Thursday, November 13, 2008

Random Pictures and The Summit


The hospital: the laboratory and wash area for patients and families (no food is provided).




















Pictures from Volcan Pacaya (the hike we went on from Antigua) where there was real, live flowing lava. This is actually a view of another volcano that frequently sends off plumes of smoke.
































Before I describe the ascent of Volcan San Pedro, I'd like to report what I considered to be a frightening experience. It happened while I was on call last night. The Guatemalan doctor I was on call with was busy taking care of a patient with 2cd degree burns on his arm (the burns had occurred about 5 hours earlier but he had to keep working at the bakery until he arrived around 10PM to the hospitalito). Anyway, two women rush in and say there is an emergency but that the patient can't walk so can't make it in the hospital. An unconscious patient is embarrassingly enough already enough to freak me out. So somehow they carry in the patient -- woman, mid 20s -- while I'm trying to remember how to assess her. For some reason Dominga, the doctor on call, was not at all frantic about this and didn't even really move much from the burn patient. Anyway, the unconscious patient was found this way in her house and apparently something similar has happened in the past. She wasn't responsive to questions, but her vital signs were just fine. Finally, vigorous sternal rub produced some response. I couldn't ascertain any medical history and as it turns out she and her family agreed that it was an 'attack of nerves' brought on by her husband coming home drunk and fighting with her. So basically, all this to say she just fainted. Dominga and the nurse said that this happens quite frequently to women here in Santiago and that is why they weren't really concerned. Well, now I know.


Luckily the rest of the night was uneventful and I got plenty of rest because this morning we headed across the lake on a 7:00 AM boat to San Pedro to begin the hike up the volcano.We rode in the back of a truck to the entrance to the park which houses the volcano and arrived around 8. It was overall a rewarding hike but quite strenuous. We went with a guide (and there were armed police kind of trailing us). The guide wanted us to hurry up and get to the top because the cloud cover obscures the view in the afternoon. I was more of a slow and steady hiker which was good because otherwise I don't think I would have made it the 2-3 hours up the mountain. I don't that switch backs have really made it big here in Guatemala. The peak is at around 3000 meters, but the start of the hike is not at sea level. Never-the-less, it was more than enough for me! The view at the top was indeed mostly of clouds and not of the entire lake region, but by that time I was just happy to have made it :) The hike down was blissful by comparison to the way up.

After the hike we ate lunch outside overlooking the lake and then I got chocolate cake. Yum. I am currently working on the idea that I should shower before crawling into bed (it being
6PM and all I don't want to delay it any further)! Just one more day of work and then the weekend :) I am almost at the half-way point of my journey and am looking forward to coming home and seeing everyone again!

1 comment:

Bonnie said...

Wow, I can't believe that you're almost halfway through your trip! Your volcano excursion looks like a success. I loved your picture of the lab, too... Do you do any lab work over there?