From Jessica Gimbel, Nursing Staff

The most memorable patient I had was a teenage girl who came in for a scar revision; her upper torso was so badly burned that she had lost most of the range of motion in her neck. It was somewhat difficult for me to communicate with our patients since they spoke Spanish and my only background in the language dated back to high school. Because of this, there was frustration on both sides and I couldn't tell whether or not she trusted me as her nurse. She was even more unhappy when she had to stay overnight because we had so many surgeries scheduled. 


However, when her name was called the next day, she was overjoyed; I put on her cap and booties and wheeled her to the OR. Right before I left, I was surprised to hear from one of our translators that she was asking if I would be there to take care of her after surgery- I was surprised and flattered, but also felt an even stronger sense of responsibility to make sure that her recovery would progress as smoothly as possible. When she came into the recovery room, she was unconscious and shivering. Ten minutes and five blankets later, she woke up and looked me right in the eye. "Is it over?" "Yes."

The next day (after a few rounds of pain meds and deep breathing), I showed her how to take care of the surgical site and gave her discharge instructions. After paying close attention to the teaching and getting dressed, she was ready to leave. With a big smile on her face, she gave us the customary hug and kiss on the cheek, then squeezed our hands with a sincere "Gracias!"

This girl reminded me of my reasons for coming on the Ayacucho medical mission- to help treat those in need, and to do so with a sense of compassion and mutual respect. This was my first medical mission, and it helped open my eyes to the world while simultaneously showing me the avenues through which a single person can make a difference.