Internet

Ok, this is my second day in a row in the Internet cafe and I feel guilty. I don´t plan to update my blog every day but for now just getting out of the house on my own is an adventure so I am taking baby steps.
I just got enlisted to help with the advanced English classes which are offered by the missionaries for members of the parish for a nominal fee. With Todd leaving, some of the more advanced students are beginning to teach as well which I love to see. Once the community takes ownership I feel like it will sustain itself regardless of who comes in goes in la casa de missionaries.

I followed Courtney to the local clinic that provides services for a fee on a sliding scale based on their ability to pay. It is attached to the sisters house. I was in the "topical" room which was basic wound care. A Class III wound is dirty so sterility is not imperative which is good because not sure we could attain it if we wanted to. For example, they use a non-sterile Allis (instrument-grasper) to reach into a non-sterile container of gauze (that was sterile at one point but is considered clean after you close and open it several times) and put the non sterile gauze onto the sterile field which may not even be sterile because we have no idea what temperature the autoclave is working at and as I said there are no controls to check the integrity of the machine. But we have supplies and I am grateful to have gloves to wear. I have to keep reminding myself its OK the wounds we are working on are class III (dirty).
We cleaned out a pressure ulcer and dressed it and I assisted a doctor in suturing a deep laceration under the arm. Some of the wounds you wonder how people do things to themselves but many workers do not get protected from harm.

Going back tonight to work on my Spanish. It is not unusual to have people over at the house after 10 pm although it does not happen every night. Tomorrow I get to try hospice. Sr. Juanita, Courtney, Julie and an accounting intern named Pepe are working on a home health program to help the chronically ill or disabled. I might help with this too. It is ideal to have 3 medical volunteers who will help get the program up and running while resources are limited. After it is established with established clients and cash flow, they may be able to have the funds to employ members in the community. It´s all about sustainability. Getting people to the point where they can fish rather than just feeding them for a day.

I have a secret hope that our house will be the benefit of someone else´s missionary project. We have a few things like painting inside and out of of the house, landscaping, composting and roof work on the porch and house that could use some help. Poco a poco.