Last Week in Mexico Then Home Home Home!!

I wanted to start off my last blog with the a picture of where I spent the last ten weeks. You see, my house is located just below the big auditorium tent, which can be seen anywhere in the city. It was kind of a cool experience to be able to tell people that I live under it and I was always able to find my way home when I was lost.

For my last week in clinical rotations and my last week in Mexico I went to ISSSTE Hospital. This hospital, unlike Hospital Civil, is private and only available for government workers. Here, I spent time in both the surgery and labor ward. 

As you can see, this hospital is very similar to the upper-hand hospitals in the US. Also, because of the limited number of patients, the halls weren't clustered and the general environment was much more relaxed and calm. In Hospital Civil there were patients everywhere and all the medical staff was around everywhere to help as many patients as possible.

Here is another example of the benefits of this hospital compared to the public facilities where the majority of the population are forced to go. In ISSSTE Hospital they have enough funding to afford top-of-the-line technology, which allows patients to receive faster and better care. This is a picture of a ureteric stent procedure which used videos and tools to place a stent without cutting the patient open. 

On Friday, the day before I left Mexico, my roommate and I decided to go to the Arts and Culture Museum located in Santo Domingo, the cathedral in the center of the city. 

Here are some of the things we saw in the museum. The museum had everything from traditional sculptures from Monte Alban to modern art from famous local painters. These two pieces were some of my favorites.

Later that Friday the entire group met to take pictures in our lab coats. These are the future doctors of America and I am confident they will all be great doctors because of what we learned throughout this program. I am in the middle in the front row.

Here is a picture of all the men in the program with our medical director, Doctora Magali. She taught us about the common diseases in Mexico and the health system that they live in. She was a great asset to our learning experience and helped shape us in the better medical providers for the future.

As grown up as we all look in our lab coats, we had to take a goofy picture so the kids inside of us could be satisfied. Again, these are the future doctors of America haha. You can see some of the guys holding up our guys logo for the trip, three fingers down for and "M" and two fingers up for a "V". For those that haven't followed my blog, this sign stands for, "Man Van", which was a saying we used when the guys of the trip were together.

For our last evening we rented out a small fancy restaurant to enjoy one last evening with the entire group. It was a great evening of thanks and appreciation for all we were given and experienced in the last 11 weeks. 

Here is a picture of my host family right before we left for the airport. They treated me like family and made the experience that much better for me. I can never thank them enough for their warmth and hospitality.

This is a birds-eye view from my plane of Monte Alban, which we visited our first week in Oaxaca and can be seen in my second blog post. It amazes me how small these ruins look now compared to how big they are when you are standing right next to them. 

Here is another picture from our airplane. I thought it was cool because it shows two of the tallest peaks in Mexico and the two peaks are contrasted. The closest one seems to have a shadow covering it, making it have a dark peak. The peak that is far off in the distance is the opposite, with snow covering the top of the mountain.

I wanted to include some pictures of my wonderful family because I couldn't have had the courage or open mind to experience all that I did in Mexico without their love and support. I am so happy to be reunited with all of them after being away for almost three months. I love you all and thank you so much for all that you give me.

Here is a picture of my wonderful girlfriend and I. She surprised me with a delicious ice cream cake made especially for me. Being away for 11 weeks never is easy but with a lot of support and understanding we made it through the time with no difficulties. She has been a huge support in my quest to become a doctor and it is her and my family that give me the strength to set my goals high and pursue them. Thank you to all those who have kept me in your hearts and minds while I was gone on this adventure. In my life, I carry with me all your love and support and you all help shape who I am. I hope you all enjoyed reading my blog as much as I enjoyed making it for you. Thanks again,
Jason Andrade