I was dizzy! After the park Segundo took us to the oldest church in Ecudaor which was built in the 1530s.
So, I know it seems like I haven't been working, but Monday was different. On Monday I shadowed a doctor in a four room clinic in Cacha. It was eye opening to witness the lack of resources in the clinic. I saw a dentist pull a mans tooth out and send him home with five IB Profen to manage the pain. I also saw an old lady burst into tears when she began talking about the fact that her husband died and that she lived alone. I thought about how having a counselor there would help her so much, but at the moment all she had was a nurse from Georgia with limited Spanish, two medical students with limited Spanish, and doctor with lots of patients who did not have time to really deal with this woman's depression. I wondered how long it had been since her husband died, where were her children, and how is she coping from day to day?
I only have two more days in the clinics here. I wonder what they will hold....stay tuned to find out!
Hasta Luego!
EP <3
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