Tuesday, February 19th 2018
Hi folks! Amy Sheriff and Katelyn Delaney
here. Tuesday was a jam-packed day starting out with breakfast that included
toast and Dulce de Leche which is the same as caramel sauce back in Canada
(they put it on literally everything [amazing]).
One group of us hopped on bus 105 to the Instituto de Oncología Ángel H. Roffo for our clinical shift (this is the oncology or cancer treatment hospital). Today, we learned all about reflexology as a therapy for patients receiving cancer treatment. Reflexology is a form of therapeutic massage preformed specifically on the feet, applying pressure to certain areas to trigger a sense of relaxation all over the body. In the hospital a trained volunteer comes in to see the patients, gets to know them a little bit, and then offers them a reflexology session. I have yet to see a patient turn this offer down...who would? Free foot rub? Count me in! Another treatment offered to the patients is virtual reality therapy. This is when the patients wear the virtual reality goggles to allow them to see different scenes or settings around the world. It is also used to take the minds off of the cancer treatment. The patients are so thankful to have this type of alternative therapy offered to them and thank the volunteer many times during and after the session. The citizens of Argentina are very social, and the entire time we are visiting with them in their rooms while they receive their chemotherapy, they ask us about Canada, what it is like there, the weather, the animals, etc. Today, one patient invited us to his house for a barbecue but joked that we could only come if we brought some whiskey. The main focus of the volunteer program is to shift the patient’s attention off of the cancer and the treatment, and the reflexology, as well as talking with the patients seems to distract them, even if it is only for a little while.
At the Gutiérrez Pediatric Hospital, we all split up into small groups to follow a hospital volunteer. Some of us went to recreation where we played with the children while they waited for their appointments at the walk-in clinic. The kids were so sweet and very patient with the language barriers, others were hesitant but quickly became comfortable! Others went to the surgical units, delivered toys to units, and went to the nursery to cuddle some babies. One thing we have noticed is that there is a high incidence rate of tuberculosis. Here, they tend to treat this with inserting a tracheostomy. This is an invasive treatment that the children have to go through here. We must say, the volunteers here are amazing, they are so friendly and try so hard to make us comfortable. The woman I (Amy) was paired up with came in to the hospital the next day with an English dictionary to help her communicate with us (since our Spanish is definitely not up to par...).
Once we made it back to the hostel we all departed for lunch, some having pizza (for the 4th day in a row... there is no such thing as too much pizza), and some headed all the way to the barrio (neighbourhood) La Boca to experience their outdoor restaurants where you can eat while watching local dancers tango.
Later in the night we attended a presentation on human trafficking in Buenos Aires, presented by a local doctor who works with the Ministry of Justice. We were shocked to learn that almost 90% of human trafficking victims were in contact with a health care provider while in captivity, and the health care provider did not realize. This talk was extremely informative, and we were very grateful to learn some signs that may suggest someone is in a captive situation. Some things here in Argentina are a bit different than home, especially when it comes to laundry. It isn’t uncommon to hear some people in the group say over breakfast “My scrubs are clean! We washed them in the tub last night!” Overall, we had a really great day and learned so much. We miss you all back home and can’t wait to see you, but we really would love to stay here forever.
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| Oncología Ángel H. Roffo Volunteer group |
One group of us hopped on bus 105 to the Instituto de Oncología Ángel H. Roffo for our clinical shift (this is the oncology or cancer treatment hospital). Today, we learned all about reflexology as a therapy for patients receiving cancer treatment. Reflexology is a form of therapeutic massage preformed specifically on the feet, applying pressure to certain areas to trigger a sense of relaxation all over the body. In the hospital a trained volunteer comes in to see the patients, gets to know them a little bit, and then offers them a reflexology session. I have yet to see a patient turn this offer down...who would? Free foot rub? Count me in! Another treatment offered to the patients is virtual reality therapy. This is when the patients wear the virtual reality goggles to allow them to see different scenes or settings around the world. It is also used to take the minds off of the cancer treatment. The patients are so thankful to have this type of alternative therapy offered to them and thank the volunteer many times during and after the session. The citizens of Argentina are very social, and the entire time we are visiting with them in their rooms while they receive their chemotherapy, they ask us about Canada, what it is like there, the weather, the animals, etc. Today, one patient invited us to his house for a barbecue but joked that we could only come if we brought some whiskey. The main focus of the volunteer program is to shift the patient’s attention off of the cancer and the treatment, and the reflexology, as well as talking with the patients seems to distract them, even if it is only for a little while.
At the Gutiérrez Pediatric Hospital, we all split up into small groups to follow a hospital volunteer. Some of us went to recreation where we played with the children while they waited for their appointments at the walk-in clinic. The kids were so sweet and very patient with the language barriers, others were hesitant but quickly became comfortable! Others went to the surgical units, delivered toys to units, and went to the nursery to cuddle some babies. One thing we have noticed is that there is a high incidence rate of tuberculosis. Here, they tend to treat this with inserting a tracheostomy. This is an invasive treatment that the children have to go through here. We must say, the volunteers here are amazing, they are so friendly and try so hard to make us comfortable. The woman I (Amy) was paired up with came in to the hospital the next day with an English dictionary to help her communicate with us (since our Spanish is definitely not up to par...).
Once we made it back to the hostel we all departed for lunch, some having pizza (for the 4th day in a row... there is no such thing as too much pizza), and some headed all the way to the barrio (neighbourhood) La Boca to experience their outdoor restaurants where you can eat while watching local dancers tango.
 |
| Attending a presentation about human trafficking |
Later in the night we attended a presentation on human trafficking in Buenos Aires, presented by a local doctor who works with the Ministry of Justice. We were shocked to learn that almost 90% of human trafficking victims were in contact with a health care provider while in captivity, and the health care provider did not realize. This talk was extremely informative, and we were very grateful to learn some signs that may suggest someone is in a captive situation. Some things here in Argentina are a bit different than home, especially when it comes to laundry. It isn’t uncommon to hear some people in the group say over breakfast “My scrubs are clean! We washed them in the tub last night!” Overall, we had a really great day and learned so much. We miss you all back home and can’t wait to see you, but we really would love to stay here forever.
-Amy & Katelyn
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