Honduras Medical Brigade 2018

I am currently on a plane on my way back to NYC from Honduras, and reflecting on the past week of serving in Honduras. Planning for this medical brigade was anything but smooth sailing, and there were many times I was ready to throw in the towel and say sorry Honduras, I'll come another time when I feel I have more time, and have more of my life together. But thanks to an amazing team and co-leader, we were finally able to tie up all the loose ends of organizing our trip within 10 days prior to our departure date (and thankfully so, since we had an exam to take the day before we left!!).

We had a unique situation where we were able to explore the country of Honduras before the beginning of our trip. I had a BLAST taking my teammates/friends around the capital city, Tegucigalpa (aka Tegus. I am the daughter of Honduran immigrants (hence my blog name), and all of my extended family lives in Honduras, so I've traveled to Honduras every other year of my life since I was a baby!). We explored the culture of the people that Easter weekend and saw "Las Alfombras", visited hipster coffee shops, ate Honduran baleadas for breakfast, hamburgers at Matambritas, and stayed at Palmira Hostel (a really cool, modern hostel w easy walking distance to fun spots in the city of Tegus!).

"Las Alfombras"(translated "The Carpets") is a special exhibition done by Catholic church members in which finely ground, colorful sawdust is arranged into a beautiful carpet display encircling downtown. On Thursday evening through Friday morning of Good Friday, members of the church use stencils, the sawdust, and watery-glue to lay down miles of individual squares each with its own beautiful design. The squares are arranged downtown surrounding Catedral Metropolitana de San Míguel Arcángel. On the morning of Good Friday, many tourists and inhabitants of Tegucigalpa walk around to admire the beautiful "alfombras" made by the church members. In the late morning, the Catholic church does a processional skit of the crucifixion of Jesus, and "Las Alfombras" are destroyed in the process as the crucified Jesus makes his way throughout the city. This is to symbolize the sadness and darkness that overcame the world when Jesus died, just as one feels sad seeing this art destroyed.

After enjoying our time throughout the city, we then began our brigade. We met with our Global Brigades staff who took us to our compound in El Censo (a small rural community east of Tegucigalpa), where we would be sleeping for the next few nights.

We began the first full day the next day and visited Cofradia, Zarzal. Here we did a blood pressure and glucose test screening for various patients in the community, and then did some home visits. The home visits were very valuable and eye-opening because we got to see the homes of these community members. It was wonderful to see the homes that some of these people had built themselves when they bought the land 30 years ago. In addition, I loved the lovely warm weather, seeing chickens clucking around, and meeting families.

The next day began our clinic days, of which we had three in total. We visited El Espinito, Cuzcateca, Danli, Granadilla, Moroceli. Our trip was special because we were focusing on treating patients who had chronic care diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. The clinic was set up with various stations: triage (to take blood pressure and glucose measurements), data intake, consultation with the doctors, and a pharmacy. These communities rely on their relationship with Global Brigades to help bring medications every few months**. Therefore, many patients whose medication had run out, or who had not had the chance to see the doctor for a few months had life-threatening glucose levels and blood pressures that were treated immediately with the medication we brought. Other patients came to see the doctor for a normal check-up, to have dead skin debrided (a venous insufficiency complication), poorly healed fracture check-up, chief complaints of changes in vision, asthma medication refilling for children, etc.

For me, the best part about seeing all of these patients was getting the chance to talk with them and hear their stories. I had the privilege of intaking patient information for two days while on clinic. This meant that I got to meet every single patient that we saw. I asked them questions about the community they live in, where they buy their vegetables, and what they like to do for fun in their neighborhood. Being a fluent Spanish speaker, I had an advantage with connecting with the people because I spoke the same language. Additionally, it was amazing to actually understand the pathophysiology of what was happening behind the conditions of the patients, and the necessary pharmacology needed to treat them. Being in medical school for the 1st two years has us focused on the books, so when we actually get to see real patients who are suffering from the diseases we read about, it's refreshing and amazing to have faces and personalities attached to symptoms. It was amazing for me as a student to recognize that I've learned so much in these first two years of med school!!!

On the last day of brigade we went to a family's home further inland to Cuzcateca to build them an eco-stove. Many families in rural Honduras still have old-fashioned "fogones" in their homes, which are ovens that do not funnel smoke out of the house very well. When fogons are in use, they use up a lot of wood, make the kitchen very warm because of the heat, and anyone who is cooking on it is breathing in smoke for the majority of the day. Therefore, many people in these rural areas suffer from asthma and lung cancer because of the smoke exposure.

Consequently, three of my teammates, a Global Brigades stove-making master and I went to help build a new stove for this family that would conserve the heat more efficiently (requiring less wood for use), and allow the smoke to exit the kitchen, without anyone having to breathe it in. The family taught us about their cows and the routes they take to give them water every day. They took us on a hike so we could see their land, and the view of the communities tucked beneath the gorgeous mountains. They fed us cheese made from said cows, and lemon tea with rosquillas, which was absolutely delightful.

As we were enjoying lunch, I turned to another teammate and commented on how simple the life of these people are, and yet, they are very happy. They do not have much, but they are happy. It was in that moment that I finally relaxed, and had that "ta-da" moment of peace. My friend and I spoke about how many people in the world live and function the way that this family does. "Why is it so stressful in the US?", I asked. "There's materialism, always trying to get ahead", my other friend said. And it's true. We had met many European people while were in the hostels. In Europe, it is almost expected that one takes a year off after high school to travel the world, explore different cultures, and learn about people. Their college is already paid for by their governments, so they have the freedom to come back to study when they choose. In contrast, America was built on a capitalist mindset that, yes, made us into the most powerful country in the world, but also forces us to be stressed all the time. We are always thinking about how to get ahead, we want to be the best, etc. At least I know I definitely feel that way a lot, and especially in med school, where the competition is much fiercer, there isn't a day that goes by without me thinking about how I can be better. But while this mentality has made us a successful nation (relatively), are we really living life to the full? Being successful vs. being full are two different things.

I would love to someday move to Honduras or Europe to see what it's like to live a life that is so different from the one I know in America. The experiences of my time in Honduras ultimately helped remind me that I don't need to be the best at anything, or need to get ahead. I don't need to be perfect do to what I love. I simply need to do my best. I don't have to be the smartest person in my class to be a great doctor. They always say this phrase to us: "What do they call the last person in a medical school class upon graduation? Doctor." It's difficult to want to associate oneself as being the last of the class, but this statement is completely true. No matter if I am the top or bottom of the class, someday I will be a doctor. And that should give me courage to move forward and do the very best that I can do!

So thank you Honduras for another eye opening experience. Thank you for letting me explore the many facets of your beautiful land, and tap into the wisdom of your people. Thank you to an amazing team who did a fantastic job of making the patients feel cared for and loved despite not knowing the language!!! 

**Global Brigades does a good job to make sure these communities are receiving the care they need. In a timely manner. In order for communities to build a relationship with Global Brigades, they must enter the empowerment program that GB has designed to help communities become self-sustainable. Therefore while these communities are receiving regular healthcare, they are also receiving assistance with building their own businesses and finances to help life them out of poverty.