Liberia #19
First I want to thank you all for praying for me. And please continue.
I dream of (miss):
How many times have you been in a pool and thought, wow seems like they put to much chlorine in here! I sense that on a regular basis here. If I touch a patient, I wash with chlorine afterwards. If I had a bare hand, rare, then I wash my hand. If I have gloves on, usual, then I wash my gloves. I smell like chlorine all the time, it covers up my BO from sweating profusely.
Ive decided my favorite meal is falafel sandwich! I don’t eat it often, but when I do get a chance to have it- IT IS AMAZING! Second is lentils. Because you can cook them and they have a decent taste by themselves, and you can eat them for many meals afterwards. PB and J sandwiches are the next most common. Tasty but predictable.
I long to be with my wife! Im missing her a lot and having your best friend to hang out with and discuss things with, you realize is so important, and you realize it most when it cant happen.
Cold! I want to be cold. To feel chilly or down right cold. When I can wear lots of cloths and still not be sweating. Wear normal operation room attire and not be dripping from my eyebrows and wonder if it will fall on the patient or off the side towards me.
Be back with my OR staff that appreciate sterility like I do and watch out for it and expect it. To have staplers to do anastomoses and close skin with. A 15 min or less intestinal anastomosis in stead of an hour! An OR staff that doesn’t complain when the day goes past 4PM. A cautery cord that is truly sterile! Gloves that fit and are thick enough to not rip if touched by tape. Orders that are followed in the chart. Medicines that are given when ordered and given correctly in dosing, time and frequency.
Nurses that know how to put in a urinary catheter in a sterile way. And know not to blow up the balloon in the urethra. I’ve delt with that 4 times now. (can cause lifetime stricture and difficulty peeing).
Someone else to deal with sick children! They generally are rather resistant. But when they crash, they die quick. And the correct dose of medicine is SO important, the smaller they are.
I miss sitting by the front window in the morning having my own devotions with my wife near by, or the dog trying to sit on my lap.
So I’m enjoying the variety of surgery that third world surgery offers, but miss many important things.