Carol said I had to add to the blog, so here it goes. We only have one more day and the emotions and feelings I’m having right now are mixed. I’ve always been a person that could never leave work until the work the work was done. I can’t do that here. After seeing the crowd of people that had gathered this morning even before we arrived, and seeing the numbers of people we had to turn away when the clinic closed today, I’ve had to accept that despite our best efforts, the work will be never be done here. It’s hard to treat a beautiful and loving Costa Rican child for asthma knowing that he’ll breathe easier for a month and then go back to coughing all night because the medicine ran out and he can’t get in to see a doc for 9 more months. I have yet to meet anyone here that has not amazed me with their personality, love, friendliness and strength despite the social difficulties that they endure. Everyone seems happy. Everyone is smiling. It truly is amazing. I’ve asked many patients over the last three days if they felt stressed or had anything going on in their lives that was difficult for them. None of them have acknowledged that. I rarely have a patient in the US tell me they aren’t stressed out in one way or another when asked We have so much and they have so little, yet they in many ways seem better off. It’s given me a lot to think about and I’m sure I’ll be pondering that for a long time. But right now, Costa Rica is playing Honduras in Futball for a spot in the world cup. I’ll ponder things later.
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