Tuesday

Day 2

 Jared and I did not sleep well last night. We tossed and turned. All I could think was, what ARE we doing here?

We met at 6:50 for an optional daily mass with the bishop. It was really lovely and Jared & I hope to do that every day. Jared was assigned to triage for day 1. Justin, my brother, is in charge of triage so like other times, we considered this his opportunity to boss Jared around. Also, Jared went to EMT school after we were fist married (long story) so he kinda remembers what to do.

I was assigned to be a runner and take the patients from triage to wherever they needed to go in the clinic: the choices being family/internal medicine, peds, ongyn, obstetrics, or dental. This ended up being a great job. I got to smile a lot and say "si, si, bien" Because I wasn't with them long, most had no idea that I didn't understand them as they tell me the same life story they just told Jared (Jared had a translator) or any of the other 3 triage people. The people are mostly very nice and sweet. There are some people that are clearly city people, and some that are the Peruvian version of hillbillies.

 Women with babies all carry them on the backs in this universally used pouch system. The kids until about 3 years old hang out in these pouches without fussing. I equate it to car seats in the US - kids are stuck in those for unknown times and don't really complain. The babies are adorable with red ruddy cheeks and homemade knit clothes. They do not like leaving their mommas, even for OB appointments. We are also seeing a lot of breastfeeding (still makes Jared uncomfortable). Tell Gracie it would be very difficult to bring one of these babies home because I can hardly hold one, much less sneak them into my luggage.

The worst thing I dealt with today was the cheaters. There were some people that would cut lines or wait for a doctor they didn't need to see. They have this desperation that they won't be seen, or they won't get enough time. It's sad but really annoying. I had to use my mom voice a couple times to get people to go back in line. Maybe they can't see past my curly hair. I know they all want to touch it, but are too shy to ask. 

Because I was around triage today, I got to hear a lot of the general complaints: my ovaries hurt, my gallbladder hurts, my liver hurts. The worst one I overheard was, "she has a habit of falling off houses." As I might have told some of you, this region has a very high rate of domestic violence. It's true. However, in triage this was disguised as falling off motorcycles or falling off houses. It's considered a badge of honor by some women that are abused (he loves me so much, he beats me). In those cases, they were very honest about injuries as a result of abuse in triage.

The wait for OB was one of the longest, and partially because the practitioners in this area took the opportunity to talk about home life with these women. "Remember, you were made in the image and likeness of God and you are a princess. You are beautiful and worthy and no one should be allowed to hit you, even when they are drunk. You must teach your daughters that." In most cases, the women would cry or react emotionally. I'm not sure they have ever heard those words before. And from someone that has heard that all my life, it breaks my heart. No one minds the wait for OB.

Jared did amazing today. He was so fun to watch. The clinic saw 353 people today, so Jared probably met with 100 of them. He smiled at every one and took their hands. He introduced himself and then started asking questions. Several times I wanted the line of people to know that he was my husband. So, I would go give him smooch and the old ladies in line would nod in approval. I'm still not sure why I'm here, though.

EDITED 10/23/12

Jared, Justin, Teresa and some nursing students.  Part of the triage team, in the triage area.

A little girl who let me take her picture, but didn't want to smile, because she just had dental work done.  Poor thing - I've had a lot of dental work done when I was her age and I remember how it feels.

Adrian, a resident from Mexico, checking out a patient.

This beautiful old woman who let me take her picture.  I told her we were hair twins.

I made her take a picture with me because we were hair twins.  She was one of the only people there with curly hair.   I think she liked me.

Nestor & Justin.  Nestor was a fantastic translator.  He lives in Colorado, but he is from Lima.

That same old woman waiting for the doctor.   She was very photogenic.

Ken & Sergio working with some patients outside the clinic.

I got to pass out rosaries but I couldn't remember how to say God Bless You.  So I wrote it on my hand, and in some cases, just showed my hand to people.  Worked like a charm.