Working in Cambodia

Cambodia:  MEDCAP 1

I had the opportunity to participate in 2 days of MEDCAP 1 in Cambodia on July 30 and August 2.  The first difference from Vietnam I noticed was the weather.  It was cloudy and much cooler than in Vietnam with a refreshing, gentle breeze.  However the humidity was so heavy I always felt there was a blanket of moisture covering my skin.  By the end of MEDCAP all the boxes and papers felt a bit water logged.  There was a torrential downpour a few times during the first day.  Thankfully I was dry in the pharmacy, but some of the patient’s didn’t fair so well underneath a pavilion that tried to blow away in the wind.

MEDCAP 1 was located in the city of Sihanoukville at a school named Hun Sen Cheung Kor.  The school consisted of two buildings in a L-shape with a courtyard in front.  Due to the rain almost the entire area was extremely muddy.  My shoes were atrocious by the end of the day.  I couldn’t understand how so many of the Cambodians wore flip-flops and their feet didn’t have much mud on them.

There were so many more children at the MEDCAP in Cambodia!  It’s nice to see their wide smiles and hear their laughter.  A few tried hanging out near the windows on the back of the pharmacy.  However, the pharmacist did not like that idea and continually reminded them to move along.

During the afternoon of the last day of MEDCAP a mother frantically walked into the pharmacy with her child.  We could not understand what she was saying, but it was clear she wanted help for her child.  The child was not moving and had a blank stare on her face.  With the help of our translators, she was ushered down to the pediatrics area.  Not much time passed until a provider appeared in the pharmacy asking for some Tylenol to give ASAP for a child that had a febrile seizure.  It was the same patient and I was happy to know she was promptly received care.

A Lesson in Painting

On August 1^st I volunteered to assist with an ENGCAP in Kampot, Cambodia.  My duty was to paint the shutters and windows of a health clinic undergoing renovations.  A nurse practitioner from the Latter Day Saints and I double teamed the windows for about 5 hours and only fully completed one (painting shutters with a paint brush is more time consuming than I thought).  We were given information on how to properly paint a window (brush out the runs, fully cover the existing color, etc).  The project needs to be finished on the 9^th of August and the hope was to complete each window with only one coat of paint.  Thankfully I’ve heard the finer points on painting before and was confident in my ability with a paintbrush.  However, there is a very good reason paint shouldn’t be used in wet, humid environments.  As the rain ferociously bombarded the ground, we noticed that our carefully painted shutters had runs in the paint.  It did not matter how many times it was brushed out.  At any rate, it looks great from a distance.  I came away mostly unscathed from the red paint.  Only a bit of paint made it’s way onto my nails and glasses!  Also in that area, the military is finishing up a maternity ward it built for the clinic and is updating the community center.  I wish them luck finishing their project.  I can’t imagine working 10-14 hours outside everyday.

On a side note, the 2-hour drive there was pretty frightening.  The road was paved, but it some areas the potholes went from one side of the road to the other.  Gravel had been placed to fill the holes, but it mostly just got pushed to the side.  Our van driver did his best to avoid the potholes by veering from side to side of the road.  It was a very bumpy ride and I can only imagine what it would have been like had none of the road been paved!  The drive did offer magnificent views of the Cambodian jungle and a snapshot of life in rural Cambodia.  I saw several people working in rice patties, families eating meals together, children playing, and water buffalo trying to cross the road.

Goodbye Vietnam and Hello Cambodia

Tour of Vinh City

On the 21^st of July I went on a tour of the area surrounding Vinh Vietnam.  Unfortunately our tour guides did not speak very much English and there were times I wasn’t sure what I was looking at.  However, I still had a good time and learned more about Vietnam.  Much of the tour focused on Ho Chi Min and communism.  Stops along the tour were Ho Chi Min’s birthplace, the Ho Chi Min Museum, and the Soviet Museum.  The Ho Chi Min Museum was gorgeous with pagoda inspired buildings and tranquil gardens.  The museum included a jeep Ho Chi Min rode in, clothes Ho Chi Min wore, and a memorial to Ho Chi Min.  At the memorial there was a special spot to leave flowers.  I noticed many people looking as though they were praying to the statue of Ho Chi Min.  I found this interesting as most people in Vietnam are atheist, but many practice ancestor worship.  Ho Chi Min was everywhere, as a statue in the park to paintings for sale to plates to eat off of.  It became quite apparent that the people of Vietnam have a great respect for Ho Chi Min and view him as a hero.

Ho Chi Min Museum

Ho Chi Min Museum

At the Soviet Museum we had a tour guide.  She wore a beautiful Ao Dia, a traditional Vietnamese dress.  As we discussed her dress, she told me that I could pull off an Ao Dia myself and that several places sold them in the city.  I was very tempted.  Practicality won out in the end and I did not purchase one…

Ho Chi Min Statue in the Soviet Museum

The last stop of the day was a Temple.  It was elaborately decorated on the inside with gold while the smell of incense hung in the air.  The temple set on top a mountain and offered beautiful views of the Lam River below.  It was a very peaceful, yet hot, environment.

View of the Lam River

 

Surgery

On the 21^st I had the opportunity to observe a surgery on an inguinal hernia of a three-year-old girl.  I did not have the opportunity to see much of what was going on, as there were seven other people also trying to observe, plus the three physicians doing the procedure.  The observers were Japanese and Vietnamese physicians and one medical student.   Since they are much more likely to perform a surgery than I am, I tried to stay out of their way as much as possible.  I was able to observe the teamwork between the three physicians as they worked to improve a little girl’s life.  During the surgery a drape was placed, so only the area of the body being operated on was seen.  That being said, I couldn’t forget the precious face of the little girl as the surgeons were performing their operation.  I hope she had a successful recovery from the surgery!

I had the opportunity to see some of the patients as they left the ship on the 24^th before we began sailing to Cambodia.  The patients looked so happy and waved as they passed.  It was nice to see the faces of the inpatients that received some of the medications provided by the pharmacy.  Also leaving us on the 24^th was the Japanese Ship, Oosumi.  The ship had stayed by our side from Indonesia until the end the Vietnam.  We went outside on the deck to wave goodbye to our Japanese counterparts.  I wish they could have stayed with us throughout Cambodia too.

Fun and Games

On July 24^th we held the Pharmacy Olympics.  Games included pin the tail of the water buffalo, pharmacy trivia, building the tallest tower out of boxes of prednisolone acetate ophthalmic solution in 1 minute, and a scavenger hunt.  We played in teams of two.  Josie, an Austrialian pharmacist, and I partnered up to form the Pharminators.  I’m not sure how Josie felt about being my team mate afterwards, but let’s just say that pin the tail on the water buffalo just isn’t my game.  However, we did redeem ourselves by winning the tower building contest with a whopping 24 inch tall tower.

Pharmacy Olympics

The ship provides activities to keep everyone entertained.   One night we had an ice cream social.  The navy band made it a party with their excellent playing.  Another evening we watched Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol on the flight deck.  It was very windy and everyone’s chairs and popcorn kept wanting to blow away.  However, the weather did make the big sandstorm in the movie much more realistic!  In addition, we had a licensed acupuncturist aboard.  People could sign up for free, so I decided to try it.  I could not feel the needles as all, although there was some tingling and warmth.  I had needles in my ears, neck, lower back, knees, and ankles.  The overall experience was very relaxing I would highly recommend it.

We  left Vietnam and have been in Cambodia for the past couple of days days.  Cambodia offers exciting sites through tours I have booked and MEDCAPs, as well as lots of rain (it is the rainy season right now).