Day 4

*This post was written by myself and Karyn, my partner at our volunteer site.*

 

 (From left to right: Shelly, Sam, Brittany, Sara, Shea, Shannon, Amy, Serena)

Hola from Guatemala!

This post is being written by Sam and Karyn. We are identifying ourselves because we were the only pair that wasn't together during our first day of volunteering at a local renal clinic. We decided it would be best to be paired together versus in separate areas due to ones lack of Spanish, and the others lack of content. We spent part of the evening before working on our Spanish - It took us quite awhile to translate a paragraph stating that we wished to work together. Voila! It worked. I guess our español ain't so bad!

We are in the peritoneal dialysis (PD) clinic, treating seven patients with ESRD, or End Stage Renal Disease. Our day began with introducing ourselves to the patients, and getting familiar with the PD process. The patients ranged in ages from 16 up to elderly, and all were diabetic except for one. All of them appeared incredibly exhausted, but grateful to have the care they are receiving at the clinic. Each patient has a stoma, or an opening that enters into the peritoneal cavity to be the place where the exchange of vascular toxins come out of their bodies - This is typically what your kidneys do. The process is a little confusing at first, but once we came up with a descriptive word for each step in the process, we got the hang of it! Below is our personalized way of starting and disconnecting the drainage system.

Start Drainage: 

• Grab clamp
• Grab tubing
• Ring - Finger
• Remove tubing
• Drop bag
• Break green
• Place clamp
• Remove tip and drop
• Connect tubing
• Open tubing
• Cover connection

Disconnect Drainage:

• Cap
• Close connection
• Finger
• Drop bag
• Open cap packet
• Grab cap - Keep sterile
• Disconnect and keep in hand 
• Rapidly connect
• Release blue clip
• Tie bag and leave with patient
• Put clip in cleaning solution

When we had to disconnect the tubing, we were to keep that tubing in our hand. Karyn (on day one) forgot, and dropped the tubing so she picked it up. This meant her hands were no longer sterile, and Roxanna, the nurse, immediately corrected Karyn. Karyn, not knowing Spanish well, and being embarrassed in front of the patients, slapped her hand and said "BAD Karyn!" The patients all laughed and it eased the moment. The next day, Sam did the exact same thing. Sometimes we learn from others mistakes, and sometimes we have to make the mistakes ourselves. Moral of the story: Sam and Karyn need to make their own mistakes in order to learn.

 

(From left to right: Karyn, Roxanna, Sam)

Karyn and Sam have found that they work great together: With Karyn's knowledge of the PD process, and Sam's Spanish speaking skills, we are a nice team along with Roxanna. 

Culture that we noticed was how big of a role the family takes in caring for the patient. Whether it be a spouse, son or daughter, extended family or a good family friend, there was always someone there to help them through the treatment. One patient had an infection and was going to be admitted to the hospital - Her spouse and daughter were there to transport her, get her admitted, and be there for support. It's amazing the amount of time and energy that these family members put into this. 

After our volunteering site, we came back to our home base to enjoy an authentic Guatemalan meal - Chicken, rice and corn on the cob. Next was a Spanish lesson followed by a history lesson of Guatemala.  Both were received well and the history lesson was powerful. As human beings we just don't treat each other well... Greed is an awful characteristic of human nature. 

Our evening was relaxing and most of us laid low. Our previous days have been full and exhausting, so a little down time was necessary! 

Signing off for now - Buenas noches!