Only in Honduras

1) Noticing my upset that my can of lemon eucalyptus oil bug spray was refusing to dispense its contents; Jake attended to the issue. And in attempting to prime the pump of the can, he successfully sprayed the oil directly into his eye. Sprinting for the sink to wash out his burning eye, I sat doubled-over on the couch in a fit of laughter. The unique situations you find yourself in when life requires daily insect repellent! (and don't worry, though it stung, it is a natural and benign substance that did not hurt his eye).

2) "We've got another one for you!" was how she was presented to me. There is a rather bizarre necrotizing infection that I've seen probably about 5 times in the past 8 months. It stays to the skin of the lower leg and stops at the fascia, all muscle layers and deeper tissues remain healthy and essentially untouched. We don't know what microbe is responsible or how it starts, but hopefully in the near future our hospital lab will have the ability to run cultures and we can start investigating these questions. In the meantime, it requires removal of the necrotic and infected skin and then after these large open wounds have started healing, I skin graft the leg to cover it again. This particular patient was either more nervous/anxious than normal, or she was just more vocal about it, but she was full of questions and concerns especially surrounding any potential pain. She was awake for the surgery and covered with spinal anesthesia so when I paused to pray before starting she heard and began to pray out loud along with me. It is very common in Honduras for the congregation to pray out loud along with their pastor, so this was not anything surprising. But once I reached an amen and began cutting, let's just say she had a fantastic spinal anesthetic, because she kept right on praying. And she kept on praying almost until the point that we were finished. Perhaps the best treatment for our worry, anxiety and concern; calling on the name of Jesus, our Protector.

Disclaimer: the following photo can be disturbing

3) This was another case from this week as well. Unfortunately, this isn't exactly uncommon. Patients come to us with orthopedic, or bone, issues that they have dealt with for years and usually have received treatment elsewhere in the country. You can see for yourself the issue(s). It leaves us all a little bewildered sometimes.

Much Love.