I'm back!

I just returned last night from my trip to Belize. I had an incredible adventure. We saw almost 600 patients in our 4 days of clinic and I even got to go on a 40-foot catamaran trip, complete with snorkeling and sunbathing!

Morning sickness was in full force as Jordan drove me to the airport last Saturday morning, and though I felt nauseous on each of the flights, when we landed in Belize, it instantly vanished. In fact, I did not get sick until the day we drove back to the airport in Belize City. I'd say "there's something in the water," but I was avoiding the Belizean water like the plague. Maybe there's something in the bottled Belizean water. ;)

I did get a bajillion bug bites all over my feet, legs, arms, back, and (quite annoyingly) along my panty line. Now that's awkward to itch in public! :) And, true to my self-diagnosing form, I am convinced that I have 1) scabies 2) lice and 3) probable TB. Just kidding!

Everyone on the trip did an amazing job watching out for me and Baby Zucchini. One day, JP, our nurse practitioner from Denver, another student named Brian and I drove an 8-year old boy named Kevin to the government hospital for an x-ray and casting of a fractured distal fibula. Inside the hospital, I leaned up against the wall, and JP quickly pulled me away from it, informing me that there might be lead paint in the walls, which would be bad for the baby. Later, when we took Kevin's x-rays, she not only ushered me out of the x-ray room, but out of the hospital entirely, joking that we didn't know just how far those ancient x-ray machine beams might spread. ;) When we split up between two hotels and one was a tad nicer than the other, all the students voted for me to stay there instead. Everyone helped me make smart food decisions and was mindful of not spraying their 100% DEET bug spray near me. I think my plant-based lemon eucalyptus (non-DEET) bug spray turned out to be bug-attractant. Oh well. I am taking my anti-malarial prophylactic, Chloroquine, so I should be protected from malaria.

While on the trip, I crossed the 8 week mark, which means that the baby now has little elbows and shoulders! We have our next appointment next Thursday, but I'm sure I'll have more posts between now and then.

Today I started my last class before I start studying for the USMLE Board Exam on June 11th and my time in the hospital begins in late June. I can't believe how quickly this has all gone!