Week 8: Chone week 3

Our last week in Chone did not disappoint!

By now, all the guards, doctors and nurses recognized us so we had the freedom to go wherever we wanted. Usually we would wander between surgery, Emergency and external consults.

In Surgery, we saw more gall bladder removals and hernia operations. I have probably seen a dozen of these now and they have gotten a little repetitive. They aren't boring, just not the most exciting procedures. Ever wonder what your gallbladder looks like? Well look no further! (vesícula in Spanish)

We watched two surgeries on broken elbows. One was a quick one to remove the medical pins previously inserted and another was to realign the bones and insert pins. There was a pretty scary moment during one, when the patient woke up from the anesthesia in the middle of the surgery. The doctors seemed surprised but not alarmed. They just asked him if he could feel any pain and he said no so they went back to work and eventually put him back under. I can't imagine how freaky that would be! However, in almost every operation below the waist they don't put the patient fully under, just numb them from the waist down. Its pretty weird because sometimes the doctors will have conversations with the patient as they are operating. 

I scrubbed in for two surgeries. The first was a busted kneecap, the patella was broke into 3 pieces and there was a giant hematoma. First, the surgeon cleaned out all the blood clots from the hematoma. Then they realigned the pieces of bone, drilled in two nails in an X formation, and twisted a wire into a figure 8 to hold the patella together.  I helped hold the skin flaps back, provides suction, and clamped the bone together as they drilled in the nails.

The second surgery was a broken big toe. Again, the patient needed a medical pin inserted to stabilize the bones. They drilled in a nail then took an X-ray to see if it went through the bone. The first try they missed the second bone so they did it again and took another X-ray. When they take x-rays, everyone leaves the room because of the radiation... except the people who are scrubbed in. And we didn't have any protective vests or anything. So that was a little unnerving! Once they got the nail in position the surgeon let me cut the nail with these gigantic pliers.

The best part of scrubbing in is being able to touch the bones and injury. We see the breaks on the X-rays all the time but it is a completely different experience being able to hold two parts of a bone in your hands and run your finger along the fracture. Often, the surgeon will guide my finger along the injury and explain characteristics of the wound like what needs to be sewn together or cut away. I am always fascinated at how much the human body can withstand. Surgery is not a delicate process at all!

The interesting cases we saw in emergency this week were: a boy who fell and split his head open, another child who fell into boiling water, a man who accidentally electrocuted himself (he was laying pipes and swung one above his head and it hit a telephone wire), two machete wounds and two motorcycle accidents. 

Emergency Room

One thing that has really affected me here is their attitude towards safety. The lack of concern is shocking. I know accidents still happen no matter how cautious you are but I have seen so many cases that could have easily been avoided. Motorcycle accidents are the most obvious example. When you put four people on one bike, without shoes or helmets, riding on dirt roads through crazy traffic, you are just asking for something to happen. Its not just accidents either, the sanitation here is terrible. Its hard to look at all the crying babies sick with rota virus, parasites, and dengue, knowing that if their parents just washed their hands and food this could be avoided. What it comes down to is there is no education here on preventative measures, whereas in the US we have safety campaigns for nearly everything.

Another huge part of our time in Chone was experiencing the difference in their culture. Chone is tiny, has dirt roads and cows. People live a lot more simply and everything is more relaxed. Almost every house has hammocks hanging outside and old men napping in them. There is absolutely nothing to do in town, hardly even any restaurants. Socializing is built largely upon family and neighborhood.

We were probably some of the only white people in the whole town and they loved it. Every day we would get called out to on the street while walking to lunch. They liked test out their English on us so it was often high school boys yelling "hello beautiful" or "hello I speak English good no?" it was pretty amusing. Also, I got a lot of comments on my blue eyes because they don't see those here. Everyone has a dark complexion with brown eyes. We never had a bad experience with a person, everyone was incredibly patient and helpful. Our taxi drivers would always ask us where we are from, why we are in Chone, how we like their food, etc. They are proud people and liked to tell us that Chone has the most beautiful women and bravest men in Ecuador.

Road we took to the hospital

Vacas! (Cows) near our house

View of town from the hospital

I cannot say enough good things about our host family. We lived with Mariana and Pepe and they were the sweetest and most welcoming people I have met since coming to Ecuador. They are an elderly couple whose children and grand kids live close by so every day there were kids running around the house doing homework or playing. They have a mango, cacao (fruit chocolate comes from), guanabana, and papaya tree and Pepe taught us how to tell when each fruit was ripe. The mango from their tree was the best fruit I think I've ever tasted! One afternoon we came home and Pepe was excited because one of the cacao fruits was ripe. He split it open and we tried the seeds. When you eat it raw you don't bite the seeds because they are extremely bitter. You just suck on the white fleshy coating. It tastes sour, very weird to think this is what chocolate comes from!

Cacao

Michella our host dog

I am sad to leave. Everyone at the hospital was so welcoming and including of us. They took the time to explain procedures and really looked out for us. Doctors would tell us where the best lunch places were or come find us and let us know if something cool was happening in the ER. By week 3 we had inside jokes with a lot of the nurses and doctors and really felt like we made good friends. I will miss Mariana and Pepe, they were a huge part of our great experience here. 

Now back to Quito for two more weeks!