Saturday, November 1 – 9:36 p.m.

We arrived safely without a hitch. The bus was a bit late meeting us at the airport due to heavy rains and swollen rivers. We are all fed well, checked into the hotel, and all our baggage arrived intact. It’s time for bed!

David Drozek, D.O.

Sunday, November 2 – 8:17 p.m.

We had a busy day setting up and having clinic. I have 21 cases scheduled already, mostly gallbladders. We are scheduling 3 gallbladders a day! Everyone is having a great time so far! Time for bed; a big day tomorrow.

David Drozek, D.O.

Thursday, November 6 – 7:06 a.m.

On Sunday, while I screened patients for surgery, the students sorted supplies and medications for the week. They prepared the supplies for each planned surgery in different bags ready for use or sterilization.

Beginning on Monday, the students each took responsibility for a patient; getting them ready for surgery, starting the IV, helping them into the OR, assisting in the surgery, often doing the final suturing and application of the dressings, then taking the patient to recovery and watching them through the initial recovery phase. If the patient was kept overnight, they visited the patient the next morning. The students also went over the discharge instructions and gave the patients their medications for pain.

The team has worked wonderfully together, helping out where ever needed, cleaning rooms and instruments. The Honduran OR assistant and cleaning lady have been very happy to have our help, especially since we have increased their workload tremendously for the week.

Our team nurse from the Cincinnati area has not worked much with DOs. He and I share a hotel room. He commented on how impressed he was with our students. He expected them to be like other med students he met, who tended to be proud, aloof, and lacked interpersonal skills. He commented that our students were “real people”!

I don’t know if you are aware of the team composition: 4 OUCOM students- one third, three fourth year; a third year DO ER resident from Doctors West, a nurse anesthetist, a nurse (with extensive ICU / life flight experience) and myself. The team is a bit small for what we are doing. I was worried that we didn’t have an OR nurse or tech with experience to help us. Two of our students who plan on a surgery residency and the ER resident, have filled the gaps wonderfully managing the OR equipment and keeping the OR flow going.

We have done 9 cholecystectomies by laparoscopy in the last three days, plus several hernias; doing five cases a day. These patients have been sick for so long, that their gallbladders were very thick and scarred, making the surgeries among the most difficult I have done. Because of that, many of the surgeries have been stressful, and the days long. No one has complained! Everyone has been extremely helpful and supportive of one another.

That’s it for now!

David Drozek, D.O.

Tuesday, November 11

It is Tuesday morning. We have not had Internet access since Saturday when we left La Ceiba for Hotel Canadien and some rest.

Our ER resident and one student spent Saturday morning in an emergency room at the government hospital seeing and treating patients. They have some interesting stories! The rest of us rested at the Hotel Canadien, enjoying our first sunshine of the week, and the Caribbean beach. Saturday evening, our anesthetist and nurse headed back to La Ceiba with Doris Eggenberger, the director of Hospital Suizo, to stay the night at her home and catch the early bus to San Pedro Sula for their flight home on Sunday.

Sunday was another day of relaxation, sunshine and a visit to a small zoo nearby maintained by a friend of mine on his dairy farm.

Monday, the waves and west wind caused by hurricane Paloma to our north east subsided enough for us to visit the Cayos Cochinos islands and do some snorkeling on the coral reef. I have some friends who live there, who opened their home and boat dock to us for a few hours of relaxation.

Today, the clouds have returned and the rain appears imminent. We head back to La Ceiba to hold a post op clinic, and hopefully send this email! We were invited to lunch by one of the families for whom we operated on two of their family members. We also hope to visit a nice private hospital in La Ceiba today, as time permits.

Tomorrow we head for San Pedro Sula and the students begin their experience with the Honduran medical students.

David Drozek, D.O.

Thursday, November 13

Yesterday (Wednesday, 12 Nov) we traveled from La Ceiba to San Pedro Sula, with a stop in Tela (home town of OUCOM student, Jose Bustillo) for lunch on the beach.

We arrived at the Hotel Sula, freshened up, and headed for the Universidad Catolica de Honduras (UCH) where we met the Director, Academic Sub-director, and our medical student hosts.

We discovered that the beginning their 5th of 7 years of medical school, the students begin taking every fourth night on call, doing a 36 hour shift. Our two Nicks were being hosted by students on call, so they began last evening. They were given an option out, but decided to go for the experience!

All four students will be on the internal medicine service, but will have an opportunity to be in the OR if they like.

Our ER resident, Jason, will be in the ER during the day today and tomorrow.

I hope to get some pictures and more details later today as I observe how things are going at the hospital.

David Drozek, D.O.

Thursday, November 13

Our team members are situated at the Hospital Mario Catarina Rivas, an 800 bed referral public hospital for the northern half of Honduras. Jason, our ER residents is in the medical ER seeing patients; our four OUCOM students are on the internal medicine service making rounds and watching procedures. The Nicks did house call last night until 10:00, then began again this morning.

Jason did an interview for an Internet news network. They told him his interview would be on line between 1:00 and 2:00 PM today (2:00-3:00 in Ohio) at www.telered21.com. He hopes to get a hardcopy tomorrow.

David Drozek, D.O.

Friday, November 14

Dilcia is the mother of 2 precious children, one in the picture, the other a 9 month old baby sleeping peacefully a few steps away.

No, Dilcia could not muster a smile. (See how broadly YOU smile 4 days post op gall bladder surgery. but she is eating, etc. She is staying with a "granny" lady that takes in about 30 kids, herself! (HHK helps THAT lady.)

These two children would undoubtedly have been orphans very soon, because the mother was having attacks every few weeks.

YOUR $30 paid tor the necessary pre-operative exams, including sonogram, so that the Surgery Brigade from University of Ohio could operate. (at no charge, of course.)

Ever see so LITTLE do so MUCH medically!!!

David E. Black, MD (http://www.hondurasmd.org/)