First Day of Clinic

Alright, I know I have said this before but Quito is HUGE. And of course the first week of class I was the only student assigned to Hospital IESS (It´s like their social security hospital.) So last night my host mom and I spent an hour trying to figure out how I was going to get there. I really didnt want to take the Trole because it is extremely packed in the morning and probably not the safest way of getting there. So Francia, my host mom, called her friend Ferrrrrrrnando (I just really like to say his name) who drives taxis and he picked me up and took me to the clinic. Not only am I unfamiliar with Quito, I don´t speak Spanish amazingly well. I mean I could get by in a small town, but a large city is a bit more difficult. Francia made me practice saying ¨ginecologia¨which is gynecology, the unit I needed to find on the ¨segundo piso¨(the second floor). Also, Ecuadorians run on Ecuadorian time...which is always late. See Cody? I fit in PERFECTLY ;) So Ferrrrrnando was supposed to pick me up at 7:30 but he did not get there until 7:50. I needed to be at the hospital at 8. Luckily, Francia talked to him and told him to take the back roads instead of the main street so I was only about 5 minutes late. The hospital is completely blocked off by a fence and you have to walk by two guards, with guns, to get in. This was only the first group I encountered. I followed the signs as I was told and on my way to the unit I passed at least three groups of guards, with guns. But that made me feel safe! They were very nice and directed me where I needed to go. Quito is not a bad city but it is just that, a city and there tends to be petty crime. After reaching the unit, it took me awhile to find Dr. Salazar of whom I was working with today. He is a tall, thin man with beaty eyes and a good sense of humor. I was in the outpatient with him for about an hour and I watched him remove some HPV cells from a woman´s uterus. He was using a microscope to see upclose and he let me see too! After that the resident, (her name is pronounced ´Euro Hey´)¨ took me down to the locker room to change into scrubs. I was a little confused because I thought I was only in the outpatient clinic today but excited to see what I got to do next. We were given masks, booties and a hair net and walked throught the cirugia (surgery) doors. Lining each side of the hallway were about ten rooms with surgeries happening. I got to see five surgeries in the four hours I was there!! I saw two hysterectomies, one where they entered through the woman´s vagina and the other where they cut open her abdomen. The doctors and nurses and students were incredibly nice to me and always asked if I could see or wanted to see more. During the second surgery, I began feeling a little woozy, probably because I didn´t eat much breakfast because I was nervous, so I took a seat for a few minutes to regain my composure. Dr. Salazar was not the main doctor during these surgeries but I still got to see them! He began his first surgery around 11:00 and his task was to remove a woman´s left ovary because it was leaking. I didn´t quite pick up what she had but I know it was not good. It was not a tumor and not cancer, all I could get was that is was leaking, abnormal and had to be removed. At first, I was nervous about the language barrier and obviously it would be easier if I was shadowing a doctor in America but I absolutely loved it. The second year med students that were with us were incredibly nice too. They always spoke slowly and tried to make sure I knew what was going on, when possible. I told them I was sorry I didn´t speak Spanish very well but they complemented me and said I was better than another American that was there today. That made me feel good! Anyway, I did not get to see the entire surgery because I had to leave at noon to go to spanish class but I did get to see him cut the woman open and insert guaze to keep her from bleeding. I have the same rotation tomorrow and Friday. AND he said I could take pictures during the surgery!! Only in Latin America. So hopefully I can get some good ones ;) Well the internet cafe is about to close and I need to go eat dinner! I took a salsa class today. LOVED IT. and I think I am going to pay for some private lessons so I can dance with an Ecuadorian at the salsa clubs! Sorry this was so short. I will try to write more tomorrow. I think a bunch of us are finally going to check out the night life tonight. Don´t worry, I´ll be safe. There´s a lot of macho guys in my groups ;)
Hasta Luego!
Love Hilary