"I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you
who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve" Albert Schweitzer

Monday, August 1, 2011

First Real Day On The Job

Before going any further, it might be worthwhile to introduce all of the members of our team:  Adam Lorenzetti (PGY3 LLU Ortho Resident), Adeel Husain (PGY4 LLU Ortho Resident), Wes Easter (LLU ICU Nurse), Ken Kuck (LLU Surgical Tech), Jim Matiko (Redlands Ortho Surgeon),  and team leader Scott Nelson (LLU Ortho Surgeon).  We are all pictured below gathered around Terry Dietrich's newly completed, custom designed with orthopaedic theme, Tap Tap complete with Scott's picture on the side.
Kneeling from L to R are Adeel Husain, Ken Kuck, and Wes Easter.  Standing from L to R are Adam Lorenzetti and Jim Matiko.  Peering out over his photo from the rear of the tap tap is Scott Nelson.
We spent most of the day sorting, cleaning and organizing equipment.  The lady on the right, affectionately known as "Vieja" is Scott's former nurse from the Dominican Republic who frequently makes the long journey across Hispaniola to join him when he comes.  Her organizational skills are legendary and she kept us focused throughout the day.
It was great to have Adeel join the team.  We not only appreciated an extra pair of hands and his enthusiasm, he also brought our six remaining suitcases that Spirit Airlines had failed to deliver on time.
The hospital continues to provide us with one meal per day which usually consists of some variation of rice and beans and something extra like mixed vegetables or fried plantain.  We all agree that the meals have been pretty tasty.
Since Wes will soon be entering Loma Linda's inaugural nurse anesthesia program, we bequeathed to him the unenviable task of organizing the equipment and meds in the anesthesia cubicle.
In addition to the housekeeping activities in the OR, we managed to squeeze in a couple of surgical cases.  In the image above, Ken, Adam, and Adeel are removing hardware on a patient with a postoperative spine infection. Peering over the drapes is Maria Adrianne, an extraordinary anesthesiologist from the Dominican Republic. Not only is she clinically competent, she gives excellent neck massages to exhausted surgeons.
It's great to be here and we all feel privileged to serve and be part of this program.

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