Day 8- Last day at the Clinics

*WARNING THIS IS A MEDICAL BLOG- THERE MAY BE SOME PICTURES THAT CONTAIN BLOOD*

Buenos Diàs,

Today is our last day in the Cusco clinics. It is an emotional day all around for many reasons.

Today means our time in Peru is soon coming to an end. Our placements today were very different and fantastic experiences.

For the CLAS TTIO Group: we spent the morning in the clinic like a typical clincial day.

I (Austin) was placed with a Pediatric Doctor. It was a slower day because it was raining pretty heavy and it is a Friday. We saw 3 patients total for the day. Most of the patients were just in for a well-child check up or a medication refill.

Our last patient for the day was a 17 year old boy who cut his hand with a knife while working/ cooking in the kitchen of a restaurant.

When he arrived to the clinic the doctor I was with took me to ambulatory care where I helped the doctors and nurses there cleanse the wound and assist the doctor while he was stitching up his hand.

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The 17 year old teenager was a trooper throughout the whole procedure. He was in a lot of pain before the doctor added the first bit of freezing.

After he was all done with the procedure we all asked him for a photo.

During this procedure the instructors gave the medical donations to the staff at the clinics.

The all seemed really appreciative of both our donations and our help at the clinics.

After spending the majority of the morning at the clinic we said our goodbyes and then made our way down to the orphanage for one last visit, but this time we weren’t empty handed.

We walked a few blocks back to the all girls orphanage in the pouring rain to give them some donations that we collected for them. (Walking there in the rain was so worth the rewarding experience that came with being there and giving them the donations.)

When we arrived to the orphanage all of the chicas (girls) welcomed us with open arms. They were so excited to see us and see what we brought for them.

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We filled 2-3 tables with snacks, food, games, tooth brushes, clothes, glasses, etc. For all of the girls in the orphanage.

While we were there we danced, sang, talked, and laughed.

We showed them how to dance to The Mull River Shuffle (some of the kids joined in), they showed us how to do some of their dances (some of us joined in) and we all danced to the Macarena!

It was another fun and very emotional day all around.

When it was time for us to leave the director of the orphanage said a few words and thanked us for our help and our generosity.

A few of the girls also spoke: they said “thank you for being here and showing us love, thank you for the gifts. The door is always open for you to come back. We love you lots.”

When they started talking it was hard to keep in the tears, but that showed us that our work here in Peru and at the orphanage was a success.

The girls at the orphanage are happy and the people at the clinic appreciated our help.

The San Jeronimo group went to a longterm care faculty today.

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The group expressed their enjoyment as soon as they arrived back to the hostel about their experience at Centro Gerontológico San Francisco de Asis.

The residence/ facility is divided into male and female facilities.

The group of students was split up into different groups/sections.

Some of the students were placed with Physiotherapy / the recreation department. They performed some exercises with the male residents.

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The group that was placed with physio also helped serve lunch to the residents and helped with the dishes in the kitchen.

Two other students stayed with the male residents and helped feed them, clean their ears, wash their hands and talked to the residents.

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A few more students stayed to help with laundry, peeled some potatoes and kept the residents company.

All of the other students helped the staff perform Range of Motion (ROM) exercises on the residents.

We learned that all of the food that the nursing home has is donated by outside sources and the community. The food is all made fresh and in big quantities.

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The nursing home is run by nuns, volunteers and seminarists.

The head nun was so thankful for the help and donations to their facility.

Luka/Lukas who is one of the main volunteers of the facility from Germany showed the students all of the fun they have at the nursing home.

As it is some of the seminar students last day Luka had a silly string fight with them.

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By spending the day in Centro Gerontológico San Francisco de Asis we truly realized the importance of mobility and proper nutrition.

All the residents walk to their activities and meals; most of the time up multiple ramps or stairs. Some residents are in wheel chairs and there was only one resident who remained in bed.

Their mobility and proper nutrition is what is keeping them going.

The residents of the facility also look after each other- two males in the more mobile group of the home are blind; If they need to go anywhere the other residents help them.

We learned a lot about the Peruvian culture and medical practices by being in the clinics and helping at the orphanages, day cares and Longterm care faculties.

Permission was received for all photos

-Austin Chapman