We started the day with more Dosa and I can't even tell you how sick we are of this stuff. We all swallowed as much as we could while discussing things like syrup and bacon. Probably not the best ides when all you have is flat bland bread and spicy dipping sauces, but we passed the time with day dreaming.
We went to a village and I was the dressing undo-er. If they have previous dressings I cut them off and send them to the washing stations. It was going as normally as possible but then a man came in who could not stand so he scooted on a little pillow everywhere he went. He was also almost entirely blind. His dry skin was coated in flies and he had wrappings on both elbows and knees. The line had slowed down and he was the last one in so I brought all of my supplies to him on the ground and called over three other girls. I started undoing all of his wrappings and he had the biggest ulcers I had seen outside of the hospital. Instantly the flies started attacking the raw skin and we all grabbed washing rags and got to work.
After the washing was done I held a clean wet rag to the biggest ulcers on his elbows so that flies wouldn't get to it and infect it. Bri oiled his skin and the other two girls worked on the sores under his knees.
The image of all four of us on the dirty ground caring for this man will always be with me. It is easy to judge people. It is easier to judge people who are different than you, but it is difficult to judge people while serving them. We were lost in service for this man. He was completely vulnerable and poor and dirty. We went down to his level and did everything we could to help ease his suffering. We got the head nurse to come wrap his ulcers before all others in line so that the flies would not get into them. This in itself is a miraculous thing. In India a line doesn't mean much. You have to push your way into a bathroom stall because it is survival of the fittest here. We demand a line in our clinics and it is followed but for this man's fellow villagers to allow him to go first after they had waited for 20 minutes is amazing. They truly are compassionate people - especially in the rural areas where we were at.
After this man was helped everything was done except the long line of those waiting for their wounds to be wrapped. Bri and I asked if we could set up another wrapping station. The surprising part - the head nurse said yes! She usually didn't let us do the wrapping part so it was an amazing opportunity. I had never worked this station before so Bri directed me and we got a lot of people taken care of. It was great nursing skills practice.
After the colony we went to this awesome place: Five Falls. We went on basket boats down this river next to these waterfalls and it was beautiful. We saw enormous bats hanging from these big trees - creepy. There were monkeys and goats everywhere as well. It was a lot of fun and a good break.
We traveled home after that and got in pretty late and went to sleep.
We went to a village and I was the dressing undo-er. If they have previous dressings I cut them off and send them to the washing stations. It was going as normally as possible but then a man came in who could not stand so he scooted on a little pillow everywhere he went. He was also almost entirely blind. His dry skin was coated in flies and he had wrappings on both elbows and knees. The line had slowed down and he was the last one in so I brought all of my supplies to him on the ground and called over three other girls. I started undoing all of his wrappings and he had the biggest ulcers I had seen outside of the hospital. Instantly the flies started attacking the raw skin and we all grabbed washing rags and got to work.
After the washing was done I held a clean wet rag to the biggest ulcers on his elbows so that flies wouldn't get to it and infect it. Bri oiled his skin and the other two girls worked on the sores under his knees.
The image of all four of us on the dirty ground caring for this man will always be with me. It is easy to judge people. It is easier to judge people who are different than you, but it is difficult to judge people while serving them. We were lost in service for this man. He was completely vulnerable and poor and dirty. We went down to his level and did everything we could to help ease his suffering. We got the head nurse to come wrap his ulcers before all others in line so that the flies would not get into them. This in itself is a miraculous thing. In India a line doesn't mean much. You have to push your way into a bathroom stall because it is survival of the fittest here. We demand a line in our clinics and it is followed but for this man's fellow villagers to allow him to go first after they had waited for 20 minutes is amazing. They truly are compassionate people - especially in the rural areas where we were at.
After this man was helped everything was done except the long line of those waiting for their wounds to be wrapped. Bri and I asked if we could set up another wrapping station. The surprising part - the head nurse said yes! She usually didn't let us do the wrapping part so it was an amazing opportunity. I had never worked this station before so Bri directed me and we got a lot of people taken care of. It was great nursing skills practice.
After the colony we went to this awesome place: Five Falls. We went on basket boats down this river next to these waterfalls and it was beautiful. We saw enormous bats hanging from these big trees - creepy. There were monkeys and goats everywhere as well. It was a lot of fun and a good break.
We traveled home after that and got in pretty late and went to sleep.
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