I’m tired. All the work and late nights are starting to catch up to me. (And not having coffee available throughout the day isn’t helping either.) But when I feel tired I look for ways to push through. A quick brisk walk outside. Munching on a delicious Mexican snack. Making fun of one of the physicians. It’s my way of staying energized.
The operating room is operational!
Today there was lots of energy. We finally got our system in place and have all the equipment we need to be at our best, and we were at our best. By the end of the day we had done 18 procedures: 5 hysterectomies, 5 gall bladder surgeries (sorry, I don’t know the fancy name), and 6 hernia surgeries (see previous parenthetical), and 2 biopsies. A very successful day.
It never gets old to see the smiles on the patients’ faces after they have the surgery. They feel better and are so grateful. Why are they grateful? Well, let me explain how someone has a hernia surgery back home and how it happens in Mexico.
Getting a hernia surgery
If you have a hernia you probably would go to your primary physician and that physician would examine you and tell you that you need a hernia surgery. You will schedule the surgery. On the day of your surgery you would show up and have the surgery done. When the surgery is over you would eventually wake up from anesthesia and go home. At some point you would pay your portion of the surgery that your insurance did not cover.
In Mexico, once you know you have a hernia you will visit the state hospital to be examined and have your surgery scheduled. You would have to provide any medical supplies that are needed for your surgery to be completed, excluding the hospital equipment. What do I mean by that? Sometimes a hernia is repaired using a mesh. In Mexico, you have to go to the pharmacy and buy your own mesh for the surgery. Sometimes you may need a blood transfusion during a surgery. In Mexico, you have to donate your own blood for the possible transfusion. And all of this costs money that most poor people in Mexico do not have.
After I go on a trip like this I always leave being grateful for what I have and wanting to do more for those who don’t have as much as me. It is a great reminder to live in gratitude, no matter how bad things seem back home. God has blessed me and now I get to share those blessings with others.
