Day Three
Day 3 in Nicaragua began with another exciting water excursion on panga boats to an island community just across the bay from Bluefields. We quickly unloaded each boat and were met by a few small tuk tuks (rickshaws) that carried some of our supplies to the clinic site while all of us set off on foot to greet the people of El Bluff.
We set up clinic in a beautiful church and had full use of the pastor’s home next door. By Day 3, we were well orchestrated and soon welcomed our first patient. The dental team really rocked today — they acted like long lost friends who needed very little help communicating… even though they had to have multidirectional translations between Swedish, Miskito, Spanish, English and Creole in a very small space!! The toothbrushing education was in full swing early in the day with children chewing red and purple tablets (donated by various dental offices) and brushing their teeth out in the open in front of the clinic.
The majority of patients today inquired about their blood pressure in triage. It’s encouraging to see people in a community being proactive concerning their health. It’s even better that our providers can further instruct them on how to take care of themselves. One patient today was hypertensive; her blood pressure was out of control. Ali decided to accompany this woman to the local health clinic to provide her with all the additional medications needed to control her blood pressure and to essentially save her life. Without the team’s initiative, this woman may have never known what serious danger her life was in… until it was too late!
We saw a surprising amount of young adults with knee, ankle, and shoulder injuries, and after digging deeper we found out that this small community is well known for producing many soccer and softball athletes.
Brita accompanied a patient to make a house call to see a gentleman who’d had a leg amputation several years ago. He had not been able to wear his prosthetic leg due to the silicone sleeve causing severe skin irritation. Additionally, he has been unemployed on and off and unable to provide for his family. A set of crutches allowed him to get around the house without his prosthesis, and one of our doctors recommended some creams to help with the skin irritation. With everyone’s help, this gentleman can go on to work and provide for his family, which means the world to him.
We went on to see more than 400 patients again today! Wow!
After we packed up clinic, we had an exciting excursion to the beach on the Carribbean coast of the island, which was only a short walk away. Our team enjoyed the beautiful ocean view — and some even participated in some seaside acro-yoga!
After our boat ride back, a few members of our team conversed with local health officials on what else we could do to help their healthcare situation. Life-saving things many of us take for granted — such as EMS personnel coming at the touch of 3 numbers on your phone — our Nicaraguan friends lack. During this conversation, it was brought to our attention that the individuals who make up the local EMS teams have very little training. On the ambulances, there are no c-collars or spine boards to protect a patient in the event of a spinal injury. Through donated equipment and financial support, we hope to provide some of this life-saving education and equipment in the near future.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates and photos, and thank you so much for your continued support!
P.S. — Oh, one more nugget about today… the pharmacy team had to operate entirely with the help of headlamps for a good chunk of the morning — because there was absolutely no light in their area. What a challenge that was… but the team handled it with grace and a smile. MacGyver Mark came to the rescue by stringing a brand new electrical line in the ceiling! It was a sight to see for sure.