My true calling...

Today was great! I woke up later than 3 am for the first time since arriving and went out to my favorite Pho spot. I have been practicing my Kamer "Cambodian" with hostel staff and gave it a go this morning. Fortunately it was met by a few laughs and smiles from the shy ladies who cook my food. I met up with Brent and Lori and we got a tuk tuk to the clinic. Sadly it was another slow day with only 4 scheduled surgeries but I was able to assist in 2 of them. I am becoming more proficient at scrubbing-in as well as gowning up without touching non-sterile objects. [You'd think it would be easy but after finally succeeding without a re-scrub the staff looked like they wanted to give me a medal]. The first surgery was to remove this poor gentleman's sixth toes. That's right, I said sixth toes (plural)! He had one extra big toe per foot! Only myself and one other surgeon operated on this poor man who was awake for the entire procedure! He had received a spinal block so he didn't feel a thing but I could tell he was freezing in the air-conditioned OR because he shook violently. He was brought warm blankets and stopped shivering which only revealed my own trembling hands to the surgeon (I was nervous). I helped cut, hold, lift, and wrap, it was AWESOME! At the end of the surgery we took pictures of his severed toes and discussed therapy with him (most of which I didn't understand because it was all in Kamer). The doctors here are extremely patient and always ready to explain things in their broken English. Our last surgery wasn't until the afternoon so I took another long lunch. Today I ate snail soup with fried whole fish. I can't say that I care too much for snail but it was a unique experience. After that, I teased some kids and made funny faces for the patients in recovery and they got a kick out of that. It feels good to see them smile. Finally, it came time to start the last surgery. This gentleman had a very badly misaligned foot that was a result of having polio when he was young. The surgery was incredible and I was right in the thick of it with three other surgeons. They cut his Achilles tendon as well as two others to relieve tension, sutured some together, and finally drilled a hole clear through the middle of his foot and drew a tendon from his calf over the top of his foot (under the skin) and using fishing wire pulled it partially into the hole. The idea is when the bone heals it will grow around the tendon and hold it there permanently. We were able to return his foot to a natural position and cast it. Even though the physicians and I spoke different languages we still all understood each other and worked well as a team. Its hard to describe the feeling of doing these surgeries.. I want to do this forever it is my calling. This hands-on helping people and making a real difference in their lives is why I wanted get into medicine in the first place. Tomorrow there are already 11 surgeries scheduled!! I can't wait! I may even get to suture for the first time! This may have surpassed the Peace Corps as one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had! Sorry this was soo long but it was an incredible day! I am working on getting some pictures online so bare with me..