Solo Procedure and Full Moon Hike
Even though I decided against going into medicine, I still do work at the hospital every day and I continue to scrub in. One day, there were only two surgeons working in the burn unit so I was working on all of the cases. One of the doctors went out of the room so it was just me and one other surgeon. He was the one that taught me since I arrived at the hospital in June and he took the slow schedule as an opportunity to teach me more. We took the bandages off and washed the child, then we scrubbed in. He asked me my opinion on what steps we should take and listened as I gave my view. He looked at me and said “I agree, now do it.”, then he stepped aside and put me front and center. He acted as my assistant and I did my first and probably only solo procedure of my life. I grafted an entire arm and half of a torso that was burnt in a paraffin fire. From taking the skin, to bandaging up when I finished, the surgery was all mine and I do have to say that it was flawless. I am very proud of the skills that I have learned here and doctor or not, I have grown from this experience. I still am very saddened by everything that I see at the hospital and I think it is tragic the things we have to do but I am also seeing the other side of it. Without these doctors, these kids wouldn’t stand a chance. To be honest, yes some of the surgeons are arrogant pricks but you know what? They get the job done. Whether they show emotion or not, they go to work every day to fight for the lives of kids and that is something you can’t argue. It is a hectic environment to walk into day after day and you can’t judge people for how they have deal with it. Some cry, some get angry, some seem absolutely fine with everything and some just put a wall around themselves. Basically, until you experience it, you can never imagine what it is actually like.
That night, we decided to join the mobs of people climbing Lion’s Head to see the full moon rise and the sunset into the ocean. This was our last chance at a full moon hike before we leave. The hike started out fine and we watched as the sky changed from blue to reds and purples while the sun went down. As we approached the “Use climbing aids at your own risk” part of the hike, the sun was completely set and darkness settled. A fellow hiker approached us and asked “Did you ladies forget to bring your torches?”. It took us a few minutes to realize he meant a flashlight and then our stomachs dropped. How had we not thought to bring a flashlight on a night hike up a mountain? We did, however, remember to bring 3 bottles of champagne to pop at the top as the tradition requires. We finally reached the top and found a place to relax and enjoy the beautiful moon rising behind the mountains. Without proper torches, the descent took longer than expected. We used our dinky little flashlight apps on our smart phones to get some light and they worked surprisingly well. I’m not sure the inventers of that app ever thought it would be used to get people down a mountainside but we were quite pleased with ourselves once we made it safely to the bottom. It was worth the struggle though.