This is Irene and it is Wednesday evening. Hard to believe that it's already time to go home. This has been an incredible journey which has made an amazing difference in my life. So... back to work in the hospital. Dr. Richard, Salina, Rachael and I spent time with the doctors and nurses in the PICU and NICU's. It was so interesting to see the differences between our units, equipment, practices, etc, and then to see the similarities in the caring hearts and souls of the medical staff-certainly no difference there. We saw several newborns with disabilities or premies who the staff told us were expected to die and were receiving comfort care, though many of these children would have survived in our facility. Dr. Richard, with the help of his "tech team" prepared and presented an awesome presentation for grand rounds. On Tuesday, Rachael spent another day in one of the rural communities with one of the Rainbow docs. Rose, Pam, Kari and I went back to the social services building in Ciudad Dario to meet with the people involved with the Programa Amor. They work with the children in the streets, but mostly with the children who live near the dump and go there with their parents to go through the rubbish to find recycleables to sell. The staff had prepared a workplan for us, explaining their mission and how they feel they can be supported in their work. As a social worker, I found this situation to be so sad, yet hopeful for the impact they are making--all are volunteers. I am intrugued with how our community may be able to assist. So, off I go. Richard, Rachael and Salina continue their work until the end of the week. So hard to leave.
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