While I should be working on what is essentially my undergraduate thesis paper, my mind continues to stray to the things I learned and saw in the Dominican. It feels like only a few weeks ago I was spending my days in the hospitals observing and learning but the reality is that we’re in the home stretch of the fall semester.
So since my brain is (or was when I began this two weeks ago now) a bit fried following a difficult organic chemistry exam (because, as far as I’m aware, there is no such thing as an easy O-Chem exam), let’s procrastinate for a bit together and return to my carefree, Caribbean summer days.
Following my week at the trauma hospital, which you can read about here, I moved to a maternal hospital where I would be for the remaining two weeks of my trip.
At the front of the hospital
Here I got to witness my first ever real-life-in-person birth. And y’all. It was the most amazing thing. I have dreamed of the moment when I would witness birth for the first time since I was about six years old and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. I get giddy all over again just thinking about it. Never had I felt so certain that I wanted to be involved in this process in some way for the rest of my life. An unexplainable thrill runs through my body just thinking about it. Birth is truly a miracle and to have the potential to play a role in the process and to get to witness the process for a living, it takes my breath away.
Week Two Crew with our mentor (center) and another English speaking doctor (third in from the right) who might as well have been one of the mentors
Heading into the OR
Feeling good after a busy afternoon of c-sections!
Week Three two of us had Grace (mentor in center) to ourselves!
The entire crew at Los Mina throughout week three. Two of us were with Grace (far right) and the other two girls were with my mentor from the week prior, Sev (third in from left).
Besides witnessing vaginal births, we got to see several c-sections. We explored the post-partum ward, pediatric ward, and NICU. We got to hold, feed, change, and dress babies. One of my favorite moments of week two was getting to deliver the newly born infants to their mothers. We made a trip with several babies to one of the post-partum wards and while we were finding the respective mothers for each babe, a young woman popped her head out of her room to see if we had her babe with us. She was so eager to hold him/her! Sadly, we didn’t have her baby with us that trip, but we were able to find out her name and headed back to the nursery to locate her babe. Getting to dress her baby and take him/her to her was such an honor.
Even though I was at a new hospital this week, things felt more familiar. I had fallen into the rhythm of placement the week prior and knew somewhat what to expect on a given day. Lots of standing and watching, lots of observing and learning. Lots of different patients with all sorts of backgrounds, many of which were heart-breaking. Weeks two and three also held a lot of joy, though. Joy because of new life, new image-bearers coming into the world, reflecting God and his creative glory. At the end of the day, you hope for two healthy patients rather than aiming to fix one broken one. It was just a different outcome at the maternal hospital, and I could not get enough.
After placement on Tuesday, I went to the Colonial Zone again. Wednesday we had another global health tutorial and some of us went to Tres Ojos (Three Eyes). Thursday we went to the orphanage. Friday and Saturday I stayed in and decompressed and Sunday involved more of the same plus welcoming the new students.
Tres Ojos (Three Eyes Caves)
The “boat” which would take us to a bonus pond
The caves essentially were partially enclosed ponds and caverns
There were also gardens and trails within the park to walk around
Was definitely a fun afternoon adventure with lots of beauty to see!
The only stray pup I pet on the trip (took so much self-control). She was such a sweet young pup though so starved for love and I couldn’t help myself any longer.
Of course she followed me afterwards, but thankfully got distracted by some other lingering dogs before we entered the hospital again so I was saved from having to close a door on her face.
Emerging into the morning light after a night shift in the ER at Dario (the hospital I was at week one).
The trip ended in a blur. On my last Thursday in the DR I took an extra shift at the hospital: a night shift in the ER at Dario Contreras. Elizabeth and I (pictured directly above) caught a few hours of sleep in an on-call room and then went on to our normal day placements for the next several hours.
After placement on Friday, most of the students headed to a beach about an hour east down the coast. We had dinner at a nice restaurant in the area after a few hours on the beach. The timing was perfect for this mountain-loving girl and the perfect end to twenty-five days in the Caribbean.
You better believe that the inflatable obstacle course was worth the $6 we paid for unlimited time to play on it.
Pelicano Beach
Izzie chillin’
Boca Marina for dinner
This trip was such an incredible experience; one I will never forget and am so thankful to have had. It challenged me, it stretched me, it grew me, and it affirmed my love for medicine and for childbirth. I think about the people and doctors I met in the DR often and let their hard work and perseverance drive me to pursue a medical career of my own so I can help people by caring for their bodies, and, hopefully, glorify the Lord through that care because our bodies matter and are pretty amazing creations worth caring for.
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