After staying up late packing, we had to wake up at 6am on our last day, because that was the day that Marco’s dad was taking me to surgery with him. He is an internal medicine surgeon, and does everything from abdominal surgery to thyroid removal. It hadn’t worked out for me to go until our very last day. We had to be at the airport at 11am.
We got up and headed to the hospital. Marco dropped me off and then went back to the house to finish the last minute packing (ya know, that you can’t do until you are actually leaving). This was unlike any hospital I had ever seen. I felt like I stepped into a time machine when I walked through the front door. Earlier on this blog, I posted a picture of a big, blue, shining hospital building – that is not where I went. I went to another one, in another part of town. First of all, it was open-air on the inside. There was a big courtyard with trees growing in the middle. Second, everything in it was about 50-60 years old. Think, World War II – the beds, the equipment, the chairs, the floors. It was all so old. I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly didn’t expect that. I went with Marco’s dad as he went to check on each of his patients before preparing for surgery.
After changing into scrubs, we went to the area where the operating rooms were. There were four of them, and two were being used. In the first one, there was a thyroid patient who had a benign tumor that was going to be removed. In the second, there was an inguinal hernia that needed to be removed. Right before we scrubbed in, Marco’s dad told me that I would be helping with the surgery; he was going to ask me to cut and things like that. Now, as a nurse, the patients I have are either medically sick, or are waiting for surgery or returning from surgery. The only times I have ever been in the operating room was in high school, I observed a partial mastectomy, and as a student nurse observing a heart surgery and a C-Section. Never have I ever had to actually touch the patient being operated on. Boy, was I excited!
We were going to the inguinal hernia first. The OR techs prepped the patient with the sterile drapes while we gowned and gloved. There I was, head-to-toe sterile and hot as anything with just an old wall unit for a/c. Marco’s dad has a third-year resident that does pretty much all of the surgeries while he guides and supervises her. She began to cut on the patient, and eventually they had me hold a trochar to help pull the skin back so they could see. Meanwhile, I was getting hotter and hotter. Suddenly, my ears started ringing, my vision got fuzzy and I said, “I need to sit.” Next thing I know someone guided me into a chair and I was sweating profusely from head to toe. How embarrassing. I nearly fainted onto the operating table. Needless to say, I didn’t really get to see the rest of that surgery.
Between surgeries, I was able to get a Coke and relax a little bit. I couldn’t believe I fainted. Blood and guts don’t bother me at all; but for whatever reason they did that day. After a few minutes, Marco’s dad came and got me for the next surgery. This one, I just watched. That was probably a good idea. ;-P It was the thyroid removal, and was really cool to see. I have a lot of thyroidectomy patients at work, so it was neat to see what they go through before I receive them on my floor.
Before it was over, however, I had to go change and Marco was going to pick me up so we could get to the airport on time. We boarded the plane at 2pm and soon we were on our way.
on the runway
Tired but happy!
Adios, Honduras!
We landed in Atlanta at exactly 6:28pm. We went through Customs and Immigration, got our bags, and soon we were met by my parents and on our way home. Jackson and Lola were already here to greet us! 🙂
We had a long, good trip. I learned so much not only about Honduras and the culture, but about Marco and his family. I look forward to the next trip! But for now I have a ton of pictures, a ton of memories, and a ton of unpacking to do!
Check Facebook for the rest of the pictures!
love.marriage.adventure. 