Week 4 Complete :-D

Well you can definitely tell I've lost my momentum for blogging!haha Partially because I don't want to bore you with the same old stuff....dengue fever, the amazing fruit, plethora of bugs! And also because I didn't do anything crazy this weekend :-(

I was supposed to go zip lining/cave-tubing yesterday but the tour company didn't receive my email confirmation in time and overbooked....so I agreed to go today (Sunday) instead. Unfortunately the other people in the group backed out last minute and they require at least two people per excursion. This left me with two options, pay double or not go at all. I chose the latter. These excursions are already ridiculously overpriced and it didn't seem worth it to pay double! So now I'm just chillin, thinking of all of the other things I could be doing right now...except I'm not. My last weekend in San Ignacio kinda turned into a dud, but I've slept lots, relaxed, and studied for the first time all rotation!

And I can't really be THAT bummed because in THREE days Paul is coming :-D!!!  It surprisingly took a lot of convincing to get him to come...I guess I told him too much about the bugs and the heat which scared him away. He's getting in late Weds night and staying in San Ignacio in a little guesthouse with A/C. I told him he couldn't come to Belize without going to the ATM cave and at least one of the Maya ruins. I'm gonna plan him two adventure packed days...and then we head to the Cayes for the last 3 days. Ahh, I can't wait!!! I've worked a few Sundays so that I could take my last official day off and it will totally be worth it!

This week at the hospital picked up...finally!!! I worked more with Dr Hailu and got to do my FIRST reductions, apply lots of casts, and I assist him with an extensor tendon rupture repair. So fun! We also sent two more patients to Belize City for platelet transfusions due to dengue hemorrhagic fever. We had a lady come in complaining of decreased hearing; we looked inside her ears and saw a ridiculous amount of hard cerumen. We sent her home with ear wax softening drops and told her to return in 4 days to flush out her ears...it was so gross! Multiple globs of cerumen the size of dried pinto beans came out of her ears!!! We also had an older lady come in with a stroke and a young, postpartum women (32 yo) come in with a PE...she had been diagnosed with a DVT several days prior at a different hospital and decided to go home before she completed treatment. I don't think the risks were fully explained to her!

Yesterday I took it easy because I THOUGHT I was gonna be all adventurous today....it felt sooo good to sleep in. I woke up at 1030am and ate fresh coconut rolls from Maggie. Oh my goodness, they were easily the BEST thing I've eaten all trip. Imagine a buttery, gooey cinnamon roll but instead of cinnamon and nuts it has freshly grated coconut and a delicious syrup. I ate two, it was hard to stop!!! I made a quick trip into town to get some fresh pitaya and star fruit from the market....I've been trying to eat just fresh fruit for dinner to be healthier, with the occasional coconut ;-) I also found my new FAVORITE ice cream shop....its on the street behind the main street and has a little pink sign that says "Ice Cream Shop." It is more pricey than the other places but their sour sop ice cream is to die for!

Okay, it wouldn't be a legit blog without a shout-out to the bugs. I learned the hard way that the little ants here like electrical wiring...I came home to find a trail of ants going across my bed, down my charger cord and all over and inside my computer!!! I literally squished ants for hours...on my sheets, pillow, and crawling out of my key board. I googled it, and yes, it is a thing. They've been known to completely destroy electrical circuits and hard drives!!! I created a "safety haven" by spraying a big rectangle of 100% Deet on my desk...I place my computer inside each morning before going to work. So far, it has worked! I hate to say it, but my battle with the massive cockroach still continues. I swear he has 10 lives!!! I thought I got him TWICE this week, but both times he got away. The tarantula that go in my room was not so lucky....one smack with my flip-flop and he was toast. I promise I'm not a crazy insect murderer, as long as they're not in my room or living space, they can live a good life...I just can't risk them crawling across my face in my sleep or pouncing on me when I'm in the shower. Not okay! My final insect encounter of the week was with a wolf spider....except at the time, I didn't know what it was. I just saw a huge black shadow crawl under my door. My first thought was "ahhh, another tarantula." I jumped off my bed and smacked it with my flip-flop....the spider scurried away but exploded with HUNDREDS OF BABY SPIDERS!!!! I froze for a few seconds before realizing what happened...I thought I had disrupted an ants nest in the floor or something. As the tiny spiders scrambled everywhere, I grabbed my Deet and sprayed the floor ferociously until I nearly passed out. Is this real life?! You better believe I was itching all night last night just thinking about it! Maybe the universe is trying to tell me to just become friends with all of these crawlers....