Bittersweet Day

Well...we've reached the series finale for life at "Hue Central Hospital." The rest of this past week was unreal. We witnessed 2 patients coding and the response of the medical staff to the situation. It was my first time seeing a patient code. It is a very difficult experience to watch. The doctors and nurses were great and luckily both patients were fine afterwards. I had the opportunity to see many more patients and teach a number of mothers about breastfeeding and appropriate nutrition for their children. It was wonderful. The doctors continued to be amazing. I was paired up with Dr. Ha on Thursday and Friday. He specializes in oncology and when I met and assessed his patients it was clear how much they loved him. He is one of the most caring individuals I have met here. He also took me down to the infectious disease unit (my favorite) and I saw another case of Dengue fever. He told me that the name Dengue does not come from the scientist that discovered it or the location where it orginated. Instead, the disease was named after a Brazilian dance which he gladly demonstrated for me! It was so funny. We even got him on film doing the "Dengue Fever Dance." Classic moment.

This morning (Saturday) was our last day in the hospital. I worked with Dr. Tan for a short about of time on the GI floor learning all about diarrhea! What a joy. We also got a quick tour of the maternity ward including the labor, delivery, and post-partum units. I was pushing all week for us to get a tour. Ask and ye shall receive, right? It was so great to see all of the mothers and their newborns. Sigh. In the postpartum unit, all of the mothers are in the same giant room together with row after row of beds. It's an incredible sight. After our tour we met up again with all of the doctors that worked with us over the past few weeks and presented them with home-made cards and flowers. As the team leader, I said a few words of gratitude. These doctors have all impacted our lives and we will never forget them. We all exchanged email addresses and decided to stay in contact with them and let them know our plans after graduation. I know that if I ever come back to Vietnam, I must visit some of them. We took a lot of pictures together and then said our good-byes. Some tears were shed (truly!) and many "thank yous" were exchanged. It was such a touching moment.

I spent the afternoon enjoying a little rest and relaxation with some of the other girls at a nearby pool! It was one of the hottest days ever here. We had to pay an entrance fee but it was well worth it. And don't worry...I wore sunscreen and I'm not burned. Everyone else on the trip seems to be so concerned about my fair skin here. But I'll be careful. I promise. Tonight we are going to dinner with the Vietnamese nursing students who will be with us for the next week in Nam Dong. In Nam Dong, we will travel into various villages with the students and work togeth in the clinics there. So tonight is our "getting to know you" night. Should be fun.

We leave tomorrow afternoon for Nam Dong with the entire team and the other nursing students. I am so excited to see what this next week will bring. I can only imagine...