Week 2

This week has been a fast paced work heavy but really rewarding week. It is only Wednesday and we have already fixed up to 10 pieces of medical equipment. The main prize was fixing this Newport e360 ventillator that probably was worth about $5000 dollars. It needed a new flow valve and some inner adjustments but we put it back into service. Now the hospital has 2 ventillators in service which could possibly end up saving more lives! We then fixed 2 aspirators that basically needed some inner cleaning and some minor parts replaced. Lastly, we fixed a centrifuge that needed some carbon brushes replaced along with some cleaning. Besides the machine fixing, we have gotten to know the staff well. We take inventory to see what machines they have and then find the broken ones to repair. We also try to develop these relationships so later on we can talk to them about what more they need to keep up their services. We are planning on doing a needs finding survey and interviewing a few doctors about their most pressing needs. Tomorrow, we are planning on doing a inventory with the surgery unit, and I might even get to witness some surgeries first hand! Well, this is it for now. This weekend we are planning to go to Ometepe Island which apparently is a beautiful national park. Thanks for reading.

NICARAGUA POST SET ONE Week 1

Hello from Managua. I am writing from an internet cafe, but I have loads to tell in this quick short time that I have. So far, working in the hospital has been great. We have worked on about 8 pieces of equipment so far and had a repairing rate of about 50%. We have put about 2 EKGs, a phototherapy light, and a NIBP machine back into service. The staff are really appreciative it seems and keep giving us more equipment to repair. I feel like my partner and I are very welcomed to this hospital. Our homestay father is named Dr. Mercado and he is one of the main contacts in the hospital. He knows a lot about the needs of the hospital and we are definetly going to find out more about what we need to do/give to the hopsital before and after we leave. There are many medical device donation companies across the world that just need the right field information that we can get to donate proper medical equipment that does not breakdown. Next week, we are going to try to work on this ventillator that we have been working on. It seems to be missing a flow sensor that we need to purchase. I am sure if we get that piece we will have a really important ventillator working. Thanks again for reading

Manu

Week 4 Post Early

Well, this is the last week in Costa Rica. It's kind of sad to leave such a nice place. However, I have learned a lot and am as ready as I can be for this upcoming month in Nicaragua. This week we are all trying to spend time with each other since we part ways as some of the group goes to Honduras and others to Nicaragua. Also, we are spending time with our host families and it will be very sad to leave them as well. We are thinking of getting some nice gifts for the grandchildren of our house and perhaps something photo related for the grandmother. Overall, I have been very satisfied by Costa Rica and am looking forward to the next month. Until next time....adios!

Week 3

Sorry for the late posts! This week in Costa Rica has been a very quiet one, but it has taught me a lot. First off, my spanish is getting so much better. Conversations are starting to get easier to understand, and I am able to communicate my ideas much more effectively. The grammar is flowing, and I am starting to feel a part of this culture. Engineering classes are going well too as we have transitioned from the electrical labs to the actual aspect of working in these developing hospitals and how to approach training technicians without going overboard. Recently, we toured San Jose's Children's Hospital in downtown San Jose. The hospital was very modern with state of the art equipment and almost a model for hospitals all across the country. There were CAT Scan machines, other sources of X-Rays, and plenty of incubators and ventilators alike. The main engineer at the hospital even had appropriate working space and conditions to fix the equipment. Tons and tons of money have been poured out on this hospital and I think it is a model hospital in and of itself. This coming next month in Nicaragua will be a true test in trying to help the hospitals get to the next level as best as I can. In terms of exciting other things, we recently had a get together at our Spanish teacher's house. Just imagine all 20+ of us in one house. The house was very nice and almost seemed like home. It was so interesting to see the stark contrast of the well off and the not so well off in Costa Rica. We were lucky to get hosted, and I had a great time. This weekend some friends went to do their own things and I decided to catch up on sleep and other things that I needed to get done. Thanks for reading and this will be my last week in Costa Rica. My next post will be right before I head out to Nicaragua! Cheers!

More Pics

Pics

Beach Trip 2010

Hello again. So, this weekend was crazy fun and interesting. We all left San Jose on a Saturday morning at 5:30am for the beach at Manuel Antonio. We got there around 11am where we ate at a local restaurant, Marlin's. They had pretty decent food of which I got a casada and blackberry juice which was VERY good. The fruits were also so delicious. We then went to the beach. The water that surrounds this beach is basically the Pacific Ocean. I've never seen such strong waves as these before. They were almost like mini tsunamis. The rip currents were so strong that they can pull anyone in if they are not careful. Thus, we had many adventures haha. Luckily, no one got into any serious trouble with the waves although there were some close calls. The beach was very pristine and filled with pure sand. The climate was just gorgeous with calm blue skies and crystal-like sun rays. After spending time at the beach, we all just kicked back and relaxed some more until later when some of us went to a night club near the beach.

The next morning we got up to go to another nearby beach where there were iguanas, monkeys, and sloths nearby on trails. These animals were definitely a sight to see along with the pristine waterfall on a nearby route. It was a pleasure to see these clean clear beaches as well and the waves on this day were not so bad although the bottom of the beach was pretty rocky. We then once again just relaxed and told stories until finally we headed back on the bus back home. This is a generalized account for what happened. Pictures will be forthcoming since I am using a combination of others pictures and some of mine that I have. Another week of classes and training where we come! Congrats Nadal and the Spain national soccer team for their successes! Beat Germany!

Week 2

So, I had a reasonably busy week, so I am only able to make one post for this week. I'll promise to make more frequent ones when I can.

This week I continued my Spanish training. I can now speak and understand many phrases, and I am able to get my way around Costa Rica effectively. The instruction is good, and I feel like the entire class is progressing. I feel that by the end of the month I will be able to communicate well to hospital workers and doctors alike with the spanish knowledge I will have gained.

The engineering lessons are going okay as well. We are learning so much about power supplies, infant incubators, infant warmers, batteries, anesthesia machines alike. We learn basically the common problems with these machines and how to fix them. Most problems are in fact with the leak in tubings or user error. All other problems are more with the power supply which can be fixed with diode bridges or transformers. In fact, in lab we learned how to construct power supplies by using a diode bridge to convert most AC into some DC. We then used a power regulator to convert most of the AC into as pure ranging DC values. These experiences helped us understand the basics of these medical equipments.

So, besides the school work, we do tend to explore the culture of our city. Thursday night, we had salsa dance lessons with an instructor (friend of our spanish teacher). It was really fun, though it was hard at first. It's always fun to dance, and I am going to keep it up as time goes on. After that, we all went and relaxed just tired from exhaustion.

Today, we all went to a hospital in Turialbas where we worked on fixing medical equipment and taking a tour of the hospital. It was a pretty decent hospital with plenty of space and doctors. One thing that struck me the most was that the entire hospital including emergency rooms were not as super streseed (as one sees in the US). Everything almost seemed carefree. Maybe this was typical of the system. When I asked a worker there about emergency wait time, she said that it was nearly the same as in the US since there were enough doctors and nurses but not enough space for crisis loads at all times. Also, another interesting observation was that most of the equipment in the hospital was brand new and in good condition. Lastly, the co-workers in the hospital seemed way to occupied in the World Cup but who could blame them haha. The instruments that I worked on was the infant ventilator which we took apart to examine the inner workings. The filter was found not to be present as well as a source for the humidifier. Those two problems were noted and sent to the main technician. Overall, I learned a lot by visiting this hospital as it is preparing me for my month long test in Nicaragua. On the way home, we noted so many car accidents that I could barely count them with my fingers. We got home after that long ride, and now I have to sleep since I have to get up at 4am to catch the bus for our beach trip to the Pacific Side of Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio. Adios! I'll write my next update probably Monday night.