Mountain, Orphanage, and Rural Health Clinic

Welcome to Huaytapallana, a nearby mountain and glacier. Last Saturday, we reached a altitude of 17,400 feet and all experienced dyspnea first-hand. We enjoyed hiking together with our faithful guides to help us along the way.

Laurie was the first to go

We even got to go sledding with trash bags at the top! Since there was an edge leading to rocks below, we caught each other with a rope to avoid injuries.

Chris and Phil keeping Laurie alive

This was not exactly fail-safe, but it worked!

Phil, Laurie, Danielle, and Chris (not pictured: John and Jared)

During last week, we resumed our individual work at doctors offices. Please read Phil's great verbal account of the many things we have been able to experience here in Huancayo.

Another great experience has been going to an orphanage for children with HIV/AIDS, or who have been physically abused. We spent our first visit playing games like Red Light Green Light, Duck-Duck-Goose, and Simon Says. These children were a pleasure to meet.

Chris helping a child with Red-Light Green-Light; Laurie tries to cheat with her child for the win

Another great experience occurs in a nearby town called San Agustin de Cajas at the Centro de Salud. Phil and John have been going here frequently, but Chris and Danielle paid a visit this past week as well. Doctor Ingrid and Doctor Lily have been very wonderful to teach us as they examine patients here. We will be working with these two doctors to understand how they screen, diagnose, and treat diabetes in the community.

Phil and Danielle are fantastic at all they do

I (Chris) was impressed with the attention placed on vaccinations. On the outside wall of the clinic hung a sign with information about free vaccinations for patients. This is a very good investment for long-term health change for communities like Cajas. I wonder how medical students like us can support vaccinations even more in the future as we complete our global health work.

Another fantastic long-term work is improving hand-washing and hygiene. I have noticed that in our hospitals, certain items are missing for hand-washing. In this case, it was running water. Sometimes it is soap. Other times it is something to dry hands with.

A visting lecturer from the USA spoke to the Medical Society in Huancayo about hand washing. I think it was a good topic for the doctors here as hand-washing seems to be sparsely observed.

Education and provisions of alcohol-sanitizer, soap, running water in clinics, and hand dryers might be a good use of energy in our future endeavors.

Well it's time to run to dinner! Thanks for reading the update. I'll end with a cool chart in the health clinic. It is the stages of development for children, with pictures! Till next time!