my medical routine rundown

So the nurse session has been sent off and of course I am already missing them, but I am so excited to run into all them on campus at BYU come Fall semester. I have done all this chatting about the medical work that I did with the girls in the nurses session, so I figured I would actually bring my camera out for one of my days in the colonies so that maybe my blog readers could enjoy a looksie and I could better explain what exactly the medical van does...now that I won't be working there anymore...oh well.

so this is kind of the rundown of what goes down...

First, we set up. Its a pretty basic process since we set up the same way for every colony.

The leprosy patients from the colony start by picking up their folders that are used to track their progress and health. This station is usually headed up by one of the drivers, mostly cause they are the only ones who speak Tamil and who can properly communicate with the people.

 The patient then moves over to have their blood pressure and blood sugar taken and recorded in their aforementioned file.

They then see the doctor. Doctor Segonia is the one who comes out the colonies with us. I will admit that she is not the most excited person, but I think the volunteers are slowly cracking her shell, she really is a great person when you get her to smile. :)

After seeing the doctor, the patient goes through a process to help heal any ulcers. We remove their bandages, wash their wounds, oil their feet, and then re-bandage them. It is certainly a humbling thing to wash the feet of another, but there is also something beautiful about caring for the people in this way. 

The last step before the patients return to their homes in the colony, is receiving medications from one of our nurses. 

 And the volunteers are done once the van is loaded with all the supplies and we are ready to head back to the Rising Star Outreach campus.

That's pretty much what I have been heading up for the past few weeks. It is time for me to relinquish the position of acting medical coordinator as the girl who is truly supposed to be in this position has arrived just in time for the start of session 1. 

Session 1 volunteers arrived today and it is a house-full, but I am anxious to get to know the new volunteers and so glad that my friend from last time I was here, Diane, has come, and that she came bearing M&Ms. 

I am now assuming my position of the "Special Projects Coordinator." This job does not come with a very clear job description so it's hard to tell people exactly what I am doing. Pretty much I do anything that anyone else doesn't do, so don't be fooled into thinking that I don't have a full plate for the rest of the summer. I am thrilled about this position though, because it means that I get to do a little bit of everything. I've always been a bit of a wanderer so this is perfect for me. Can't believe I've been here for three weeks. Do I really ever have to leave? I think the only thing convincing me to go home at the end, is the thought of a burger and fries from Marlow's Tavern....and my family....miss you guys...

peace. love. and medical work