Working as a Translator in Merida

Hey guys! So during the PWB 2014 trip to Merida, Mexico I had the opportunity to work as a translator and checking patients in for the first couple of days of the trip. Even though it is not as medically-oriented, I learned a ton. I have a decent knowledge of Spanish, but I had to re-learn my alphabet fast, as I spelled out patients names. Plus, everyone had tons of questions or they didn't know which doctor they needed to see, so I learned medical terminology in Spanish as well. One of my favorite memories from this position was sitting in one of the pueblos surrounded by a group of old women who were waiting to be called, and just talking with them. These women were older and were sharing their life stories with me as well as giving advice all in Spanish. I was just impressed by their willingness to be so open with me as well as how patient all of our patients were, since some waited all day for their appointments and they did not normally get rude about the wait. In the last couple of days I was able to do more medically-oriented work (Which was tons of fun!), however I  am really happy for the initial first couple of days since I learned a lot about the people that we were helping and their culture, my own Spanish ability, as well as that I really enjoyed working with people. So all in all, this was a great trip! :)

PWB Mexico Trip - Day 1

Yesterday the group started out with an orientation in the morning and then we got divided into two groups and worked at Merida Church 60 and Merida Church 61. Each church had two dentists, one physician, and one opthamologist. We will be getting divided into these two groups everyday in order to cover more ground and help more patients across the region. The physician, opthamologist, and dentist each had a pair of students to assist them as they saw patients and had the opportunity to perform minor tasks such as passing and cleaning utensils. Furthermore, these students had the opportunity to witness tooth cleanings, tooth extractions, and conducted eye exams. Some students assisted the nurse in taking vital signs to prepare them for the doctor. Another group of students worked to create a makeshift pharmacy where all the patients who saw the doctors came to fill their prescriptions. Others worked as translators with the patients, bringing them from the waiting area to the exam rooms. When the work day was completed the group went to a central plaza downtown near the worksite. The plaza was hosting a festival and we had the opportunity to exchange dollars for pesos and shop in the countless "tiendas" in the square. This was followed by a traditional Mexican meal at Los Trompos.

Mexico Trip 2014!!

In four days, twelve Presidents Without Borders members will be traveling to Merida, Mexico. These students will be participating in volunteer work all around the city for an entire week. Each day they will travel from village to village setting up a clinic and assisting doctors in helping local villagers. Some of the towns they will be traveling to include: Progreso, Temax, Canzacab, Telchack Pueblo, Dzilam González, and Dzilam Bravo. Students will work with nutritionists, dentists, physicians, physical therapists, and optometrists. They will be immersed in both a medical and cultural experience that will hopefully open their eyes to what life is like beyond the U.S. Borders.  It will be a life changing experience for both the students and the citizens of Merida.

So for the past week I have had the opportunity to work on the surgery team. We had two wonderful surgeons with us. Bart Saxbe is a general surgeon and Randy Kahan is a obstetrics and gynecological surgeon. Most of the surgeries done were herinas and vaginal historectomies.  It was probably the most interesting thing to be a part of because of the situation we were in. We had the luxury of working inside a hospital and using their facilities, which would never happen in the states. No U.S. hospital would let a random group of people come into their facility and bring in your own patients and surgeons without there being some sort of legal problems. At any rate, we were able to get into the hospital, but we still had problems with getting patients into the operating rooms because the surgeons of the hospital took up all the rooms until they were done for the day.  So we didn't get into surgery until 2 in the afternoon and finish at 9 or 10 at night.  This was the case for the first few days, until one of the surgeons put his foot down and was able to get us are own room for the whole day.  Then we were able to get into a groove and really get through a lot of surgeries. From a personal perspective, I was really nervous because I have really no surgery experience and speak little Spanish.  This caused a problem because I was able to scrub into the surgeries and hand them instrument, but I had no idea what the names of them were and the person explaining to me spoke Spanish! Eventually, I was able to learn the names of instrument and techniques from different surgeries.  It was truly a great experience and I am so glad I was apart of it. I am looking forward to the trip to Tulum, which is where the eight of us will be for the second week of the trip.

Lino

Today we were very prepared for the tasks that we had before our group as we medically served the people of Merida. While working in the suburbs of Merida, the Presidents without Borders teams assisted in the treatment of many dental and optometric needs all while helping to run a functional pharmacy. It was very amazing to see the personal level at which we could connect to each and every patient and I am really feeling confident that the following days will continue to be amazing! 

Josiah

Hello everyone!
We had a very long day today. We landed in Merida last night and arrive at our houses in Merida at a little after 1:00am. To clarify for all parents, we are staying in Merida this week, not Xpujil. Link and I are staying in one house, Joe and Josiah in another, and all the girls in a third. This is a large project with over 20 total people on board. We woke up bright and early and put in about 6 hours of clinical work today. After clinic, we went to a town square in Merida to see local dancers. Tomorrow we are starting bright and early and will be off to a new clinical site at 7:30am.

Evan

Preparing for our Departure to Mexico - 8/2/2013

Hello PWBers!

It's Friday, August 2nd, and we will be departing for Xpujil in Campeche Mexico. There will be eight of us going: Myself (Evan Wagner), Cat Zylstra, Tiffany Mayhugh, Lino Ruggeri, Josiah Ritchey, Hannah Morrissey, Brianna Hewitt, and Joe Williams. Our flight leaves at this afternoon from Pittsburgh and we should be arriving in Merida, Mexico in the evening. We will be staying for 2 full weeks and we will be coming home on August 17th. We have preparatory meetings starting at 8:00am on campus tomorrow morning then we are off! We have an excellent team going on this trip and I can't wait to get there and get started!

We will have daily updates, so keep checking back!

See everyone tomorrow,
Evan