The End of the Week
Hola hola!
Sorry for the lack of updates this year via our blog! The combination of spotty internet + trying to conserve bandwidth + late nights = lack of blogging. That being said, here’s an update as to how the rest of the week has gone!
Thursday was another busy day (I sound like a broken record), but the morning started out with several adorable little babies that were a “ton of fun” in the words of Billy Grande. Our PACU team (Kathy, Heather, and Angela) deserve a medal for Thursday’s recovery room though as many of our patients woke up a little more agitated than usual to say the least. These ladies always know how to calm down our little ones when they wake up confused and wanting mommy. If we’ve learned one thing in the PACU over the last 25 years, it’s that “mommy” is a universal term for “I’m not feeling well, you people look weird, and I want to go home.” So thank you to our PACU team for taking care of some patients whose strength rivals that of MMA fighters.
Thursday afternoon we worked hard to finish all of our patients to avoid having to operate on Friday to make packing easier. Thanks to some master shuffling of the OR schedule by Ned and Mack, we were able to see all of our patients before our last large case of the week. Our last case was what we like to call an “all skate” aka 4 surgeons and 2 assists were scrubbed in working on two legs at the same time. It was definitely a sight to see– 4 of the best orthopods in the country scrubbed in at the same time. We always talk about delivering the best care possible on our trips, and when I see a case such as this one I can’t help but be in awe of how fortunate we are to have such talented surgeons, physicians, nurses, and volunteers at our disposal.
As the “all skate” was taking place, the rest of the group began taking inventory of supplies, packing, sorting, and sterilizing instruments. You cannot truly fathom how much it takes to make a Kids First trip happen until you are packing up and surveying just how much must be brought into the country for a week of surgery. We bring all of our own supplies down to the fluffs and marking pens, and our grade A organization is thanks to all of our team who spends hours counting suture, sorting through the dungeon, I mean basement, and labeling supplies. However, a special thanks goes to our very own Lynnie who spends months ahead of time making sure we have everything we need and knowing where it is. There is not a suture she does not know about or a screw that doesn’t have a place. Thank you Lynnie! This year our packing got an upgrade thanks to Ned and Billy Grande! This duo drove an hour each way by cab to buy us plastic bins for our supplies. Try navigating the rural backroads of Mexico with limited Spanish speaking capabilities searching for an Office Depot. Thank you Ned and Billy Grande!! The basement looks 10X better thanks to your tireless efforts.
Thursday night was a late one so we all decided to return home for a few hours of shut eye before returning the next morning. Friday we arrived to the hospital and packed all of our supplies into the basement in a KF record time. You would’ve thought there was a fire with how quickly we were pushing gurneys full of supplies in and out of the hospital. Friday afternoon we were able to enjoy San Miguel and each other’s company for a few hours before closing ceremonies. Today is another beautiful day in SMA and we are about to embark to our favorite place, Nirvana, for lunch and to reminisce on another incredible trip. Stay tuned for one last wrap-up post and a few highlights from the past 25 years of Kids First! Hasta luego!!
