Thursday, March 15, 2007

Hospitals and More Hospitals

I am sorry that it has been so long since I last updated. Alot has been going on. Everyday I am at the training center from 7:30 am to at least 4:30 pm. Usually in the morning I have language training for up to 6 hours and than project training. It makes for along day.

I am not really sure what to tell everyone, because everything happens so quickly. So if anyone has any specific question, feel free to ask me.

Yesterday has been probably the most eventful day for me yet. The health project had a field trip into the capital, Tegucigalpa. We went to the oldest hospital in the Country. We met we the director and she gave a lecture explaining the health programs in the country. It was very interesting. After the lecture we were given a tour of the hospital and than taken to the maternity ward. It is so different than in the U.S. I can not even begin to explain. A small group of us were actually privelaged enough to be able to watch a live birth. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life! I was ten feet from the woman. I felt very bad that I was there, but did not want to miss the oppurtunity. It is not like in the States. Nothing is private. The labor part is basically a lonely process. The nurses are only at their side if necessary and during delivery. When the woman is ready to deliver they take her into an open room and it all happens within 2 mins. The woman here are not given the oppurtinity to have an epideral. It is all natural. So everyone be thankful that you have options. No one is allowed in during the delivery ( the husband, or family members). All in all it is a very lonely process. After birth the woman must remain there a minimum of 12 hours and no more than 24 hours. There are 20-25 women per room, so you can seen how not private the whole thing is.


After we returned from the hospital I began feeling pretty bad. My whole body started tingling and I had a really bad stomach ache. I was sweating pretty bad and expecting to get sick. They called the doctor for me and ended up driving me back to Teguc to a different hospital. It sucked. I was there all alone, and having language difficulties desctibing my problems. They put me on an IV and I had an ultra sound and x-rays of the abdomen. The doctor was trying to rule out apendicitis (spell check). My test came back normal and the way I understand it, there was probably a reaction to one of the vacines I have received along with the basic stomach problems that go along with being in a foreign country. They wanted me to stay the night but I begged to go back home, and in the end I won!! I got back home around 7:30- 8 pm. Everything is ok now. I am feeling so much better and don´t want anyone to worry. They took very good care of me.

I am going to try and post some pictures from here, if I can figure it out, so I hope it works. One is of me and Molly ( my kentucky buddy) at the airport on the first attempt to come here, some are of people in my group at lunch when they did not know, and the other 2 are of the view from my house. Everyone enjoy.

Miss you bunches. And yes Andrea, to answer your question one of the sons is a hottie!!

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