El Hospital de la Libertad

This week has been extremely interesting in a city called Salinas where we have been rotating through a large public hospital. One of the most memorable experiences I had this week included seeing a woman give birth. This woman was brought in screaming on a wheelchair into the birthing room. A female doctor and resident were present to assist with the birth. As the woman was screaming hysterically due to the pain of labor, both the physician and resident screamed at her in Spanish to shut up a few times. They also kept yelling at her to move her body down closer to the edge of the examination table. Meredith and I just looked at each other in horror and shock as we could not believe that they had just told her to shut up repeatedly. This mother was given no pain medications so she was in extreme pain. Once the baby's head started to appear, the physician began to pull the baby out with extreme force with her hands. We had never seen anything like this before. Meredith said it looked like the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck so maybe that is why, but the physician pulled the baby out with all her force which I'm not sure is standard protocol. Then the baby did not cry for what seemed like to me an eternity, but was probably approximately 2 to 3 minutes. The resident actually had to give the baby mouth to mouth and eventually she started to cry. I also got to see the placenta being delivered, which I had never realized before is basically as big as the baby. Also, nobody was in the birthing room as far as husbands, significant others or family. Overall, it was interesting to see the differences culturally for the birthing process.

R and R

We spent a long weekend in a small resort town called Montanita, staying in a hostel one minute’s walk from the beach. The town is populated largely by Argentinians and expatriates from various Western countries, and caters to both vacationing Ecuadoreans and gringos from around the globe. It’s a world-class surfing location and has hosted some high-profile tournaments. Food, drinks and lodgings are cheap and good.
My Friday and Saturday both went something like this: eat breakfast at the hostel, put on a bathing suit and wander down to the beach, rent a board and surf until 2pm, eat lunch, go back to the beach, play volleyball in the sand, body surf, grab a delicious cocktail and lounge for an hour or two, eat dinner, have a few drinks and wander town. I think I’ll try to come back here someday.

Parasites and Futbol!

In rural Ecuador many children suffer from intestinal parasites. So this morning we went to a school and treated every child for parasites ( except the two pregnant 13 and 14 year old students). This was an interesting form of public health intervention. No parents were present to give consent and every kid was treated whether they had signs/symptoms of parasites. While we were there we also checked the kids for skin infections from insect/bat bites and listened to their lungs. All problems seen were treated. After treating everyone we played some Futbol with the kids.

Tonight we leave Puyo and head towards the coast. Hasta luego!

second largest rodent in the New World

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowland_Paca

Matt and I ate one on Tuesday. They call it guanta in Ecuador. Me gusta, but I wouldn't want to eat it every day.

Attention: Kimmy Chela

Hey Kimmy "Masterpiece BBQ Sauce" Chela,

We're calling you out. Get off Sakai and post something here.

Con fuerte abrazo,
Matteo

Healthcare in the Amazon

This week we had the opportunity to hike to a Shaur Village inside the jungle. The hike was 6 hours of climbing through mud that was at times above our knees. By the time we got to the village I was very sore and had pain in my knee and ankle. The next day our host and the medicine man of the tribe came to treat me with his medicinal plants. First he rubbed my leg with hot water and boiled leaves. Then he rubbed the bark off of a stick and put it on a big leaf and wrapped around my knee. He told me that this was a strong medicine that would make it all better and might also give me visions. The pain did subside but I did not get any visions. The Shaur have many plants that they use for medicinal purposes. The knowledge of the plants is passed down from generation to generation. Though many Shaur go to the doctor in the closest town of Pitirischa it is a long journey to get there. So with the physical barrier of the jungle the Shaur rely on their knowledge of plants. We are back in Puyo now and are enjoying some rest.
Adios- Meredith

Tropic Thunder

We marched 6 hours into the jungle on Wednesday, following our young female guide over fallen trees, through calf-deep mud and across a rain-swollen river. The forest was beautiful and crawling with life. We encountered insects, new fruits I had never heard of and a dead coral snake. Sweltering under the canopy, you can’t feel the difference between a crawling insect and sweat trickling down your skin. I stopped caring either way.

Eventually we arrived in a Shuar village nestled in a valley next to a small river. There were 6 thatched huts and a schoolhouse. Banana trees, corn stalks, yucca plants and a soccer field made up the rest of the settlement. We were greeted by several small children who just stood and stared, shy smiles breaking out from time to time. After setting up our mosquito nets in one of the huts, we joined a family for dinner and their children did a welcoming dance for us.

The following day, a male guide took us into the forest and showed us several medicinal plants, specimens among which could be used to treat snakebite, allergic reactions, gastritis and traumatic wounds. None of them tasted very good. The destination of the hike was a waterfall in which we washed ourselves with soaproot that we gathered on the way. When we returned, they had killed a chicken and made chicken soup for our late lunch/early dinner.

That night, our guide talked to us for 3 hours about his tribe’s views on childbirth and we discussed differences between our culture and his with respect to these issues. It was an interesting chat, but dragged on because our guide repeated everything he said at least 5 times.

We hiked 6 hours out the next morning, arriving back with our host family exhausted yet happy.