Did it Work???

If you can see this then I finally figured out to post pictures!

Lorraine practices her suturing skills on an oh so "unkosh" pigs foot.

Sarah sutures a head lac on her bus vs bike accident patient.

Truly Impressive

Hello all! I know it's been quite a while since anyone has posted on this site but we have been keeping these poor gals very busy. Now that I've finally figured out how to post, I thought I would give you all an update.
Alina and I (April, the lone grad. student) arrived home after a great deal of canceled flights and delays very early on Friday morning. Sadly my Mariachis never came to abduct me nor was my passport stollen so I'm back to working at the hospital and Alina has begun her second half of clinicals locally.
Any and all parents, spouses, children, significant others, ect... reading this blog should be extremely proud of your student. These are truly annointed wonderful women of God. Not only have they proven themselves clinically but they have also been blazing lanterns of God's greatness and overwhelming love for His precious people.
Clinically, all of the students have learned to suture and most of them (if not all) have had the opportunity to suture an actual patient. They have also been developing some great assessment skills, thanks to Dr. McSuave. Angela was able to put into practice what she learned in our impromptu backboarding lesson when her boarded patient began to vomit. Way to go Angela! Kim wowed McSauve with her outstanding stitching. Sarah was brave enough to trade clothing with me for a day. Alina has been boldly (yet tactfully) witnessing to everything that moves. Alessandra has been repeatedly having the "best day of her life". Carrie has been very outgoing in using her language skills not to mention her super sweet Bible reading over skype with Joe. Lorraine has turned out to be little miss surgical nurse. Jessica, in deep devotion to Kyle, managed to fight off an attempted Mariachi abduction. And Beth has been working feverishly to give us all (me included) the best clinical opportunities of our lives even to the point of lending herself to us a patient. (Wasn't it Alessandra who sutured her finger? I think...)
Praise the Lord for His work being done across the nations and in the lives of our students. To God be the glory for ever and ever.
Blessings and Shalom,
April

A self defense lesson with Dr. McSuave.

Angela gets her revenge.

Practicing backboarding in preparationg for ambulance rides.

Angela assisting Doctor Claudia with a saw accident wound.

Lorraine scrubbing a wound.

Busy, busy week

Packaging gloves to put them in the sterilizer.

Jessica with her admirer at church.

A truck full of ice and unpackaged chicken!

It has been a busy week in the clinic! We have seen, done, and tasted much. We have found that we love Mexico and our all making our best efforts to learn Spanish. Today we even g0t to learn how to do sutures. Though, of course some had already done them on patient's including Alessandra putting two in Beth's thumb after she sliced herself cutting an avocado.

We really enjoy working in the clinic, mostly we have seen various wounds: children slamming fingers in doors, young men hurting themselves on machinery, and a few broken bones. The staff at the clinic are very friendly and let us do as much as we want, which includes cleaning and wounds, putting in and remove sutures, assessing patients, and learning to package and sterilize gloves and gauze. We are definitely learning more than we would back in Washington! Dr. Arrenas, the doctor we work with most often, specializes in reconstructive-type surgeries and in pushing (or rathering thumping) bones back in to place. We started calling him Dr. McSuave.

Most days we meet in Beth and April's room for devotions around 9 or 9:30. We make it to the clinic by 11 am (Mexico time). Lunch happens around 2 pm or 3 pm and lasts about an hour. Clinicals wrap up around 8 pm and we head back to the hotel. We have this one taco place down the road that we eat at every night, it is wonderful! Our favorite dish is tacos al pastor, which is an open faced tortilla with pork (cut from a spit), pineapple, onion, and cilantro, it is amazing!

We hope that all of you back home are doing well!
Dios le bendiga!

The team visiting the Aztec pyramids.















Our hosts Carrie and Carlos.

Waiting at SeaTac forever! From izquierda a la derecha: Beth (our instructor), April (our co-leader), Jessica, Angela, Carrie, Lorraine, Alina, Sarah, Alessandra, and Kim.

Days 1 and 2

Yesterday was another long, but never the less rewarding day. We slept in late (though not too late by Mexican standards. We went to a wonderful restaurant for breakfast, they have the best cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and really good machada (eggs with beef and onions). After that we went to the clinic that Carlos and Carrie (our hosts) help out at, there we sorted various medical supplies. It was like Christmas for us nursing students. After that we passed out fliers for the clinic in the surrounding neighborhood. That was fun though also challenging with our limited Spanish. I learned the great importance of not trusting Mexican drivers to stop when I cross the street. After that we went to Carrie and Carlos' house for dinner and then to Wal-mart to buy some team supplies. It ended up being a pretty full day.
Today we went to the pyramids, which were built by some unknown tribe aroung 100 BC-200 AD, then later taken over by the Aztecs. They were pretty amazing. There were vendors every where and lots of pretty trinkets for sale. Towards the end of the trip Angela, Jessica, and I were accosted by one vendor. He put Sombreros on our heads and blankets on our shoulders and took a picture of us near a giant Aloe plant (which I guess is what they use to make Tequila). After we refused to buy anything he followed us all the way out to the van. He finally left us alone after Angela bought a sombrero. We have lots of great pictures from the day that I am sure will look amazing in the new Health and Science Center building.