Eric and I finished our open water scuba certification the other week and are now working towards our advanced certification. Currently we have completed 3 of the 5 classes. Our dives have included a ship wreck dive, a night dive, and today we completed our fish identification dive where we have to identify some of the different fish we see. There are over 21,000 fish species in the world and 4,000 of them live on the reefs. During today's dive we saw over 30 different species including a sting ray, 2 sea turtles, a moray eel (all in one dive!), angel fish, fire worms, groupers, and much more. We had a great dive! This afternoon we are going on a catamaran with the other clinic volunteers for a clinic potluck and also to do some snorkeling. We still haven't seen an eagle ray, which is a type of spotted sting ray with a wing span of more than 5 feet. I also want to see a whale shark, which are sometimes spotted in this part of the world!
Below is a picture of Eric's second Lion Fish kill. You can see better in this picture how their spines float outward and upward which creates (somewhat) the effect of a lion's mane, hence the name.
In other news, last week when we went to Infinity Bay (as we do every Sunday), a little girl nearly drowned. She was submerged and unconscious, but she had been revived by the time she was brought to Eric. With the help of a nearby dive shop, Eric was able to give the little girl oxygen and help get her into an ambulance to go to the local hospital (the hospital is the only 24/7 facility on the island). After it was over, the owner of the resort asked Eric if he would be willing to design and teach a CPR/First Aid class for his employees, as this is the second non-fatal drowning they have had this year. Eric is working with two PA students on creating the class, and he is also putting together a list of all emergency supplies that resorts should have available in case of emergencies. It's an interesting project and something that could really change how resorts operate on the island with respect to medical situations.
Life at the clinic is going well. Peggy has been visiting relatives in the United States for the past 3 weeks and she will return next week. The number of volunteers is slowly dwindling as school starts up again, but luckily there are a couple long term nurses who have arrived or are arriving soon who will be able to pick up a lot of the work load. I am still working with the dietician on collecting data in the communities regarding what foods children are eating and where families are buying their foods. It has been really fun working in the communities and getting to meet people that I would never otherwise get to interact with. Some of them have even invited us to lunch! It's also a great opportunity to work on my Spanish, which has been incredibly helpful. Eric continues to see a lot of patients every day at the clinic - his only consistently "slow" days are Wednesdays when the cruise ships are in so all the locals are working trying to make money. He has found he really enjoys when a child he previously saw returns for his follow-up visit and he gets to see how much better the child is doing. Primary care at it's finest!
Lately Eric has also been strongly considering applying to two different schools that offer a Diploma in Tropical Medicine. One of the schools is Baylor in Houston, Texas, and the other is in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Both programs can be completed in about 2-4 months and would be finished by April at the latest, giving him plenty of time before his residency begins. The program at Baylor is particularly intriguing because the diploma works closely with Baylor's International Pediatric AIDS Initiative, which would give Eric additional experience and specialization in pediatrics. There is a lot to look forward to and work towards!
We hope all is well in the United States - we are doing our best to follow the pre-season football games and we have even kept up on the Alex Rodriguez scandal :) Eric is mentally preparing for the first Greenbay Packers game and has asked essentially every patient and employee of the clinic if they want to watch the first game with us. We'll have an island of Packers fans before you know it! Miss you and all and talk to you soon!
Denise and I enjoy your blog and your adventures!
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