Getting Started in the OR

Today, as usual, was a whirlwind of operating, getting new folks oriented to the OR and hospital, and seeing patients in the clinic in between surgeries.  We saw an additional 11 patients and got our three scheduled surgeries done.  We were able to schedule two more patients for a current schedule of three major surgeries tomorrow and one on Sunday.  There were also a few clinic procedures we were able to get done.

Thankfully, all of the OR cases today went smoothly—please continue praying for Natalia, Maria, and Manuela in their continuing recoveries.  We will check on them again after our dinner and then hopefully crash for a good night’s sleep! 

Probably our cutest patient today was a little old lady—like, in every sense that phrase drums up in your heads!  She was 81, all kinds of stooped over and slow-moving, and cute as a button.  We ended up doing a quick biopsy on her that we are hoping will come back with good news.  But the cutest part was when Denise handed her a maxi pad since there might still be a little bit of bleeding—and she had no idea what to do with it!  I’m sure those types of things were not available when she was still needing them 😉

The quote of the day is probably when I told our scrub nurse that I knew it had been a long day, but falling asleep during the case really is not OK!  Sad but true story. 

Speaking of scrub nurses, though, those of you who know our sweet friend Alma, do please pray for her!  For those of you who don’t, she is the scrub nurse that has worked with me for 13 years now, and at the hospital for 36 years!  She’s not fast, super-great about sterile technique, or very safe with the needles and other sharp things on her table—but she will never, ever fail to show up when you need her!  And she will never fail to pray for the patients and truly care for them. 

She is working but didn’t scrub today, and really looks quite horribly ill.  The only thing she has been diagnosed with is severe gastritis despite many tests and seeing many doctors.  I actually asked the lab to draw a hemoglobin on her today because she looked so bad and was dizzy!  It came back OK, but definitely on the low side for women here at high altitude (we are at about 6900 feet).  Tom has looked at her as well, which makes me feel better.  But I really do worry about her.