this has been an amazing day. This was our last clinic day and for sure the busiest. Good job we get more efficient at setting up and taking down.
Today's clinic was in the poorest part of the city of Iquitos. We took our bus to Belen which is the slum area of Iquitos. All the houses are built on 15 foot stilts or are built on logs, as the whole community is the flood plain in Feb, Mar, and Apr. when all the rainy season water of the Amazon finally reaches Iquitos. We carried heavy hockey bags of medical supplies across crude wooden bridges with no railings, 20 feet above gorges running with raw sewage about to go into the river. Finally down the same crude steps to the river´s edge to a sort of ferry for the people and a boat for the supplies. The ferry just rams into the soft bank, loads and the pasengers and helpers push it away from the bank. The Itaya River is not wide and very fast moving, and same dirty water as everywhere. The houses along the river are on logs and they reach out into the river for their water to wash dishes and clothes, they bathe in it and swim in it. The outhouse for all these houses in at the end of a short dock with a crude shelter for privacy, and everything goes into the river.
We went down the river a piece and landed on the other side of the river. The San Francisco Government officials met us in Belen and took us to the school where the clinic was to be located. The school was a cememt block or brick type building built on cement Pilons about 20 feet high. We could see the marks on the pilons and all the structures for the high water marks. All the supplies had to be carried up what would amount to 3 flights of stairs. When we got there the place was packed with people and we knew it would be a busy day. But we had great facilities. They had cleaned all the classrooms, dental got one, pharmacy another, eye glasses another and one for Dr. Bruce Tomlinson and another for all the nursing assessments. The dentist used a teachers desk as his ´chair bed´, had another for his surgical instruments, children´s desks for supplies and suction and hotplate with pressure cooker sterilizer plugged into separate electrical outlets. Dr Jerry thought he had hit the jackpot. With 2 nurses, a translator and Ross Penton to keep the sterilizer going, Jerry extracted a whopping 65 teeth. He never keeps count but we had a pool going on his output.
We saw 340 patients today! That is a record, but everyone did their job and only had a short break for lunch. After lunch there had to be 100 patients in the mdical line alone. I went out with my stethoscope to triage the line. We had run out of a few medications and had Rotary buy more supplies. I was able to send a handful home without treatment, picked out the ones who were sick to go in first, but in the end, everyone was seen.
What a thrill to work under the Peruvian flag and 2 Canadian flags hanging from the rafters. At the end of the clinic, I presented the Mayor with a Peruvian flag, thanks to Rotary Lima, and a Canadian flag, with appreciation from the Government of Canada. Then it was pack up once more and make the trek back to the hotel. The pool and a beer sure is welcome when we get home about 6 pm or after. These are long days.
All the volunteers have ben amazing professionals and the Rotarians extremely helpful.
Must get my weary body in bed as it is 11pm. We have a busy day again tomorrow as we will host a dinner for the Rotarians and the translators.
Today's clinic was in the poorest part of the city of Iquitos. We took our bus to Belen which is the slum area of Iquitos. All the houses are built on 15 foot stilts or are built on logs, as the whole community is the flood plain in Feb, Mar, and Apr. when all the rainy season water of the Amazon finally reaches Iquitos. We carried heavy hockey bags of medical supplies across crude wooden bridges with no railings, 20 feet above gorges running with raw sewage about to go into the river. Finally down the same crude steps to the river´s edge to a sort of ferry for the people and a boat for the supplies. The ferry just rams into the soft bank, loads and the pasengers and helpers push it away from the bank. The Itaya River is not wide and very fast moving, and same dirty water as everywhere. The houses along the river are on logs and they reach out into the river for their water to wash dishes and clothes, they bathe in it and swim in it. The outhouse for all these houses in at the end of a short dock with a crude shelter for privacy, and everything goes into the river.
We went down the river a piece and landed on the other side of the river. The San Francisco Government officials met us in Belen and took us to the school where the clinic was to be located. The school was a cememt block or brick type building built on cement Pilons about 20 feet high. We could see the marks on the pilons and all the structures for the high water marks. All the supplies had to be carried up what would amount to 3 flights of stairs. When we got there the place was packed with people and we knew it would be a busy day. But we had great facilities. They had cleaned all the classrooms, dental got one, pharmacy another, eye glasses another and one for Dr. Bruce Tomlinson and another for all the nursing assessments. The dentist used a teachers desk as his ´chair bed´, had another for his surgical instruments, children´s desks for supplies and suction and hotplate with pressure cooker sterilizer plugged into separate electrical outlets. Dr Jerry thought he had hit the jackpot. With 2 nurses, a translator and Ross Penton to keep the sterilizer going, Jerry extracted a whopping 65 teeth. He never keeps count but we had a pool going on his output.
We saw 340 patients today! That is a record, but everyone did their job and only had a short break for lunch. After lunch there had to be 100 patients in the mdical line alone. I went out with my stethoscope to triage the line. We had run out of a few medications and had Rotary buy more supplies. I was able to send a handful home without treatment, picked out the ones who were sick to go in first, but in the end, everyone was seen.
What a thrill to work under the Peruvian flag and 2 Canadian flags hanging from the rafters. At the end of the clinic, I presented the Mayor with a Peruvian flag, thanks to Rotary Lima, and a Canadian flag, with appreciation from the Government of Canada. Then it was pack up once more and make the trek back to the hotel. The pool and a beer sure is welcome when we get home about 6 pm or after. These are long days.
All the volunteers have ben amazing professionals and the Rotarians extremely helpful.
Must get my weary body in bed as it is 11pm. We have a busy day again tomorrow as we will host a dinner for the Rotarians and the translators.
Hugs to all,
Jean
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