¡Vamos a la Playa!

So, as you may have noticed at the end of last night's post, we went to the beach yesterday!!!!! The sunshine, relaxation, and hydrotherapy was so very needed after a long week of work and exhaustion. We jumped for joy on Saturday night when Dr. Weiss announced that we'd be going to the beach the following morning. YAY!

It was the craziest thing; we drove an hour through straight desert of Peru until we got to this resort where we hung out for the day. Sand dunes and dirt roads led to this awe-inspiring beauty!! And man were we happy. I felt like I was back in college just hanging on the beach with classmates. The weather was perfect and the food was excellent. Today we are looking a bit more sun-kissed and rejuvenated!

Our entire car ride looked a lot like this! 

Marquette students beachin'! I felt right at home--just like college ;)

(L to R: Kerry, Asmita, Gen, Stef, Tobin, Sarah, Lauren, Alex, Anna, Meghan)

On a walk, we ran into this precious little pup. He's 4 months old and his owner was nice enough to let us have at least 10 minutes petting him. It was the best therapy!

The pup and me! It was a bit windy as you can see by his ears, ha!

Eating a nice lunch at the resort

Sarah and Lauren before they enjoyed their incredible crepe

We had a wonderful time and are so thankful that we were able to take this trip. A huge thank you goes out to the parish staff because without them we are unable to go anywhere! They drove us, hung out, waited on the beach, and came back with us in the evening. It was the GREATEST day.

(L to R: Tobin (barely), Asmita, Kerry, Meghan, Gen, Sarah, Lauren, Anna, Alex, Stef)

This morning we restarted our clinical rotations and switched up the pairs a bit! Stef and I hung out in the parish clinic with a dentist and his family doing solely tooth extractions. All of his equipment for other services (like fillings) was taken in Lima and he was unable to bring any of his tools here. All of the anesthetic was also taken, so when they arrived in Piura they had to buy more at a local pharmacy. Such a drag! But he did whatever he was able to for these people.

This afternoon we visited six homes and treated eight patients who are all elderly and needing assistance with their health. At our group reflection tonight we had a really heart-touching talk about how it's frustrating for us to come down here and enter peoples' homes without being able to do any significant interventions. It's frustrating because we know that if these people entered any hospital in the US they would be cared for with so many different methods and resources. It's a continuous struggle but we remember that solely our presence means millions to these people of Piura. Although that's comforting, it still doesn't seem to settle or be enough for us over-achieving students. ;) We'll figure something out before we leave!!

This is the street that we were walking down during our home visits

Stef and Chris having a nice chat between houses. Chris is a professor at Marquette and an acute care Nurse Practitioner at Children's in Milwaukee. She's been so awesome and a fabulous resource since being in Peru!

Kerry and Meghan were at the OB clinic. Unfortunately, this morning was not as exciting as last week! There were no laboring mothers in the delivery room, so their morning was rather uneventful. At the Pro-Life clinic this afternoon Kerry found a fetal heartbeat for the first time and expressed that the mother's expression was worth millions. I can't imagine hearing a fetal heartrate for the first time as a mother; likely music to the ears!

Tobin and Lauren spent their afternoon with Social Services where they were able to help 145 people get some new (to them) clothes!!!! The pictures are incredible, I wish I could have experienced this. The clothes were all donated from various places and brought into a village where there was basically a huge consignment sale. Mothers were the only people permitted to go through the line and they were marked/branded after their first pass to prohibit them from passing through more than once. Pretty incredible!

The line outside the clothing drive

During the clothing drive

Lauren hanging out with many of the women (and men, I guess! Ha) after their new findings.

As I wrap up this evening, I want to thank you all so much for your prayers and successful thoughts. We are so beyond thankful for the support we receive and love being able to share our days with you as best we can. Please continue lifting us up and embracing us from afar! As you do that, we will continue doing that here. :) Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Sending tons of love and laughter,

Alex & the gang