Have been having some computer and internet problems and that is why I am behind on posting on here. Also, we have been just incredibly busy and I haven't had a lot of time either. Our typical schedule is we get up and have breakfast at 8 and then move to our first clinical site from there we normally come back to the church and have lunch (unless we have been asked to have lunch somewhere which has happened a few to many times this week, because then we don't get a break) after lunch we typically have a break for about an hour or so unless we aren't eating here then no break. Then we move to our next clinical site, different from the morning. Return somewhere around 6pm...shower...go to the church at 7pm. The mass is in Spanish here, but surprisingly it goes by super fast, Padre is very entertaining and captures your attention even though I don't understand a word he is saying normally. After church we talk with parish members, including our MU family. Then finally eat dinner about 8 and by this time we are exhausted and try to write in our journals and send out a few emails but then are in bed pretty early. The days go by so fast, but we are always so tired. Luckily, this afternoon we have the afternoon off so we can get some school work done and just relax for a little bit.

Some of my clinicals have been at the hospice, nursing home, Emergency room, and doing home visits. Going to the hospice on my first day was awesome. The hospice here is for the dying, but also cares for people that are chronically ill and are unable to care for themselves and don't have family. Several of the patients had very severe pressure ulcers. Stage 4 pressure ulcers for those of you that are not nursing majors I will spare you throwing up your breakfast, and for those of you that are nurses I will let your minds wander but yes bones were present. I changed the dressing on these wounds and packed them. The patients that had these awful ulcers did not get them from the hospice the nurses here are very giving. They normally come in from home with them or got them while in the hospital. The hospital does not always provide the best quality care.

The Emergency Room was great and just such a different environment then a United States hospital. When the internet decides to start working better here I will upload a picture of what it looked like. I also got to work in the peds unit at the hospital which I obviously loved and was caring for a three month year old baby girl that was having a very difficult time breathing and though possibly had pneumonia. It was so sad. They also do not have adequate resources here and hand washing and wearing gloves is optional most of the time. I bring my own gloves and hand sanitizer and can not sanitize often enough.

Home visits are a very very humbling experience. The nurses from the parish go around to as many homes as they can and give medications, monitor hypertensive patients, and diabetic patients. Having these people welcome us into their homes just makes me appreciate my life even more. To think that anyone one of us could of been born into a country like this and live in these conditions yet somehow we are all lucky enough to be born into the homes and families that we did just makes me so grateful. Even just to be born into the United States makes me grateful, not to mention being born into the amazing family I was born into and being surrounded by the great friends I have. (Again I will try to get some other pictures up of these homes, when the connection is better)

Unfortunately, one of the other nursing students I am with from Marquette, Hailey. Injured her finger on Tuesday while working in the Emergency Room. All the clinical sites are lacking supplies and they did have the proper equipment that we have in the US to open glass ampules and Hailey cut her finger while preparing an injection. At first no one thought her cut was a big deal. But after seeing a doctor, getting xrays done, seeing a hand specialist, and getting MRI she is on her way back to the United States today to have surgery. She is hoping to return to us down here, but that is still very much in the air. Say a prayer for her that her surgery goes well and that she can return.

Wednesday night the people of a nearby village had a fiesta for us and it was so cute. They were so happy to put this fiesta on for us. At first I really did not want to go just because I was so tired and I knew we would be up late, but it was so fun. They decorated with balloons and the other supplies they had and we danced the  night away. The little kids fought over who could dance with me and who could sit on my lap. Just another way that these people are so grateful for us coming down here.

Say a prayer for the Peruvian people down here and for our Marquette nurses that we continue to stay healthy and safe. I pray for all of you back home and hope that everyone is doing well. Enjoy the warm weather. Miss you!