Wednesday, we visited the hospital in choluteca. I had been a few times, but only to pick up paperwork or to drop off donations...so I was aware of the conditions and lack of resources (public hospitals are severely underfunded), like lack of lights and running water in many of the restrooms, the total absence of soap or biohazard bins, and, of course, the lack of private rooms for patients (like the hospital I went to in chile when I felt like I was on the verge of death...there was a big open room lined with table-beds where patients sat only a few feet from one another, and doctors walk down the aisles between beds to listen to symptoms).
But I got a deeper look at what was happening inside the hospital as we toured, and even stopped to observe and help in, the OR, maternity wing, and men's and women's wards. We got to see a birth, a liver operation, and clean wounds. Until coming here, I never realized how severe ulcers can be, I've seen so many people walking around with half their leg eaten away, WHAT! I was also shocked by a lot of the things I saw and heard in the maternity ward, including the fact that post birth, they don't let the mother and child (apparently having the father in the hospital at the time of birth just isn't a thing here) stay in the hospital more than two hours after the baby is born. I think the nurse who was explaining this to me was getting annoyed, because I asked her to clarify/repeat this about 15 times...are you SURE you don't mean two DAYS? Not even overnight? So many things about seeing the birth were really pretty traumatic, but knowing the average age of women having their first child here is 15 (explaining why i get such weird looks when people find out im in my 20s and dont have kids...) and that, especially in rural areas, it's not unusual to fund a family with 5+ kids, it made me feel incredibly queezy.
On to more positive thoughts, we brought several boxes of donations to the hospital and painted one of the many areas of the hospital that has been left with no love (maintenance). Also, we discovered a steep and narrow stairway to the roof of the hospital, which at about 5 stories up, is the tallest building in the city of choluteca, making for a pretty cool view.
Thursday was our beach day, so it was nice to relax on the beach, cool off in the water, and kayak around the ocean after a full full week. We couldn't have asked for a better day!
We have a couple of days to get rested up and prepare for the next group, and then ill be on my way home before I know it...
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