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The swelling went down in my feet this morning after keeping them propped on a backpack all night- yay!!The runners met at 6:10am and ran apx. 3-4 miles through the dirt roads of Iquitos.It was fun to be amongst the people of Iquitos as they started their day.It was not fun dodging the mange dogs!!At the compound we had a delightful breakfast of avocado and tomato sandwiches along with rice pudding.We prepared for our first day of clinic but had to wait for alternative transportation as our bus broke down in rout to pick us up.When we arrived at Vieleta Correa (the same village from yesterday) there was a line of about 20 people waiting to be seen at our clinic. A young woman was kind enough to loan us her home to use as a clinic site. The pharmacy students set up an impressive pharmacy in the back of the house as we split up into three groups: triage, pediatrics, and adults.I chose to do adults and partnered with one of my roommates, Olga. The triage group gathered initial data (VS, chief complaints, brief history) in the front of the house then sent the individual or family to the back where we did focused assessments, limited tests (pregnancy, urinalysis, and glucose) and worked with our three NP instructors to come up with a treatment plan.I can't even guess how many people we saw today, it felt like we saw the entire village! Even though Olga and I were in the "Adult" group we ended up seeing all age groups from age 2 to 74. Some examples of the patients that Olga and I saw today are: a 26 yr old with arthritis and dehydration, an entire family with scabies, a 40 yr old with pneumonia, a 35 yr old with an infected wound on his left leg, a 34 yr old with PID and UTI, a 72 yr old with angina and probable CHF, and countless children with parasites and rashes. We were like a super efficient medical conveyor belt. Triage- to assessment -to diagnosis -to teaching -to meds given -to more teaching -then done! IT WAS AMAZING!!!The hard part of the day (for me at least) was when we took a lunch break. We had to stop to eat, so we did but the people did not stop standing in line, they just patiently waited. I felt bad.They could see us eat (a pretty nice meal of rice, fish , and beans) and all I could think about was what the people might have eaten last or when they even ate last because they have been standing in line most of the morning (we were late). Besides that 30 minutes of feeling like a spoiled American, I think we did a lot of good for a lot of people and I cannot wait for our next clinic day!!!At the end of the day and as we were packing up our things we took photographs with the children. They loved to have their photo taken and then to see themselves on the backside of the camera.One little girl, Jeni, grabbed my hand and wouldn't let go until we left then chased our bus to wave goodbye. It was SO touching! Back at the compound we had a dinner of Tamales and pineapple cake then the majority of our group took moto cars (three wheeled buggies!) into the center of town "the plaza" to look around and shop.This has been a great day! Oh! And Paul the man who runs the People of Peru organization has a website (peopleofperu.org) that everyone can check out as well! That's all for today! Goodnight!
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