entrance.
The hotel dining area faces one of the many volcanoes that surround Antigua. Some days we actually get to see the volcano with a few clouds or sun. It’s a nice start to the day.
I had time this morning to visit some of our patients on the wards. Many patients stay through the week and are seen daily by the surgeons and our post anesthesia nurse staff to assess needs for pain medication and possible complications at the surgical site. The dressings on ears will come off at clinic this afternoon. And patients will be photographed to document their progress.
It’s quite interesting and different to see how the wards are run. There is one doctor and one nurse for up to about 25 patients. The charts are numbered with funny pictures in them. Each bed has a chair for a parent to stay with the child under 16 years old. The parents can stay overnight. When I asked how they sleep, it’s in the chair or on the floor on a mat. Apparently that’s the norm.
Our last OR day is always short. We need to pack up unused supplies to bring them back to Rochester, NY which is the home base. Then they are repacked for the next mission.
The surgeons examine each patient done this week to be sure they are healing and doing well. I went to visit a few patients who were happy to have their photo taken with me and Nancy, the other anesthesiologist. Then we had a big group photo taken in the courtyard.
Tonight is the celebratory dinner for the entire team of 28 people. What a fun and powerful evening. We have been together for a week and we have strong bonds. This always happens. Another really wonderful week of a medical mission. Of course it was pouring rain as we planned to go to the restaurant. It’s pretty crazy that Uber is everywhere and we got a quick ride. Our dinner was delicious. We had some speeches lots of excitement to be finishing this mission.
Several of us finished the night at a speakeasy that is a little room off the side of a brewery. You enter through a phone booth! They turned the lights up at midnight so we all went back to the hotel to sleep. I am taking a noon ride to the airport. That’s nice. Back home very late tonight.
Thanks for the gift of these selfless individuals, working together to bring healing and hope to those who need it most.
The Adventures of Anne 
The best travel leaves us with memories to which we can turn when things look bleak. The special element of your posts is your offer of memories that, while not ours, offer us inspiration and comfort as the world around us slides from bleak to absurd.
LikeLike