Day 4

Today was our second day on the wards at the hospital, and several of us got some unique opportunities. Tyler was able to shadow the doctors on their rounds and learn how things work. He also spent some time in the CCU/ICU. He really learned a lot.
Jenni and Katie were able to go on rounds with Pastor Joshua, the chaplain for the hospital. They were able to pray for most of the patients in the hospital. Jenni felt really blessed when one of the student nurses, after hearing Jenni pray for a patient, asked Jenni to pray for her. Jenni was very happy to be able to minister to her in this way. Jenni and Katie also got to spend time in the pediatric ward.
Andreina and Sarah spent their whole day in the pediatric ward. They brought crayons and coloring books for the children there. They were really touched when a few of the children colored pictures for them to take home.
Catherine was able to go to one of the clinics run by Mercy Hospital today. She was able to take some blood pressures and learn about all of the different people that came to the clinic. She really enjoyed the drive out there and being able to see a different part of the city.
Mandy and Natalie had an amazing opportunity. Lizzie, one of the girls who is staying at BMS, works two days a week at a rehabilitation center for children. These children have many different orthopedic problems, from club feet to polio. This center is a place where they and their families can go to get therapy and surgery if needed. Natalie was really able to use her PT training and experience to help out. The physical therapist there was really blessed by her willingness to help and her knowledge. Both girls thoroughly enjoyed their time the the center.
Overall the team is doing well. We look forward to all the other exciting service opportunities that are presenting themselves to us.

Day 3

Today we began our first rotation in the hospital. Sarah and Andreina went to the community clinic and said the doctor didnt speak English and it was one bumpy ride out there. Catherine and Tyler were on the CCU (cardiac care unit) ward. Mandy and Natalie were on Neonatal and Gyne ward. Jenni and Katie were on PEDS. The day was a little frustrating to begin with. There was definately the language barrier with the patients; most only spoke Bengali. The nurses showed us the patients and let us look at charts and follow them but mainly we felt in the way of everyone. Our job is to serve the hospital staff and patients, not hinder the treatment process and be a bother. After a team meeting and prayer we went back onto floors and things felt a little better and with ease. At one point Natalie, Mandy, Jenni, and Katie went back to BMS to get coloring books and stickers and toys for the kids on the PEDS floor. On they way back a homeless woman stopped us and asked if we were doctors who could treat her mom (we were wearing our scrubs and stethoscopes and stuck out like a sore thumb). The mom had a fever and skin condition. We went back to BMS got water bottles and granola bars to take to them. They were so greatful and the mom, daughter, and her two kids followed us back to Missions of Mercy where Natalie paid 75 Rupi ($1.50) for the mom to see a doctor. The kids on PEDS loved the coloring and loved showing us their masterpeice. It was so great to see the smiles. Working on a PEDS ward at QVC you have about 4-10 patients during the summer months - mainly all with influenza, bronchitis, or appendicitis. At missions of Mercy, a majority were Cleft Palate kids recieving free surgery (its a 10 yr process). A couple had hepatitis, thalassemia, and severe dehydration. There was such a contrast in the types of suffering between the children patients in the US and the children in Kolkata. After the hospital we had lunch and talked Orijeet and changes will be made so we feel more productive and more of a service to them. Possibly working with slum children and shadowing the Pastor as he makes his rounds in the hospital each morning. Today was such a good day and good learning experience. So many blessings.

Second Day

Today we got a tour of the Mercy Hospital that we will be working at. It is so amazing to know that the hospital is completely funded many donators. It is a 8 floor hospital and it offers free care to all patients. Little kids with cleft palate or lip can come receive surgery for free which is a 10 year process. They also have a blind school and offer eye surgeries for free such as cataract surgery. The goals for the hospital is to have up to 40 medical clinics in the upcoming years. There is a very small physical therapy clinic too. We are all very excited for our first day of work tomorrow and ready to begin doing patient care. We will all be split into groups of two and will have chances of working on the different floors doing patients care, shadowing surgeries in the operating rooms, feeding patients, working in the cardiac care unit, etc. This hospital and the founders are doing amazing things and they are completely relient on God providing the funds to keep it running so that the people of Kolkata can receive free treatment. The rest afternoon we will be heading our way into the local markets and then dinner at the baptist mission tonight where we are staying. We are sitting in the Hope House right now across from the hospital and we got to meet two litle girls that had holes in their heart at birth and had them fixed. They are beautiful shy little girls that have been drawing us pictures. We hope everyone is doing well at home. Love you all -Natalie and Team

We are here!

We are finally here!! We landed in Kolkata last night around 1030. Today we went to church at the church that is affiliated with the hospital. It has been good to reunite with some people we met last year as well as meet new people. Everyone has been very welcoming and friendly.

The hospital was finally able purchase land for their college of nursing, which is a miracle. Apparently land is incredibly hard to purchase in Kolkata. Today, we were able to join some of the hospital staff in dedicating the property. This provided us not only with the opportunity to see the property, but also the outskirts of the city of Kolkata.

The city is such an experience. All of the colors and smells and sounds are so vibrant. The traffic is unbelievable.

We are all tired and jet lagged right now, but incredibly excited to be here. Everyone is doing well and we are all very excited to start in the hospital tomorrow.

Little miscalculation...

Soooo... We are here enjoying the incredible Changi airport here in Singapore... it has been so quiet since we arrived at 2am. The word got around in our team that our flight to Kolkata left at 11am, and most of us have stayed up and explored, read, or had coffee.

When we were checking the boarding passes and doing the math with the times changes and realized that we are not leaving at 11am, but 8pm! We all have had a good laugh about this and are actually pretty excited about it. In our explorations we have found a free movie theater (showing Juno, I Am Legend, and such), great coffee, and amazing architecture...

So finally we will be arriving in Kolkata at about 10:30pm (10 am on Saturday, west coast time)! Love you all!

Singapore airport

Hey guys, we are sitting in the Singapore airport right now for a 9 hour layover. It is 3:30am in the morning Saturday here. We just got off a 18 hour flight! yikes..... we just all sat down for some amazing Belgian coffee. We will be leaving in a few hours on our last flight straigth to Kolkata. We miss u all! Everyone is safe!