Butt Worms and Final clinic days

Que Triste!

It's really starting to hit me. Ann is sad too, even though she has another month here.  The thought of not being here forever is a sad one.  She has fallen in love with Nicaragua and claims to be back once she is a real doctor and can do more.  Honestly, I haven't met one person who has traveled here who hasn't fallen in love.  Note: There is a difference between being a traveler and being a tourist.  For everyone I know who has "lived" in the culture, experienced the culture, experienced the people, not one has said Meh, it's okay.  This is a country to have to get into to really see and feel it.  I am grateful for yet another opportunity to do just that.  I hope in my lifetime, I can inspire more people to come down and learn from this great country with her great people.

the crew minus a few
Mario, Dra Villarreal, me, Olivia, Marvin
Ann, Etienne, and Catty

This clinic has been a lot of fun.  Now that we are all friends and understand each other, we have been having a blast.  

I met Dr. Rudy Vargas, finally!  He came in from Alabama with the head of ANF and some family.  They had suitcase of medical supplies for the clinic and for the hospital.   ANF is a pharmaceutical distributor that donates meds and supplies to the clinic.  They also sell drugs to the clinic at a greatly reduced price.  Once we were all introduced, he led us in a prayer to bless the clinic and its patients and those who serve. Dr. Vargas is a jolly man.  Very nice and warm.  My house mom told me that he actually grew up on the same street as the clinic.  Dr. Vargas is a man with a lot of passion for helping others.  

I felt my first goiter.  Gout=Bocio in Spanish. Tiredeo= Thyroid.  I did not know those words when Dra. V told me to feel the patient's neck.  I thought I was feeling for lymph nodes. Oops. But I did end up finding the right thing, even though her thyroid was very obviously enlarged. 

I also helped a child who had an allergic reaction to penicillin.  She was experiencing impetigo all over her skin.  Impetigo is usually caused by the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. The skin infection/ reaction is itchy and sore.  It is contagious.  According to Dra. V, since penicillin has the S. aureus bacteria as part of its formula, the immune system of this little girl reacted poorly.  She had the crusty form of impetigo, and she was severely irritated by their itchiness. 

Butt worms. Oxiouros. Pajuellas. Pin Worm in english. Gross.  One way to know if you have this butt worm is to literally put a piece of tape on your anus, go to sleep, and check the tape in the morning for eggs. Disgusting. But true. And sometimes, the most reliable source of information you can get. Also if you or your partner is suffering from butt worms, it is a good idea to have both parties take the recommended dosage of medication.  These banditos can exit one butt and enter into your sleeping partner. Pretty sick. 

These worms make your booty very itchy and a person is always moving around, restless, irritated. Little kids will scratch their butts. So in some places of Latin America, if you say "Parece que tiene pajuellas", that can mean a "That person is restless". 

Yeah, so we had some of that.  Imagine being explained that in Spanish and trying to understand.  A lot of acting and hand gestures went into play between that patient and Dra. V trying to explain all this to each other and more so to me... It was hilarious. 

On Monday, Mario and I are going to go spend all of that cash you guys donated on some very important things! I will post some pics. 

Weekend plans:  I will be MIA for 3 days.  Tomorrow I take chicken buses to Managua to meet up with Etienne and Ann. Then together we head north to Esteli and Somoto Canyon, near Honduras. And that is our itinerary.  See you on Sunday night!