We are blessed to have had fantastic results on both of the "vag-a-thons" we did today (that is our "term of endearment" for a long-- like, marathon-long-- vaginal surgery. Also known as a TVH with repairs and high uterosacral suspension for you gynecology geeks out there ;-)) As long as recovery goes as expected, these women will feel SO much better! I'll spare you the goriest details of why, but trust me... life will be more pleasant!
You all know that I love to teach, and it's been awesome to have Julia here to make me feel useful! (She's probably just humoring me-- she truly needs very little direction, but is definitely gaining valuable experience.) It really kind of makes it a "win-win" situation. I love the way God works that.
I have a few pictures to share-- and maybe a story or two... we'll see how it goes.
Here's some of Julia's pictures of our clinic set-up, both sides of the room. She especially made sure to include the "bucket system" for speculum storage-- the red bucket is for the dirty ones to make it easier to remember ;-)
OK, most interesting patient stories: We did get to explain to a patient and her husband today that the "urban legend" that is popular here-- that if you don't have your menstrual period for a while because of using birth control, it will eventually come out of your ears, eyes, and nose!-- is decidedly NOT true. This episode of "myth-busters" brought to you by a couple of OB/GYN residencies ;-) The man and his wife actually took time to specifically thank us for explaining to them why that cannot be true. Honestly, that felt great. THAT, my friends, is the essence of truly practicing the "art" of medicine-- working together with patients to find a solution that works for them is such a privilege.
Please pray for Tomasa. She is a 45 year old mother of TEN who I'm pretty worried might have cervical cancer. Her biopsies have been sent and follow-up arranged, but prayer is definitely the most powerful treatment that she has good access to, friends! She continues to weigh heavily on my mind tonight and is etched deeply in my memory... (It probably doesn't hurt that she has an adorable 4 year old granddaughter who happens to be named "Heidi", either...)
Also pray for Paulina and Santa, our surgical patients from today-- and the three ladies we will operate on tomorrow. Oh-- and you might also want to send some prayers of thanks that our sweet anesthesiologist, Dra. Iris, was able to catch the OR door before it feel straight on to Julia's head at the end of the first case! Seriously. It fell off of it's top hinges-- Yep, we broke the OR. It will be interesting to see when it gets fixed. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy the slightly better air flow from the missing door ;-)
One last photo-- this is sweet Santa, who we operated on today, and her adorable husband-- He must be quite proud of those dentures, because you never see him without a smile! I met them in August and commented on how lovely her "traje" or traditional dress was. He was in western clothes that day, but said that he often wears his traditional dress also. I asked him to wear it when he brought her back, and he did! I am totally smitten by this sweet couple, so here's a quick reminder of what it is all about in this photo:
Actually, I lied-- THIS photo here is REALLY what it's all about! I know it was probably inappropriate to snap the photo, but I was so. very. touched. by this man! He is the husband of Paulina, our first patient in the OR today and first patient in clinic yesterday. As soon as we put her up on the exam table to do her exam, he hit his knees. Right there in the middle of clinic on the hard tile floor, he prayed for her until after we were done. What an example of what a husband is called to be! May we all learn from this man-- most likely illiterate, but he knows what is important. Sometimes, that's all you need to know... God bless him and all who are reading this tonight!
No comments:
Post a Comment