Not quite the Cleveland Clinic

I was able to borrow a nurse's apron from another volunteer who is now done with her health project. So, I went to Bharatpur Hospital today via rickshaw and felt pretty useless. Well, sort of. I think the first day is usually pretty tough. You're new, you don't speak the language, you look different, your uniform isn't exactly the same...I'm sure there are other differences. I did rounds with the doc who was very friendly and informative. There are about 4 medical wards, each with 8 beds, and then a few cabins, that house 2 beds each. In the male wards, there were thin mattresses on the floor where they put more patients. There is one sink per ward (and I didn't see a bar or a drop of soap anywhere!) and what seems to be a med cart that they push from ward to ward. The doc said to me, Have you seen many HIV patients? To which I replied a hearty, No. He then tells me that there are about 3 in the ward we were in. There's also tuberculosis (and they stay in the same room...once he told me that, the air in the room suddenly got real thick to me...ahhhhhh), cirrhosis, poisoning, and a fair amount of COPD. There was a man who looked to be in so much pain and he sorely needed some comforting. It's pretty amazing to me how much good friendly gestures can do, even if you can't verbally communicate with the person.

Tomorrow is a holiday, as are all Saturdays. I'll be back to work on Sunday, hopefully with more to do since I'll get there at the beginning of the shift, which is 7 am to 1 pm. Off now to celebrate Juan's birthday. A lot of the other kids have come all the way from KTM just to wish him well!