My first day in Centro de Salud

This post might be a little uncomfortable but here it goes. Today was my first day working in the Public Health Clinic. I promptly arrived at 7:55, 5 minutes early to be precise. Seems strange for Courtney right. But anyway my friend Brittany and I were waiting for the director to tell us what to do. We waited and we waited... We stuck out like sore thumbs. A nurse walked up to us, spoke to us at rapid speeds and dragged me away to a different area of the building. She was firing words at me that I probably did not even know in English, but I made do. She put me in triage from what I gathered. There were people in and out, old and young. I was lost. She handed me a stethoscope and said take that girls blood pressure... I think she was under the impression I was a nurse. I felt so inadequate at that moment in time. She looked at me like "Geez frickin American girl!" It was depressing I must say. The lack of understanding on both our parts created a huge barrier for both of us. I basically sat in a chair for two hours after watching two nurses bustle around, as I sat there helplessly. Depressing, like I said. But the director came, there was some confusion, then the nurse kind of apologized and then she started to show me things. From there it was a whole new world! She showed me how to take blood pressures, weights (seems simple right but their scale is outdated and picky) and how to give injections. It was amazing. I understand every 4th or 5th word but we got along. By the end of the morning we were making jokes with each other. 

The difference in organization between a clinic in the US and here is tremendous. It puts life in perspective . The papers are completely disorganized, people are given numbers, in order to be seen by the doctor but who knows if they actually follow them. For part of the morning I saw a lot of little kids and mothers. We had to take all their vitals with the most outdated equipment and the idea of anti-bacterials did not exist. I took out stitches from this kid's eyebrow and proceeded to wash the equipment in the sink. The gap in health care here and the US is amazing. After lunch we had about fifteen patients with these miniature notebooks that they would clip with their file. I had no idea what the heck was inside them so I asked my attending nurse. She told me they were the books of the mujeres(women) that were prostitutes. In order to work they had to be checked every 15 days and receive a stamp to continue working. A stamp... 

I gave about 13 syphilis shots today. I was set back for a minute. All these women were women I had seen in the street ( not working) or in a restaurant and now they were getting their stamp of "approval" if you will. It was hard to accept. I wanted to reach out to them but for the most part it was the only way they could support their family. Made me appreciate my life and all the things and opportunities I have had. So after our fifteen patients left we had about an hour of free time. My nurse who we shall call Lily taught me how to dance Salsa, Meringue, and Tango! It was pretty awesome. She is probably my new Guatemalan best friend. She was excited that I was excited to learn. My next visit I will be traveling with one of the doctors to a couple different small towns to administer help and after that I will be back in the permanent clinic. Another great experience. Hope all is well with everyone and I miss you all! :)