Well, now it's Wednesday and we didn't tell you what we did on Tuesday. Tuesday, the Paul/Kelsi/Hank group accompanied Gossman to the hospital, and the Tiffany/Ben/Alyssa group went to a mobile clinic a little ways outside Phnom Penh. Mobile clinic was a good time, though we were mostly there just as observers. Obviously, none of us speak Khmer (though I can now count to 10 in it, yesss), so we all got great practice in trying to diagnose patients without knowing the presenting complaint. We got to jump in on a couple of the physical exams as well, getting to hear one pretty crazy systolic murmur, and give a woman a neurological exam. She had left side hemiparesis of the face and forehead, and couldn't abduct her right eye. Quick, med students, what does that mean? Lower motor neuron injury to left CN7 and lesion of right CN6! Yay!
Another thing we're really enjoying getting to see here is how medicine in other parts of the world is both similar to and different from ours. Physical exam is pretty similar everywhere, some of the medications are different (or at least have different names), and the placebo-like drugs are all pretty different. I never thought about it before, but it does make sense that placebo would be the most culturally-based aspect of medicine. Hm.
Mobile clinic lasted till 12, then we went back to the hospital just in time to get to join the other group in watching a below-the-knee leg amputation. So cool! The human body is amazing, and so is medicine. Watching them take of that woman's leg and then have it somehow look nice and neat at the end (all in an operating theater quite different than those in America) was crazy. Mind you, I still don't want to be a surgeon. But it is cool.
Later that night, we met up with a few other ex-pats from the hospital and went out for some Indian food, and then to a bar they liked for some live music. Hilarity, dancing, and Celine Dion songs ensued.
Today, Kelsi and Ben went to the hospital with Dr. G, and the rest of us went off to another Phnom Penh orphanage, this time to give physicals to the kids there. Paul is right, kids here are really amazing. So happy to see you and so not-bratty when you're trying to look in their ears. Plus the fact that I'm starting to think that all Asian kids are just automatically adorable. The physicals were easy today, as this bunch of kids were pretty well taken care of. All pretty healthy, as kids that age should be. They were all either complete orphans or else had just one parent, who couldn't take care of them due to disability or something. The orphanage was originally started to take care of kids who lived in a dump, basically Phnom Penh's version of Payatas in the Philippines. Great to see them all so healthy and happy.
Tonight's our last night in Phnom Penh, as we're off to Siem Reap tomorrow. Then, we'll all transform into Lara Croft for a little exploration of the Angkor temples. Seriously? SO EXCITED. Phnom Penh has definitely been a great place for us too though! Cambodia is such a complex country. Glad we got to come here.
-Alyssa
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