Some days in Honduras are more action packed than others

Currently I am sitting at an internet cafe just outside the Tegucigalpa airport, killing time. I have three hours until my flight leaves, bound for Chicago and then to my best friend, Allie Markland´s wedding. My world here is so different that it is absolutely bizarre to think that in a few hours I will be in the land of the free and the brave. America : ) That is not what this blog is about though. Although America is fantastic, there is still so much to say about Honduras.


Yesterday began as a pretty typical day. I worked in the clinic and went to the primary school in La Venta to do some well child checks. This time we handed out antiparasite meds, multivitamins, and lice shampoo. For those that have read my previous blogs, you will know that I am a highly experienced lice shampooer! We saw 43 kids this time. Over all the morning was relaxed and smooth. Todo tranquilo.


Yesterday afternoon was a different story. It began as a typical afternoon. I started working in the clinic at 3, saw a few patients, patched up some scrapes, and then settled down to a lovely coffee break with the other nurses. It was at this time that the man at the front gate of the Ranch radioed the clinic to tell us that there had been an accident on the road right in front of the ranch. A car and a pick up collided, and at least 2 people had been thrown from the back of the truck. I had a few minutes to gather all necessary supplies and then they sent a car for Dr. Merlin and I to head down to the road. When we arrived, Manuel (a driver from the ranch) had already brought the ambulance. Overall there four people injured in the accient. Three of them were NPH employees that I know quite well. We checked everyones injuries, stabelized them an then took off in the ambulance to the hospital.

Two of the men, who work in the farm at NPH, had various cuts and scrapes, and also possible ankle and leg fractures. Another, the only one not employeed by NPH, had a dislocated shoulder and a few other minor injuries. The fourth man had the most serious injuries. He had been thrown from the truck and landed a good distance away right in the middle of the road. He had various deep cuts on his face, a possible fractured skill, possible fractured ribs, a fractured pelvis, and maybe a fractured femur. We did what we could with the medications we had with us to calm the pain and stablize him until we arrived at the hospital. It took us about an hour and 15 minutes, flying through the rain at top speed, to arrive at the nearest hospital in Tegucigalpa. We took the three ranch employees to Hospital Seguro, the hospital for the insured, and the other man to Hospital Escuela. When we arrived at the Seguro I was amazed. I hadn´t been there before and I was astounded at how much nicer and more modern it is than the public hospitals. Even so, it is not up to par with American standards. Basic supplies still sometimes are lacking, and you have to sign the patients in to prove they have the universal employement insurance before any doctors or nurses will even touch them. It doesn´t matter how gravely you are injured, you still have to wait. We got all of the men signed in and informed the doctors and nurse about what had happened. We waited to make sure everyone was indeed being taken care of and stable and then we took off to take the other man to the public hospital, Hospital Escuela.



When we arrived at Hospital Escuela it was like a smack in the face back to reality. I knew that the Seguro hospital was too good to be true. The majority of Hondurans do not have the benefit of recieving the government insurance and therefor must use Hospital Escuela. The ER was packed with people laying on gurnees and stretchers, many on the floor. People were everywhere bleeding and vomiting with terrible terrible injuries. It was truly disgusting. I have spent quite a bit of time in the public hospitals here, but last night seemed particularly crowded and bad. I felt so badly that this man coming from the exact same town, circumstances, and accident did not have the right to recieve the same quality of care that the others did. One of the residents working in the ER recognized me from all of my previous visits to the hospital. A tall white girl tends to stick out in a sea of injured Hondurans. The resident came over and immediately attended to my patient. It was a great stroke of luck. If he hadn´t recognized me and been kind enough to help, the man could have easily spent over 8 hours waiting in the ER. As it was, the resident signed him in an sent him immediately back to orthopeadics.


It was about 8:30 pm when everyone was properly admitted to there respective hospitals and Merlin, Manuel, and I were ready to head back to the Ranch with the ambulance. We were all so relieved that everyone seemed to be doing well and no one was in a life threatening situation. We made a quick swing through the drive through at Pollo Campero (we were too dirty and bloody to make an enterance in a restaurant) and made our way back to the Ranch.