Hi hi!! I've
been having so much fun that I have been putting off writing my blog. Hmm
where do I start? So I did my week in the clinic with an alternative physician.
She was really great to work with. She has studied Chinese medicine and acupuncture
in China and herbalism in Spain. I am definitely going to remember the tender
way that she talked to her patients and the tenderness that she touched them with. Some of my duties at that clinic
included taking the needles out after an acupuncture session and also taking
blood pressure and applying herbs on to the body.
The last
week of my Child Family Health International program was at CRIT, (Centro de
Rehabilitación Infantil Teletón) a center for handicapped children in Oaxaca. They have
several CRITs in major cities around Mexico and try to build a new one every
year from funds that they raise in a major telethon every December. But
they are still pretty far in between if you don't live in a major city.
One mom that I saw had traveled 8 hours with her daughter to come to CRIT for
appointments for the day. Anyway the Crit facilities are amazing. Beautiful,
clean, latest technology, the staff where I worked with were all really good
with the kids and really compassionate. They have all types of physical
therapy including a huge pool for therapy, occupational therapy, dentists, art
therapy, psychiatrists, sports therapy, mechanical therapy with machines that I
don't understand , electrotherapy, all types of physicians etc etc... all
specialized to work with handicapped children. I have really been
noticing based on the clinics that I have been to, the technology and standards
of sanitation are a lot lower I think mostly because they don't have the
resources, but CRIT was right up there with the best centers Ive seen in the
US! I spent my time there working in the nursing station. I took a
lot of vitals signs on patients which was really good for practicing my numbers
in Spanish. Im really glad I got to do this program, I have learned so
much about the health care system here and got a chance to know Oaxaca which I
love more and more each day!
This last week I moved out of my host family's house and into an apartment
to stay here for another month or so, I am renting from a friend of my host
moms, who is cutting me a deal. I am
continuing with Spanish lessons twice a week with my amazing teacher and have
been volunteering at an organization called Oaxaca Street Children. They are an organization that provides kindergarten
for the kids that would otherwise probably be working on the street . They serve lunch to up to 80 children per
day, provide medical care when they have a nurse or doctor available and a
center for support. They also set up
sponsorships for people to financial support children though high school. I have been doing anything from going through
the clinic to check for expired medications, helping kids with their homework, translating
thank you letter from Spanish to English
from the child to their sponsors or helping
in the office.
I also had
a really cool experience this last week. One of the guys I worked with in the nursing
station at CRIT is also a paramedic for the Mexican Red Cross in the
nights. So he took me to work the other
night. I got to follow the doctors for a
while in the urgency area, then got to go to part of a paramedic's student class
and got to ride around Oaxaca in the ambulance with the paramedics all night
when they got a call. It was really
interesting and exciting!
I am still dancing away, have made a couple
new friends. My Spanish is improving, but not without several embarrassing
mistakes and miscommunications per day haha. My aunt Lili and her husband came to visit me
last weekend, so that was fun! I've been
taking pictures, just haven't been to a computer that will let me download them
onto the internet yet! I will go to an
internet café soon. Hope all is well
with everyone!
Until next
time.....
THERESE
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