It’s always something!!
The day began with the cases all being started and going well. I went to the floor which is a long ward with beds along both walls. One of our nurses who is fluent in Spanish accompanied me. We needed to evaluate patients for pain and determine what drugs they needed. It is often difficult to be sure that patients get what we order so we go to check on them and deal with their needs for pain control.
Two rooms finished earlier than expected. Then we moved on to the next case in each room. After having worked 12+ hours yesterday, it was good to have the day look like it would end by 6 instead of 8pm.
One patient I started before noon was slated for a 5 hour first stage surgery. She was an adult needing bilateral ear surgery. The surgeons routinely shave the hair on the scalp near the ear to have a clean field. As the nurses were working to pull the very long hair to the side, they noticed head lice. The case was quickly canceled. We had to wait a bit to let some drugs wear off before waking the patient. The cancellation made the day even shorter. We then had just one long surgery that would likely end around 6 pm.
In the mean time we have 2 videographers who asked most of us to be interviewed for what will be an edited clip about our mission. What a great opportunity to talk enthusiastically about what we do.
It turned out that the whole day ended at 5:45 which was perfect. We had a small group dinner reservation at 6:30. We ate at a very charming restaurant with excellent food. Then we moved on to a speakeasy bar for drinks. It’s my last night here. I fly home late tomorrow night on a redeye to be home in time for my nephews’ bar mitzvahs on Friday.
Time to finish packing to leave. What a great mission.
The Adventures of Anne 