Tranquility Lodge Punta Gorda

... it quickly became apparent that the tarp was too large to unroll completely within the hall -- we had to start cutting it before we could finish unrolling it!

Set up within the clinic, divided by heavy pieces of tarp are 4 cubicles -- one for the EKG, two for the doctors, and one for the PTs. Each patient goes through the process of checking in, weight and blood pressure, diabetes testing, EKG, doctor visit, and some physical therapy ...

... m not good at that sort of thing. When I handed over the money the guy thanked me for supprting local businesses – he said most tourists don’t make it down to PG and when they do they’ve normally spent a lot of money on the way and are trying to economise. I felt better – because whilst I’m sure I could have got them cheaper I know that I can afford it and that in the long run I’d probably have regretted not buying them more! We ...

... The older generations remember this as being a very disabling deforming chronic condition, however with the advent of better and better disease modifying drugs, RA when caught early can often be controlled. This lady had only ever had ibuprofen. She was young-ish with several children (the eldest being early teens the youngest less than two and being carried suspended from her head!). She had currently active synovitis in at least 8 joints ...

Vstajanje pred 6.00. Odhod t.i Chicken busa je ob 6.30. Avtobuse so uvozili iz ZDA, to so stari rumeni t.i. School Buses. Morda jim pravijo tako, ker si noter nagneten kot piscanci, morda zaradi rumene barve, morda pa zato, ker vcasih v njem vozijo tudi piscance.
Pot do Beliza je bila gladka. Kaksno uro s chicken busom do meje z Gvatemalo, kjer so formalnosti tekle zelo hitro., Na meji sta se Sergio in Andreja zabavala v pogovoru s policisti na obeh straneh. res skoda, da ...

... however…. She got a PT referral all the same (it was relevant because she mentioned back pain!!)

Wednesday is when they give us lunch and today we had the famous chocolate cake we’ve been hearing so much about – it lived up to it’s expectations amazingly and unsurprisingly we were left with considerably less leftovers than normal (everyone pops in on chocolate cake day!) Not that we can really complain I had another huge ...

... about her pains, and over a fairly long conversation I managed to come to at least 4 different diagnoses which I thought were going on. However, when I related the stories it became clear that there was very little we could really do for anything. I gave her a healthy supply of analgesics, some amoxicillin for a tooth infection (urging her to see a dentist which she’ll never do), and I put her on aspirin ...

... My little boy from last week with fevers also has yet to return. My patients today ranged from arthritis, to a stiff neck from sleeping awkwardly and a teenager with recurring headaches. We also saw a lady with probably gallstones, however, an ultra sound scan costs $75 which she can not afford and so we can't make a firm diagnosis, or really do anything about it. This is incredibly frustrating and makes me very angry ...

... check but just to illustrate if a random blood glucose of 200ish is diagnostic for diabetes .. her’s was 550) Unsurprisingly she wasn’t feeling great – tired, headachey, nauseated, anorexic. She had finished her medications for diabetes almost a week ago and was coming to get more….. (!) We told her that she must come back next week to have her fasting sugar checked whilst on medications if we are ever to know if her diabetes is controlled ...

... stopped on the opposite side of the road. The minibus driver grabbed our bags and the chicken bus guy motioned for us to run across the highway and then pulled us into the back of the old American school bus. I love how there is absolutely no waiting time for connections, just one bus to the next!

We spent way too long on that bus, I know the old man on the minibus was just trying to help, but it took almost 3 hours for the one hour ride. A man came on selling snow ...

... than Spanish (not to mention the French or Dutch elements), than they are of the Guatemalan. Ever seen the Guatemalan navy? Neither have I, but I suspect what there is of one is stationed mostly on the Pacific coast. I can’t imagine them going through the Panama Canal just so they can get together for joint exercises. Puerto Cortes down the road and over the line in ...