DAY 1: What do they say about best laid plans?
Date: June 29th, 2019
Location: New York, NY
By Kaitlin Monroig
Our blogger for the John Shanley M.D. M.P.H. 2019 Medical Mission was Kaitlyn Monroig. She is a rising second year medical student from Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook, NY.
After several months of planning, packing, and prepping, the day is finally here! We are so excited to start our journey to Peru. As the day comes to a close, our travels are just beginning! First, we fly from JFK in New York to Lima, Peru. It is expected to be an 8 hour flight. After a 3 hour layover, we will fly from Lima to Cusco, our final destination! Because of Murphy’s Law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong right? Currently, 4 of our members do not have a seat secured on the connecting flight from Lima to Cusco. The ticket agent was hopeful that it will work out as we emphasized the importance of our mission and preference to travel as a team! Wish us luck! ¡Vamos!
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DAY 2: You’re hungry again?
Date: June 30th, 2019
Location: Lima and Cusco, Peru
By Kaitlin Monroig
Well, we made it! After some hiccups along the way, the entire NY crew made the connecting flight from Lima to Cusco. There, we met up with the rest of our team who had traveled separately, and headed for our final destination of the day: Urubamba. After everyone was settled in at the air bnb, we set out to explore the town and to satisfy some (very) hungry travelers (even if they already ate an hour before)! Some of us tried a Peruvian staple: Chicha! It’s a drink made from maize that has a long standing cultural and community importance in Peru. After an incredible meal, the team gathered once more to discuss the plan for clinic tomorrow, organizing medications and medical equipment and lastly, and most importantly, the significance of our mission. We have been so fortunate with the education and resources that have been provided to us and we feel it is our responsibility to share those gifts. A Promise to Peru aims to not only provide short term medical attention, but has helped create along with FNE and the local ministry of health, sustainability and continuity of our care for our patients. We are so excited to get started tomorrow, but tonight we sleep! ¡Buenos noches!
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Day 3: ¿Come te sientes hoy?
Date: July 1st, 2019
Location: Calca, Peru
By Kaitlin Monroig
Today we had our first day of clinic in the town of Calca, Peru! It was an early start, we arrived at 8 am to set up and were seeing patients within a half hour. We saw well over 100 patients, and most wanted to see both medical doctors and optometrists. Medical students and undergraduate students were assigned to stations: triage, vital signs, translators for our physicians and physician assistants, diagnostic testing and the pharmacy. On site we had ultrasound and EKG readily available. It was a collective effort by everyone on the team, and for our first day of clinic it went well! We packed up and departed by 5 pm. In the morning we will discuss interesting cases and ideas to create as efficient a process for patients as possible. Tomorrow we are back in Calca for more!
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Day 4: ¿Puede ver mejor o lo mismo?
Date: July 2, 2019
Location: Calca, Peru
By Kaitlin Monroig
Word spreads quickly in Peru! After a busy day in Calca yesterday, we saw almost twice as many patients today! However, we created a more efficient system for intake and were able to trouble shoot and problem we faced. In addition, our medical students shadowing physicians were able to focus on their history and physical exam taking skills. We saw everything from blurry vision, gastritis, musculoskeletal pain, to even more severe cases of bronchiolitis. The people of Peru have been very kind and understanding. We feel incredibly appreciative of their patience. Tomorrow we will be seeing patients close by in Urubamba!
Today approximately 230 patients were seen in the medical clinic and the eye clinic.
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Day 5: Does walking to clinic count as a workout?
Date: July 3rd, 2019
Location: Urubamba, Peru
By Kaitlin Monroig
Another day, another hundred patients seen! Today we set up clinic at el centro de salud in Urubamba. It is a fully functioning clinic within walking distance from where we are staying. As a group we provided an additional resource for medical and eye care. Ultrasound and diagnostic testing was relied on heavily today and provided much needed insight for clinical decisions. In addition to celebrating our success today in clinic and ability to help those in need, we also celebrated two of our volunteers’ birthdays today! We had an amazing meal as an entire group and enjoyed many laughs (and lots and lots of food)! Tomorrow we are off to Marás! ¡Buenos noches!
Renaissance School of Medicine medical students Theresa Gammel and Kaitlyn Monroig obtaining medical histories for these patients in Urubamba. They will then be seen by one of our physicians.
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Day 6: We are so fortunate for the gifts we have received
Date: July 4th, 2019
Location: Marás, Peru
By Kaitlin Monroig
We are so fortunate for the gifts we have received and we are thankful you chose to share them.
Today we were in Marás, Peru! Marás is a very small town in the mountains located near a salt mine. We saw over 150 patients between the eye and medicine clinic. Many patients today only spoke Quechua, an indigenous language of Peru. All week we have worked with wonderful native translators who were able to translate from Quechua to Castellano, a language very similar to Spanish. This week has truly been a collaborative effort from everyone involved and we are so appreciate of everyone’s hard work! Although we are here for only a week, we are trying to make a lasting impact on our patients. Tomorrow is our last day of clinic; it is only fitting it is at our home base in Urubamba! ¡Hasta mañana!
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Day 7: ¡Hasta luego, Peru!
Date: July 5th, 2019
Location: Urubamba, Peru
By Kaitlin Monroig
And just like that we finished our last day of clinic! We set up in Urubamba for the last time this week. Although we were only able to stay for a half day, we saw over sixty patients! Over the entire week we saw over 750 patients! All of them were incredibly kind, appreciative, and it was our honor to talk with them, listen to their stories, and help in any way we could. This past week has been an incredible experience and we can only hope we made a difference. Until next year! ¡Gracias a todo!