Summer service camp day 2

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Our home province for the past 6 weeks!

 Today was the second day of summer service camp. Again, call time was 5 am, so Scott and I had to wake up at 4 am to make sure we got there in time. This was especially painful after sleeping at 1 am because we got addicted to a horrible show called Camelot on Netflix. The bus ride was about 3 hours long, and again, we had to cross the river delta. Scott and I both fell asleep, our heads bobbing to and fro to the motion of the bus. I was so tired when we arrived. My muscles and body felt so heavy and weak. Scott immediately went to buy some Vietnamese black coffee and drank it within a second. Though the coffee here is amazing, I can’t drink any because my body can’t handle caffeine well. I get the shakes, and I get nauseous. As before, people were lined up outside of the small hospital. They had all gotten tickets from the government, and they were eagerly awaiting for us to arrive.

Sunrise #2

Public bathrooms anyone? Just kidding, you have to pay.

The Summer Service Camp comes prepared with all of the medications, a dental clinic, a vitals stations, a pharmacy, OBGYN, and the doctors. People line up outside and are sent to the different providers, including Scott and me. After shadowing one day, Scott was ready to see patients. Scott and I sat on stools at a small rectangular table with one translator each in a large room with the rest of the providers. From morning until noon, we saw patient after patient and passed my stethoscope back and forth. I referred one old lady to the OBGYN station, where the specialist their examined her and let me perform my first pelvic examination.

We noticed that many of the problems were similar: headache lasting a few years, loss of appetite, epigastric pain, cough, itching, and stuffy nose. Occasionally we would get difficult cases where we would have to consult all the other doctors. These patients had either severely untreated diabetes, multiple co-morbidites, or some sort of crazy skin rash. Scott saw a young child whose skin was completely peeled away from the fingers, so much so that they were white compared to his tan skin. His feet were also peeling and covered in a strange black substance. No one in the room knew what he had, but we guessed he had some sort of fungal infection. Students from all the other stations ran up to take pictures of his hands and feet as he patiently waited. Behind the flashing of the cameras, his face was calm, slightly sad, and ignorant to what was going on around him.

Scott and I saw so many patients, we could barely keep count. We mostly gave them vitamins, pain medication, and anti-parasite as before. All of the children I saw were so quiet. They barely made a sound or a movement as I looked into their ears with an otoscope and listened to their hearts and lungs with the diaphragm of my stethoscope. The children would then get sent to dental screening where teeth were extracted or their cavities removed without local anesthetic. It was incredible, their stoic bravery.

I saw one very solemn boy. He was so cute. His hair was black and cut close to his head. His teeth were small and white. He was eleven years-old, but he looked as if he was six or seven. He looked underweight but otherwise healthy. I brightened up the mood by asking him to sit up on the table, and I hit his knee with my reflex hammer to elicit the knee-jerk reflex. His leg popped up and so did a huge smile. I did both his legs, his Achilles tendon, triceps, and biceps. He loved it. I asked him to promise me that he would try to eat more and drink water to stay healthy. He happily nodded yes. 

The medical provider team

We broke for lunch. Their were large pots filled with Vietnamese food: thit kho (simmered pork in fish sauce), khanh chua (sour soup), and fried fish. We ate with the other medical students until we couldn’t eat anymore. Scott subsequently downed another cup of iced coffee to get us through the rest of the day. From 1 pm until 4 pm, we saw countless other patients. I took their chief complaint and history of present illness (HPI) in Vietnamese and listened to their problems. My translator sat next to me and helped to prepare the otoscope and thermometer for me any time I needed it. People would come in with abdominal pain, and I would perform the special abdominal exams for appendicitis on the exam table that I had to borrow from other medical students. Though I felt like I wasn’t do much for the patients, they were extremely appreciative of our help. They would shake my hand, grabbing one of my hand with two of theirs. As a group, we saw over 500 patients at the clinic. Though I appreciate the idea of service provided by the summer camp, I question its sustainability. The medications we give them will only last two months at most. They will run out by summer’s end only to find themselves in pain again, unable to eat again, or with worms in their intestines again. However, I am still appreciative of the experience, and I am glad of the service we provided. Maybe by the end of two months, another service group will stop by to refill their prescriptions.

Scott, Audrey, and Ngan

Scott, Dr. Ed (medical director), and Audrey

At the end of the day, all of the volunteers were relieved. It was the last day of service camp. Scott and I only accompanied them to two missions, but they had been working for 2 weeks straight. It was tiring work. Everyone clapped and cheered, and we were ready to head back to the restaurant to eat. As before, everyone fell asleep on the bus. Scott and I were on the yellow bus, and the driver had a reputation of being crazy. He had been hired by PVNF for 2 weeks. He honked more than I have ever heard anyone honk here in Vietnam. He literally had his hand on the horn the entire 3 hour ride. He also drove extremely fast. When we looked out of the window, we could see him barely skimming past the motorbikes on the streets. We made it back safely and sat down, eagerly awaiting food. A few speeches were made by the leaders of PVNF summer service camp. The Vietnamese volunteers, like Ngan, were called up and given certificates of appreciation. Finally, the food came out, and our table cleaned up every plate. We even went to other tables and asked for their left-over food. During dinner, a beautiful slideshow was shown. The pictures were taken by a professional photographer, and they looked so professional. Scott and I headed back to shower and get dressed for going out with Quoc, Thu, and some other friends.

Having fun

Richard gets to be tall for a day

We met them at their hotel around 10 pm and headed to a nearby “pub.” It was more like a small restaurant with many mini chairs and tables outside. We went with Quoc, Thu, and another couple. When we sat down, someone was singing into a microphone and out of a large boombox. A man came up to sell us some peanut candy, which we bought, and at which point we realized that he was the man singing! I have never seen anyone sing while selling candy. We were all laughing so hard. We ordered a pitcher of beer that was brewed locally, and it didn’t taste too bad. Three other PVNF volunteers joined us later after their dinner of snake and snake blood. Scaudrey has been daring, but not daring enough to try exotic foods like that. Over dinner we talked about many things. At all of the restaurants, little children holding bowls of fruit come up and try to persuade you to buy with their cuteness, and the look at you with big, brown eyes to elicit pity. It works. I always want to buy from them because they look so cute, and I feel so bad that they have to work, but I never actually do. A little girl stopped by our table selling lotus seeds Thu, a Vietnam expert, bought some. I had seen these green cactus-looking plants and had been wondering what they were. It turns out that they were lotus seeds. You have to pop the seeds out which have a soft velvety green shell. Once you peel that off, the seed is inside, and it’s a creamy white, soft and crunchy at the same time. Once inside that, you have to avoid eating the green thing (I don’t know what it is) because it is very bitter. Overall, it’s quite an interactive task to eat just one lotus seed. It’s almost not worth it, but it give you something to do.

We drank a few pitchers among the seven of us, and the total cost came out to less then $4 USD. We were all astounded. It cost $4 USD for a crappy bottle of beer in the States. We took a group picture outside of the pub, and we all headed home after a long day’s work. Scott and I told Ngan we wouldn’t be working until 1 pm the next day. We all needed our sleep.

-Audrey

A fun group drinking fresh beer

Meandering home