Today began earlier than the last, with breakfast at 6am as the sun fully rose over the mountains surrounding the hotel. One of the active volcanoes in view from the hotel was periodically letting out smoke this morning- a strange yet beautiful natural phenomenon we are not used to in the US.
Devotional again followed breakfast, in which Dr. Khalil once again took us through a powerful devotional centered on obedience as it relates to faith- specifically obedience to God’s call, which we have answered through our devotion and presence on this mission. Despite any inconveniences we had or sacrifices we made to get here, we answered the call and therefore honored our faith. A natural human tendency is the need to feel grounded and secure before extending ourselves to donate our skills, time and money- like we all have for this mission. However, faith is not equivalent to security and comfort, faith is not being grounded, rather, faith is having your feet off the ground and being comfortable in that.
The group subsequently discussed and reaffirmed our intentions for the day: that we cherish every moment with our patients even if we felt disoriented by our new hospital, and to take the extra time and to go the extra mile for our vulnerable patients so as to make them the most happy and most healthy we can.
I believe we certainly followed through on our intentions, as every team member worked collaboratively to ensure 9 successful surgeries- all hip and knee total joint replacements. Patients transitioned from the pre-operative room with nurses, then to the OR itself with the surgical team, and then to the post-operative room with nurses for more monitoring before finally heading to the hospital ward for physical therapy with our team physical therapist Kevin Lanan.
Many patients walked just hours after surgery, and we were all extremely pleased to check-in with them at all stages of the day. After our 3 OR teams had finished surgery for the day, they got a chance to introduce themselves individually and follow up with their patients in the hospital ward in order to connect after the operation. Special moments like those really put a nice bow on the day, remind our team members of our purpose here and create memories that will last a lifetime.
We walked back to Quinta de las Flores hotel after a day of hard work, and hung out as a group for an hour or two before another delicious dinner and dessert as the sun set.
We will have another early day tomorrow, expecting to complete another 9 surgeries, check in on the patients from the day prior and continue their physical therapy.
Until then,
Ben
To support this team and their commitment to our patients visit https://donate.faithinpractice.org/team/373443
