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The update: Andy, Laura, and Luke
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November 1
We have gotten into a
bit of a routine, at least Luke has with his naps. Andy has been
doing some carpentry work with leftover wood, in addition to seeing
patients; I have been sewing curtains with a few of the excess sheets
from the clinic; and my mom has been helping with organization and
cleaning, specifically scraping mortar off the floor tiles, helping
with laundry, and helping with Luke.
November 13
Everyday is an adventure here! It is hard to make plans because
they are always changing. Yesterday, the O'Deas left for
Tegucigalpa in the morning in order to renew their tourist visa.
They left after helping Andy with a young patient who had gotten
her hair stuck in a meat grinder. After sending her off for the
three-hour truck ride to La Esperanza, the O'Deas left.
Meanwhile, Andy was here attending to a pregnant lady who had
come in that morning, as well. About 30 minutes after they left,
she started having eclamptic seizures. So Andy was here by
himself attending to this lady who desperately needs to get to the
hospital (three hours away). We find out that the ambulance and
the two trucks left behind at the clinic are non-functional; so the
lady's family has to find their own ride to the hospital. She
gets loaded up on a mattress pad in the back of a pickup (under the
grueling sun). Andy has to stay behind because he is the only
doctor here (Dr. Ruben was away for his week off and was to return that
afternoon). As soon as this one patient leaves, another pregnant
lady shows up in labor along with a host of other patients. I
tried to help as much as possible by pulling charts, getting
temperatures and weights, and trying to bring Andy his breakfast.
Today, we found out that the O'Deas are being deported to Miami!
They tried to get their visa renewed but were rejected and have
to fly tomorrow to the States for four nights, which is a turn of
events which they had not expected. The tourist visa stipulates
that one can only stay within the country (and surrounding countries)
for three months, at which point one has to leave the country (and
surrounding counties) for four nights. The O'Deas had already
gotten their visa renewed once. Needless to say, you never know what
the day will hold. They will return on Sunday, the same day we
will return from San Pedro Sula with my in-laws.
Luke has started to laugh and smile a lot, especially for me! He
is slowly getting into a nighttime routine, as far as sleep and
feedings go. He has also found his hand, which means that the
pacifier or "fooler" is less necessary.
November 28
We just got back from
taking Becky and Malcolm to the Tegucigalpa airport after they had
spent a week with us, painting, cleaning, taking care of Luke, and
helping with the big Thanksgiving dinner. It is always nice to
have visitors, especially family. It will be the first time we
have been without parents for four months!
Right now, Olga, our Spanish teacher, is staying with us; so we aren't
completely without house guests; but we are getting closer. Olga
has been meeting with each of us individually for two hours a day to go
over our Spanish and help us improve. She corrects us as we speak
and reminds of us our grammar.
We had a great Thanksgiving feast, complete with turkey and pumpkin
pie. James killed Senor Pavo on Thanksgiving morning (because the
electricity was not so reliable, i.e. he needed to be fresh) with his
machete. Christy and I cooked up mashed potatoes, green beans,
sweet potatoe casserole, carrots, rolls, stuffing, and pumkin pie.
We invited the clinic staff to join us, along with Maria and her
family. A good time was had by all. Everyone was stuffed!
The next day, we had leftovers and turkey soup.
It actually got COLD in Honduras. It is "winter" and
people pulled out their wool hats, their gloves, and coats. We
had to keep the windows closed at night to stay warm! Having just
sent any long-sleeve shirt/jacket home with my mom, I was poorly
prepared for the change in weather. However, a week later the
heat is back and my wardrobe is completely functional.
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