I have a bazillion pictures and I will upload them until I get too tired to keep my eyes open. We had an amazing day. We had way more people show up for the clinic than we anticipated (which is not too surprising, actually). Our fearless leader, Tammy, was a bit stressed trying to keep things from getting completely out of control, but she is extremely organized and did a great job.
They needed help in the clinic so (squeal!!) I was put at the first station where we did everyone's stats. It was....I want to say amazing, but I realize I have already used that word about four times since the beginning of this post. We were able to identify quite a few who had high blood pressure and some with fevers. They went from our station to the doctor...then to the 'lab'...then the optometrist....then the pharmacy. (Not always in that order). When we had seen everyone at station one, I was switched to pharmacy duty where I helped put the meds in bags and write the directions in Spanish. Only one problem....I don't speak Spanish, nor did I know any pharmacy lingo (but now I know what TID and BID means...woohoo!). It was somewhat scary trying to write out the directions in Spanish since I didn't want to overdose them. Ack!
One particularly distressing case was a 27 year old guy who came at the end. He had gotten a strep infection over a year ago that went untreated. He tried to go to the hospital but there is a one year wait!!! He now has nephritic syndrome--meaning his kidney's are about to fail. He was critical and was taken to the hospital. I hope and pray they agreed to take him and also hope that his kidney's aren't damaged beyond repair. Soooooo heartbreaking. And all so unnecessary.
The church were the women's conference is being held. The clinic is in the white building to the left.
My mom hands out forms for the women to fill out.
Waiting in line. It was SO hot. They all waited very patiently.
Adorable little girl from one of the homes nearby. She played around the clinic all day.
These two girls were laughing hysterically at how they looked in these glasses. They were actually reading glasses for the older people.
Choosing a new pair of glasses!
Eye exam
Dr. Ana does an exam
More kids from the neighborhood. They were so cute.
Cold Coka Cola + glass bottles + REAL sugar = The Elixir of Happiness
I'm madly in love with this adorable baby who belongs to one of the pastors' wives. She was petrified of my camera. It took some work but I won her over by the end of the day. Her name is Linda and she is SOOOOO cute!!
My dad and one of our fearless leaders, Jerry.
This little girl was also petrified of me in the morning, but after getting to see herself on the back of my camera, her curiosity got the better of her and she became my friend.
Baby Linda and her daddy
The requested picture of me in my scrubs
Getting some lab results
These bananas were hanging in the house next door. I went over to take this picture and the sweet lady who lived there cut down a bunch and bagged them up for me. They were delicious!
Could any little boy look sadder? Not sure if he was shy or just sad.
More cute kids who hung around all day.
At 4PM, it was time for the ladies to go shopping. For those of you who donated money for them to get new dresses and shoes...oh my goodness...I wish you could have seen them. They were giddy with excitement! We caught up with them when they were almost done shopping and I was able to get a few shots.
Baby Linda's super cute mom holds up her new dress! And there was a cute new outfit for baby Linda as well!
These ladies are precious. The one in pink was a bit disappointed because she couldn't find any shoes she liked in her size.
In the shoe department...
Baby Linda likes shopping!
Showing us their purchases
Lookin' good, Girl!
Baby Linda's new outfit! Her daddy said he waited 22 years for a wife. I think it was worth the wait because she is a GEM.
We thought we were done but then it was discovered that baby Linda needed some shoes. Well, that needed to be remedied (and let's be honest...we all adore her and it's stinkin' fun to buy baby stuff).
"Baby girl, do you want some new shoes?"
Now she just needs to learn to walk!
All the ladies in their beautiful new outfits.
I can't really express what the day was like but hopefully you can kind of get an idea from looking at the pictures. God has put a love for these women in my heart. When we prayed for our meal tonight, it was amazing to see and hear them pray right along with my dad. I opened my eyes and watched them in awe. The love for Jesus that was in their faces was amazing. So moving...and humbling to see.
I'm probably forgetting tons of things but my brain is turning to mush and we have another early morning. The clinic will be just as busy tomorrow and we may also being seeing some children as patients.
