Semana santa came and I think I got exactly what I was expecting. As a volunteer with the Red Cross we are obligated to work as an EMT at one of the 3 beach locations, Peru, Paseo de los Ceibenos, Zona Salva Vida, or at the Red Cross headquarters. I was placed in a group at the Zona Salva Vida. It was fun setting up our camp space then making our rounds on the beach. Fortunately/unfortunately, there were no cases of drownings or injuries in the area. So I didn't get to see any action.
Following semana santa came the eye surgeons! Now this is where the fun happened. Every year a team of eye surgeons come out from Syracuse, New York with a program called HELP (Honduran Eye and Life Program). They take over 2 operating rooms in the private hospital D'antoni and see over 100 patients in one week. I was fortunate enough to not only observe the surgeries but help participate in them as well. The patients came from so far to receive treatment. It was hard to see people at the end of the week waiting to get their surgeries just be turned down last minute because of the lack of medical supplies. These people were given a letter to take home stating their priority for the following year. Dr. Bersani stated, "We are only here for a week so we can see so many patients before our supplies are up, but we came back every year."
Dr. Tom Bersani was my mentor for this experience because from the moment I walked into the clinic, he was the one I started translating for. He invited me to come up and watch a surgery he was about to perform on a 12 year old boy who unfortunately lost his sight due to a pinata incident. The boy's family decided it would be best to remove the eye and replace it with a prosthesis. 
I saw so many different types of surgeries such as ptosis, cataract, cornea replacement, pterygium, eye extraction, and prosthesis implants. On the picture to the left I am holding a 2 year old girl who had crossed eyes. She was waking up from her anesthesia and for some reason I felt a connection with her because I helped with her operation. She looks so peaceful sleeping in my arms while sucking on her two fingers. However when she woke up she put up the strongest fight that you would've been surprised you were holding just a 2 year old girl. 
Some of the patients who came into the clinic had stories that tore your heart because they happened to be extremely sad accidents. Sayda was no exception. Sayda came to La Ceiba during semana santa to visit her cousins, as she did every year during that week. While driving back from one of the nearby beaches, her brakes gave out on the highway and Sayda lost control of her car. Her only memory during the 7 car flips was praying that her 19 month old boy would survive the crash. She didn't care what happened to her as long as her son survived. Sayda got her wish yet with severe wounds. She has fractures from her jaw, ribs, and lower extremities, brain hemorrhaging bruises and scrapes all over her body, and a deformed left eye that obscured her vision. When coming into the OR for the first time she wouldn't even look the nurses in the eye. After waking up from her surgery she told me story and was willing to smile for her photo. Sayda is a beautiful woman and I was so grateful to not only witness her surgery but assist in it as well. Meeting her was one of my highlights of the week. That and working with such a loving, upbeat team such as the one pictured below.
Speaking of highlights, today is a special day because it is the birthday of a very good friend of mine. Hasan Daniel Entwistle Lopez! Hasan turns 23 today and I honestly can say I owe so much to this man. He is one of the reasons I managed to go through with this trip. Most of all, he has been such a supportive friend helping me while I adjusted to my new lifestyle. I am grateful for his friendship and can't wait to support him when he decides to go for his year of service. He doesn't like having his picture showing up online but since he doesn't even look at my blog I figured he wouldn't care. If you know Hasan personally give him a hug today because he wouldn't expect people to know it's his birthday today. Happy Birthday Haski. :)
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