Bye Bye Belize

Oh man... what a trip! We arrived to beautiful weather in Belize city a week ago that stayed with us the whole trip. I don´t remember it raining even once which was a very nice change from winter in Guatemala. We headed strait for Caye Caulker for five days of diving and laying in the sun. That was one of the most beautiful coral reefs I´ve ever dove, wish so bad I had pictures to share. We saw reef sharks, turtles, beautiful sting rays, dolphins, and absolutely amazing coral. Brett is now a certified diver, WHOOOO! and he´s just like a fish down there. ( : Our cabin was perfect and when I wasn´t cooking yummy pasta or fresh ceviche, we enjoyed tons of delicious BBQ lobster and fresh caught fish creole style on the beach. I definitely learned a few seasoning and marinading tips!! We took a sunset sailboat cruise that was gorgeous, I can´t wait to share pictures!
For the last few days of the trip Brett had to pry me off the Caye (seriously) and we headed inland to San Ignacio. I´m glad he did because we had an incredible experience visiting the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave there. I don´t think I had any idea what we were in for. After a 45 minute hike, three river crossings, and a short swim through the cave´s entrance dodging wolf spiders that can walk on water, we found ourselves surrounded by an ancient Mayan world. The cave is over two miles deep but we made it in about a half mile. Most of the time was spent wading through some very chilly mountain run off that was about chest deep at times. Burrrr. We did a little rock climbing on very slippery lime stone and found ourselves in the middle of a sacrificial tomb complete with ancient pottery and human remains. One female sacrifice was actually completely intact, it was incredible to see. Our guide was amazing and I wish our pictures could begin to describe the beauty of what we saw. And since I can´t get my pictures to upload on this computer, check out this website to believe what we saw.

http://www.google.com.gt/images?hl=es&q=atm+cave&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=c2SFTIq6LcG88gaAnfBM&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDwQsAQwAw&biw=1003&bih=565

The food in San Ignacio was incredible as well and we even got a little shopping in. (I´m assuming more than Brett ever hoped for). On the way to the airport we stopped by the Belize zoo to see all the big cats close up as well as some very pretty birds and crazy monkeys. Sadly, our trip came to an end yesterday and I was no where near ready to leave.
Speaking of, I now have less than two weeks left here in Antigua. I have no idea what happened to the last three months. When I arrived from the airport last night my mom Veronica met me with a big hug and a kiss and I almost started to cry. I know it is going to be really hard to leave. But... enough talk about that. I still have my sister Veronica´s wedding to look forward to this weekend!! I recently found out that they are not planning on a honey moon because they don´t have money to pay for one. In Guatemala it is tradition for the groom´s family to pay for the wedding. (Wishin you lived in Guatemala Dad??) However, the William´s parents passed away a few years ago so they are paying for the wedding themselves. Well.... I decided that not going on a honeymoon is crazy talk so me and my friends here are tracking down everyone we can that knows the family via facebook and are collecting a honeymoon fund. Hoooray!!! Now just to prepare my speech.... Love and miss you all!!! I will see many of you very soon.

Time for the beach!!

I know it´s been a while, but just wanted everybody to know that I am still doing great and learning every day. Today I took care of a little girl (on the women´s unit yes) that had parasites. Tape worms I´m pretty sure. I know this because I helped her to throw up into the same trash can that had one in it. Not entirely sure how it got there. So yes, some of the reasons for admission around here are a bit different. Snake bites and spider bites for instance are more common here than in the states. And you would not believe the raging diabetic ulcers I´ve seen. By the time they come to the hospital their limps are headed right for amputation. Its pretty incredible.
I am feeling very comfortable in my role now, just in time to leave in a few weeks. Communication is much better now, I actually understand most all of report instead of just a few words here and there. Its very helpful really. And.... drum roll please... I am getting good at starting IVs, even really hard ones! I am actually the one they send to help the student learn. Its a Christmas Miracle! But most importantly, I don´t think I have ever been happier doing anything in my whole entire life. There is absolutely nothing better than taking care of people, I´m in heaven. I caught a pretty bad cold this week and was too sick to go to work on Monday. On Tuesday the other nurses told me that the patients were asking ¨¿Donde está la enfermera extrañera?¨... where is the foreign nurse? It was so good to hear it! Made my day. Sometimes when I make my rounds I just sit and chat with the patients, and they are so appreciative for the extra time. I of course love talking to them but they just think I´m being extra nice.
Well the most important detail of the day is that me and Brett will be in Belize in one day!! We are both so excited. Our first stop will be Caye Caulker for the beach and some fun diving. We may or may not ever leave. ( : We will be staying at a sweet little house on the beach with a full kitchen, pool, and hammocks. Not going to tell you how much were NOT paying for the place but it´s cheaper than motel 8 for sure. The gringo that owns it already loves Brett and has arranged a private taxi from the airport and a boat to the Caye. It has been raining for three straight weeks here so I am definitely looking forward to some sun. Lots of pictures and stories to come. I look so forward to seeing you all again soon. Muah!

Boo for job aplications

Hi,
So after I promised everyone a blog, I spent the entire weekend applying to nursing jobs. I´m feeling a little hungry and tired right now, so I think I am going to give up on my day at the computer. However, I think I will be able to find some time this week to fill everybody in a little better than this.
As far as the job hunt goes, I have applied to tons of positions at Denver Health where I did my senior internship, and all of the new grad positions being offered at University Hospital. I really have my hopes set on University because I have heard it is a great learning experience since it´s such a big teaching hospital. They will interview all through September so that will work out pretty good for me too. I am also going to apply to Rose, PSL, and Children´s if anything opens up.
I am still in love with being here, working, and learning. I had an amazing experience last night that I just have to share. I was hanging out sharing a few drinks with my mom, sister, and new Coloradoan friend Alex. We were joking and laughing, not entirely sure what happened to all the wine and how quickly it became midnight. All of a sudden I realized that I was speaking Spanish, and not even trying too hard. I had held a four hour conversation with people I love, as if it was the most natural in thing in the world. I SPEAK SPANISH! I have been working so hard that I forgot to notice how far I have come. I am going to finish up the classes that I have already purchased and then spend the rest of my Spanish money on Salsa lessons. I had my first one yesterday and now I´m hooked. Good thing I saved this till the end of the trip right?
The hospital continues to be an amazing experience. One fun thing I will share is the incredible number of shots in the butt I give. Doctor, la paciente in cama numero dos tiene un fevre. (The patient in bed number 2 has a fever). Shoot her in the butt! Same goes for pain, even for patients with IV´s. I haven´t entirely figured this one out yet, but I´m getting really good at those IM injections!
Sorry this doesn´t include all I have to share. Here are a couple of pics, hope they make you smile. Miss you tons!!

People waiting in line for the clinic at 8am

The ¨pyxis¨ Guatemala style

New friend at work

Workin hard! (Sweet hat)

I´m alive I swear!!

Hi!
Sorry I haven´t blogged in a while but I want everyone to know I´m still doing great. I´m am absolutely loving my job. I stay so busy I don´t even know what happens to the day. And it´s all 100% nursing, the real stuff! I´ve even gotten used to my 5am wake up. I guess you can get used to everything if you do it every day. I´m still taking a few Spanish classes each week but it´s coming along so much faster now that I have to speak all day. I even started answering the phone this week at work!!! Yay! I have so much to share about my experience at the hospital. I am going to dedicate this weekend to blogging and job searching. If anybody has any suggestions about which hospital in Denver wants to hire a fun, smart, (really cute) new graduate nurse I would really appreciate them! Hope all is well on your end. I miss you all!

Lorell

p.s. I booked my flight to Belize so I officially have a new adventure to look forward too. So excited Brett gets to share it with me!!

Primer día

Wow, what an interesting first day. I was almost late though, even though I left my house at six am. The bus took almost 40 minutes because they had to pack it full of all the clinic patients. I was the only nurse on board so I felt kinda special. Maybe I´ll walk tomorrow? Any how I have been placed on the ¨area medicina de mujers¨ or the women´s medical floor. The floor has three private rooms and two group rooms, each with six beds lined up side to side. There are no curtains here, privacy doesn´t really exist. We made our morning rounds stopping at each bedside and talking about the patient´s diagnosis, condition, meds, I´s & O´s all right in front of them. This will take some getting used to I think. The hospital is difficult to describe. It is a public hospital, and serves much of the poverty stricken group that can´t afford the private hospital. There were over one hundred people waiting to be seen at the clinic when I arrived, most will have to come back tomorrow.
Everything in the hospital including beds, wheelchairs, desks, bed pans... everything was manufactured sometime before 1970. All the medicine, including narcs are just kept in drawers or bins. It is such a different world it´s difficult to explain. However I think the Surgical Clinic I participated in last fall prepared me some. Generally, there is one RN on the floor and two LPNs that work together each shift. The work together to care for all of the patients and are not assigned to any number of them. Med pass is a whirlwind of mixing meds, hanging antibiotics, and passing pills. There are just little cards with the patient´s meds written on them and then you initial the chart later. (yikes). If med errors occur here, and I´m sure they do, there would be no real record.

WARNING: If you are not comfortable with death or dying, do not read the following...

On a sad note, I actually lost a patient today. The other RN and I were talking to a patient´s family today when some ladies quietly came up beside us. They were patently waiting but seemed anxious. So I asked what they needed and they asked me to come check on a patient. Ummmmm... yes, the patient´s color was terrible and she didn´t have a pulse. So I called a CORE (yelled down the hall), or as much of one that exists here. We´re not really sure what happened, or how long she had been gone. The resuscitation seemed to me more like practice for the medical students, and no one really seemed to know exactly what to do. Maybe I´m just used to the well oiled machine that works in the PVH NICU. But I was the one that grabbed the CORE cart, was heaving ET tubes, and showing them how to work the defibrillator. (It wan´t plugged in and they couldn´t put the leads on because they got caught in the cart wheel). So after three rounds of epi, and five minutes of CPR we gave up. Quite an end to the day. I think I was most saddened that the patient didn´t have any family around and it was visiting hours. She was very old, and I was okay with her death but I wanted her to have some family there, someone to cry for her.

I wan´t sure if I should include all that, and certainly wouldn´t if I was working in the states. But I wanted to share the experience. Love and miss you all. I´ll try to keep my morbid stories to myself in the future.

Listo! Ready!

For those who don´t know I officially got my job at the National Hospital and it starts on Monday. I had to take a spoken Spanish competency exam last week that was lots of fun. Somehow I passed and now I´m all ready! Or as ready as I´m going to be that is. Today I bought white undies, socks, and shoes to accompany my uniform. The nursing director made it very clear that white undies were especially important. I don´t think I´ve owned a pair of tighty whities since elementary school so I had to head to the market today in search.

My only issue is that my uniform arrived today and it´s a bit tight. I was afraid of this, and was hoping it would travel a little faster than Guatemala time to get here. Unfortunately, I wasn´t so lucky. The pants are pretty dang sexy so luckily I have another pair to wear on Monday if I can´t change them before then. Don´t get me wrong, I think the uniform would make an excellent halloween costume but might not be so appropriate for work. Oh well. I´m very excited for Monday! Not too sure what floor I´m working on yet but I will report back when I find out. Have a great weekend!!

Spectacular Tikal!!!

It will be difficult to fit all of the adventures I had in Tikal into one blog but I am going to try! As I said before, the bus ride there was a bit eventful, but aside from that the trip was wonderful!! I stayed at a hostel called ¨Los Amigos¨ on the Island of Flores in the middle of a lake. The place is set up like a little indoor jungle with roofs only covering part of the building and open air to the rest. There are tons of trees and vegetation inside, a few (very sweet) resident pups, and some parrots too. I stayed in a shared dorm room for less than $4 a night but also spent some time lounging one of the many hammocks. I can´t believe I forgot to take pictures! I spent lots of time with the local kids and other guys from the hostel lounging on the nearby dock and practicing ¨flippies¨. In fact I became the go to girl for learning how to master the back flip. Will I ever outgrow this? Doubtful.

After a day of rest I set off bright and early at 4am for Tikal. I can´t begin to describe how amazing this experience was! I opted out of the big, loud, expensive tour group and decided to buy a map and explore on my own. This was such a great decision for me! With a few tips from a guide I was able to avoid the sight of a single person for the first three hours of my morning. I was able to wake up on a nice private hike through the jungle with the monkeys (howler and spider), toucans, birds, cicadas, and one not so welcome snake. At least I didn´t step on him right? After this I began slowly working my way around all of the massive monuments, palaces, and temples. The large groups were great because if I only waited a few minutes they were off to the next spot and I had the entire place to myself. I can´t describe how surreal the feeling is to sit on something so massive that was built so long ago. And to try to grasp the concept that a mere 25% of the ruins are visible above ground? What!!! How massive were they before they sunk down and the jungle grew up?? It was like being in the middle of an Indiana Jones movie!! I climbed everything I was permitted to despite my extreme fear of heights. I only had one near panic attack climbing off one monument (temple VI, I believe?) that had a ladder of sorts up its massive 70 meters in the sky. I took tons of pictures that I am attempting to post on facebook including many views of the jungle from the tops! So far I haven´t been successful so please enjoy the ones below. It was bitter sweet enjoying this alone. I enjoyed the peaceful experience but I so wanted to share it with you all!

The second day I confronted my other fear, a fear of the dark, in the snake caves ¨las cuavas kan actun¨. No worries Aunt Cacky… there were no snakes, just bats. So again, I went alone and had a very unique experience in my solitude. That of trying not to pee my pants. You see, the caves are massive, and mostly well lit by bright lights. However, I decided to visit the caves in the middle of a thunder storm. Just as I was entering the caves the man handed me a flashlight informing me that there was a good chance that the lights would go out from the storm when I was deep inside. But not to worry! He would just come find me. I got some idea of how that would have gone for me when I got a little turned around in an area of the cave that wasn´t well lit and proceeded to freak out until I found my way back out. In retrospect it’s funny… then not so much. But in all seriousness the cave was spectacular especially considering I have never explored one before. What beauty! And I actually consider bats to be quite cute now though they are a little camera shy.
Well I think that is it for my adventures for now. Brett and I are planning a trip to Belize at the end of the month so I need to save up for that one. Plus I start full time work at the hospital next week and I anticipate that being enough of an adventure to last me for a while. I get to wear all white so pictures to come! Love and miss you all still!!