NOTE: This blog is posted on behalf of Sara Tabikh because I got to a place with internet before she did. ~Hannah :)

Hello everyone! Boy has this trip been an amazing experience; being that it is my first time being outside of the US I have truly been humbled by so much we have seen thus far. Last week we had the honor of doing rounds at the “Hospital Regional de Loreto”. The first thing I noticed upon arrival to this hospital was how huge it was; this place was a monster! It was much bigger than the clinic that we have been visiting quite often in Belen; this place had to be at least 25 times larger. The next thing I noticed were the people that inhabited the hospital, so many mothers breastfeeding their children in the waiting rooms; older patients that have been sitting in the waiting rooms for who knows how long, children running around in the hallways, and workers running from one room to the next. We received lots of stares from people because our group included myself, Derek, Hannah, Jenny, Dr. Craft, Dr. Tilley, and Dr. St.Claire (if I were alone I personally probably could have gotten away with the stares as long as I did not talk but having several men over six feet tall with light skin and light hair gives us away quite easily)!

Sara, Melita, Dr. Craft, and Jenny discussing cases at the hospital

We finally stopped in the infectious disease wards and Dr. Craft whispered to me that we were about to see things that we would never be able to see in the US. We were introduced to a Peruvian attending physician who was in the midst of explaining a patient to the ~10 students who were present. The Peruvian doctor continued to proceed with the rounds after our welcoming and we all circled around a hospital bed with a young female that looked like she was in mild discomfort. I felt so bad since the patients were already going through so much the last thing they probably wanted was a crowd of twenty people encircling them! It was an interesting new experience seeing what rounds were like, especially it being in Spanish. The doctor explained that she was 29 years old with multiple hepatic abscesses due to E. histolytica. It was interesting standing in this circle listening to the doctor who explained things in Spanish extremely well (the fact that I can somewhat understand him proves how slow and clear he was with his explanations)! Seeing the native students writing every possible detail in their little notebooks seems like a foreshadowing to what we will be doing next year! When we walked into the next room, I immediately noticed a young male in his 20’s with eyes I have never seen in my life- they were yellow and EXTREMELY bloodshot red. We quickly learned that he had leptospirosis. Dr. Craft told us that was something that he has never seen in person in his life and that there is only one picture of eyes like his that is classically used in the literature!


Cases of leptospirosis in Iquitos and the surrounding areas this year.

Other cases included a malaria case, pnemothorax due to a parasite, and several parasite infections. So what did I appreciate the most during our rounds? The kind patients that let us overwhelmingly encircle them I appreciated so much. The people in the hallways gave us all so much respect and warmth and they welcomed us with open arms. I can never look at a hospital bed in the US the same- these hospital beds were lucky to have sheets and a pillow for a patient, let alone being in an air-conditioned room with flat screen televisions as it is in so many hospitals in the US. These patients were lying in these beds (that had a mini chalkboard on top of each bed that identified each occupant) in a non-air conditioned room in sweltering heat. There was no television or radio in these rooms. How they would pass the time in a hot room all day living with their illness I have no idea. Overall, we all truly enjoyed our experience doing rounds; we will have more details of this incredible trip to come!

Sara, Jenny, Hannah, Derek, Dr. St.Claire, Melita, and Dr. Tilley outside the hospital. Dr. Craft is behind the camera.