Translating pass

The Honduran docs at Hospital Loma de Luz all speak varying levels of English. Some excel, while others struggle a little bit, but no matter the level whenever they come to me with a consult, they speak English. Initially, I was a bit perturbed by their insistence on speaking English to me. Especially when I could see them search to find a word, etc. I need the practice with Spanish, and would have preferred an exchange in Spanish even if it meant I had to struggle. I've since changed my opinion. After a few indirect conversations, I now understand that same as I want to practice Spanish, they likewise want to practice English. Frequently, our short-term medical teammates do not know Spanish, and it is then that they have to speak English. So in the meantime, they use me for practice. So they speak to me in English, I respond in Spanish, and we both get practice.

The other day was a busy OR day. I had started off that morning with a simple umbilical hernia that I repaired and reinforced with a mesh without an issue. He was taken to the post op recovery room and paperwork filled out for a discharge home. A few hours later I was scrubbed into a hysterectomy case with a visiting OB/GYN surgeon. I noticed Dr. Julio come into the OR and plant himself by the patient's head. He was just tall enough to glance over the sheet in my direction. He hadn't come into the OR in a hurry, nor had he announced himself, so I was slightly confused as to what he could want. Normally, they wait until I am finished with surgery to present consults or ask questions, so I figured it was more urgent, but that didn't match his more carefree entry. I turned my attention towards him to see what he had for me. With a smile in his eyes, he informed me that "my hernia patient from that morning had passed away!" I blinked at him processing his message; he just stood there smiling, waiting for my response. Anesthesia paused, and the room became still. I asked him to repeat his message, and he again tried to reiterate to me that my patient had passed away. By which time I had clarified the message using his body language, and the lack of prior notification of anything untoward happening in the recovery area, that he in fact was meaning "pass out" rather than "pass away." We all had a wonderful laugh at the translation faux pas and expressed our thankfulness that the patient was not in fact dead.

A small group of us got together for New Year's Eve. L to R: Elias (short-term RN), Jake, me, Dra Elena, Dr. Glori (visiting OB/GYN), Dr. Julio, Dr. Gerardo, Dr. Marco

Much Love.