Haiti Reflections

Adventure to Haiti

The process of getting to Haiti was an adventure in it of itself. Our original plan was to fly out of Detroit Saturday night and arrive in JFK for a layover. We were then supposed to fly out to Port au Prince Sunday morning. However, as soon as we got to the airport, we found out our flight was delayed due to a winter storm in New York. No big deal, we'll just arrive a bit later. Our team passed the time playing Heads Up which was hilarious (Mo's awesome pole vaulting and Ardi's picnic panic). Around the time we were supposed to board for our delayed flight to JFK, we found out our flight had been cancelled. Thanks to our fearless trip leaders (Megan and Michal) though, we were eventually able to reschedule our flight to Haiti at the expense of a clinic day. We decided to leave all our drug and supply bags (and my personal suit case) at the airport since it was a hassle to transport them around. Little did we know, we would soon regret this.

Leaving the airport after the cancellation

Lost luggage

Before we left the airport Saturday night, Delta promised us multiple times that our checked bags would be rerouted with us to Atlanta. However, when we got to the airport Sunday afternoon we discovered that our bags had been sent to JFK. This wasn't a huge problem since Delta promised us that our bags would make it to Haiti Monday morning before we arrived. Without my personal suit case, I quickly scrambled through the airport to find a tooth brush and toothpaste. Then, we made our way to Atlanta

Night in Atlanta

We arrived in Atlanta Sunday night without any major issues. At this point, our team was already pretty exhausted from the events of the past two days. Although we lost our luggage, it was nice not having 40 lb medical bags to lug around. We quickly made our way to the motel and set aside our personal belongings and hit up the Atlanta night life. We found a popping restaurant/bar called Spondivits (aka Spondilytis) and had a blast. We ate seafood as the M4s and doctors helped prep us for what conditions to expect in Haiti. Around 2 am, we left our new found favorite ATL restaurant Spondivits (#spondivits4lyfe) and hit the beds.

ATL really loves their seafood

Lost luggage cont.

It was now Monday morning and we left for the the airport. We got in pretty early so I hit up McDonalds for some good 'ol Sausage McMuffin. After another flight delay (#delaysondelaysondelays), we eventually made our way to Haiti. Once we got to Port Au Prince, our team excitement was pretty palpable. However, all that would soon disappear once we got to baggage claim. Upon arriving there, we found out that our medical bags were still at JFK. Immediately, our team began to wonder if we would even be able to hold clinic the following day. We had already lost a clinic day due to weather issues and the last thing we wanted was to lose another clinic day because of Delta's incompetence. Luckily though, once we got to Father Rosevelt's house, we quickly took stock of the supplies the M2 trip left us and decided we had enough to start clinic the following day.

Clinic days

On Tuesday morning, you could sense the excitement within the team. We were finally starting the medical work we came to Haiti for. As we walked to our clinic site, we passed crowds of Haitians who had been there since 5 am. It was a little daunting to see so many people but everyone was up to the task. We quickly set up our pharmacy and started to take in patients. Within a couple hours, we were up and running at full speed. It was crazy how fast everything came together and rewarding to see how invested everyone was to providing the best possible care. We were all super tired but you could tell no one really cared - everyone just kept hustling and giving it their all. We also got a nice surprise when half of our medical bags came in Tuesday afternoon (the other half ended up in Miami for some reason), thus allowing us to continue clinic on Wednesday.

Setting up clinic

My personal belongings arrive

Although it was great that our medical bags were finally coming in, there was still a glaring issue. My personal suit case (and Cletus' suit case) still hadn't made its way to Haiti. Normally, I wouldn't have too big of an issue with this. However, it was 90 degrees during the day and ridiculously humid, so you can imagine how sweaty my clothes and boxers got. Luckily though, my teammates donated me some of their clothes (thanks PT for the shirt and Megan for the bball shorts!) and let me use some of their shower stuff (thanks Taz and Liz!). I was also able to get some nice Haitian apparel and boxers via our emergency trip fund (side note: i can't tell you how great it feels to switch into fresh boxers after four days). Finally, my luggage arrived on Thursday (took five days) and it basically felt like Christmas.

My new bright green Haitian shirt (on the left)

Clinical skills

Amidst all the issues our team was having with medical bags, everyone was learning and growing at an exponential rate. We all got opportunities to interview patients, perform physical exams, present to the M4s/doctors, diagnose conditions, and work the pharmacy. It was awesome seeing how all the M1s were able to prescribe treatments on their own by the end of the trip. We really had come a long way since the start of the trip and I can honestly say we're going to become better doctors because of this trip. By Friday night, we had to wrap up clinic and it was honestly bittersweet. We were all happy we got to serve hundreds of Haitians but we were sad to say goodbye to our new Haitian friends (#besttranslatorsever). We ended the night by playing soccer with some local kids on what had to be the best backdrop for pickup soccer ever (Haitians mountains on one side and a view overlooking the city on the other)

Crazy backdrop for soccer

New Friends

After coming back home, I’ve been asked a couple times what were some of my favorite memories on this trip. I’ve definitely enjoyed clinic days, late night conversations, and our crazy games (SCISSOR BAGGG). But I think one of my highlights has definitely been getting to know my classmates more. Honestly, when I first found out who was on the Haiti team I wasn’t quite sure how I felt - I really didn’t know any of them all that well. A lot of them were pretty outgoing whereas I’m a little more reserved/shy. Even as we were at the airport, I still had my reservations. By midweek though, all the concerns I had were gone. I quickly realized my teammates (and classmates) were some of the most caring people I’ve ever met. The amount of sacrifices we collectively made to ensure that locals got the best possible care really brought us together. I can honestly say now that I love my team. Even though we’re all different and a little crazy, I truly think that they’re some of my closest friends at school now (#haitifamily) 

Best team ever

Going home

It’s been a day now since I’ve gotten back and it still hasn’t really registered that I’m home. It almost seems surreal and I’ve had to ask myself a couple times if I really went to Haiti at all. I’ve been extremely blessed by the opportunity I’ve had to serve hundreds of Haitians in Morne De L’Hopital. However, I realize that unless our group is able to provide reliable and sustainable care, we’re only putting a band aid on a larger issue. I’m not sure what the solution will be, but I do believe that EMR is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to go back to Haiti in December - but until then, I’ll continue to apply the lessons I learned in Haiti to become the best doctor I can be.

#HaitiFamilyForLife

Update on M1

Praise God! I've made it through the second unit of gross anatomy and histology/embryology. It's definitely been a crazy 8 weeks. When I think about it, I can't believe that it's already been two months. I feel like I've been in medical school for way longer.. Here are some highlights from the last couple of weeks:

• In lab, we cut open our cadaver's skull and pulled out his brain. It was a pretty surreal experience
• I found out I'm going to Haiti in February for a medical mission trip. I'm so stoked!
• I passed my first four exams, I'm surviving med school! :p
• Got to hang out with some old friends, definitely was a huge blessing

Anyways, I'm actually doing a lot better than I thought I would. I feel like because I didn't come from a traditional medical background, I'd lag behind all the other students in terms of learning the material. Although this is true to an extent, I feel like I generally have enough time to learn the material fairly well to pass the tests. One of the things that I really appreciate about medicine compared to engineering is that I can find fairly decent explanations for most of the topics I'm currently learning on youtube. Whether it's how the embryo folds or ways to memorize the cranial nerves, there always seems to be some video that will magically make it all clear. This is compared to mechanical engineering where I still don't really understand how to use bernoulli's equations in complex fluid flow problems (curse you ME 320!!).

My faith has also rebounded since the beginning of med school. When I first started, I think I definitely turned med school into an idol. It came to the point where I couldn't really focus on my devos since I felt like I needed to study all the time. However, once I started prioritizing my relationship with God over med school, I started having a lot more peace and joy amidst the daily grind of school.

One of the prayers that I found particularly helpful over the past couple weeks was to ask God to help me remain joyful irrespective of what happened in school. Regardless of whether lab went well or not, whether I passed my exams or not, I really wanted to focus on praising God in all situations. I truly believe that's important for me since med school really has been God's blessing to me. So rather than complaining about all the things that went wrong during the day or all the studying I need to do, praising God in everything has helped me remain calm and keep perspective as to why I'm in med school in the first place.

In addition, this passage from Ephesians 3:14-19 has been especially helpful over the past few weeks

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breath and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

In particular, the part of the passage that struck me the most is when it talks about how knowing the love of Christ surpasses all knowledge. This was such a huge reminder for me when I was studying for my exams. This passage helped me remember that it doesn't matter how much anatomy or embryology I learn because this worldly knowledge can't ultimately fulfill me. The only thing that can is the love of Jesus.

Anyways, this ended up being longer than I expected. Sorry I don't have any pictures to show you guys, I need to do a better job of that lol. Thanks for checking in though and I'll see you all next time!

Andrew

The second week definitely got to me

The second week of med school has passed. That's crazy... Second week.. It already feels like it's been two months. In two weeks, I've already dissected the entire upper limb of the human body, participated in my first health screen, and stressed out more times than I probably had to. On the one hand, I'm pretty excited about all the material I'm learning (probably because I have bare minimum background needed to get into med school). On the other hand, I wish the school would give me a couple more days just to process all the information before they start cramming in new materials. Whoever described med school as a water hose being blasted in your face couldn't be more correct.

Anyways, I think part of the anxiety of med school is that you're always subconsciously comparing yourself to the people around you. I try to keep myself  from asking people what they're studying since I feel like that will always leave me feeling inadequate or behind. But honestly, it's hard to escape it. Whether it's overhearing some lab mates talk in the dissection room or walking by people as I'm leaving the library, I feel like I'm always subconsciously checking to see what my peers are studying and asking myself if I should study more.

I think because of this my personal life kind of took a nose dive this week. I felt like the need to constantly study got to me and it caused me to stress out like crazy. Whenever I got home, I would try to cram as much material in my head before going to bed. This included studying during dinner when I could have been catching up with my parents and studying when I talked to my girlfriend at night (she wasn't too fond of that lol). The reality is though, I need separation from med school. If I let it consume my every thought and moment, then it's only going burn me out. When I let myself pursue my other passions like running or ultimate frisbee, I can free my mind from freaking out about anatomy and histology and just enjoy the present moment.

So I guess that's my challenge to myself this week - focus on balance. Study when I need to study and relax when I need to relax. It's a difficult line to walk but I'm definitely going to give it my best shot. I'll let you guys know how I do next week.

Thanks for checking in and see you all later!

Andrew

Done with the first week!

I'm finally done with the first week of medical school! The best way I can describe it is that it felt like a hurricane hit me in the face. I thought I "knew" what I was getting myself into, but I couldn't be more wrong. For some reason, I thought that the professors would try to ease us into this whole medical school thing despite older students saying otherwise. Instead, they basically hosed us with information. I don't think I've ever had this much information shoved into my brain in the span of a week. I also don't think I've ever worked as hard as I did this past week. Yes, that includes graduate school.

I think part of the reason why i worked so hard at the beginning of the week was that within the first two days, I already felt so behind. I mean Histology was alright, we were basically relearning what I learned in undergraduate biology. Sure there was some new terminology and it was slightly more in-depth, but nothing too crazy. Gross Anatomy though, my gosh, I wasn't expecting that. I really didn't have any anatomy background going into the class so everything seemed so brand new. For instance, I never knew there were so many terms for describing the features on a bone. Then when you throw on top of that trying to learn all the origin/insertion/innervation/actions of the muscles, I think it's easy to see why I felt so overwhelmed. I clearly remember on the second day of school studying in the library and asking myself what have I gotten myself in to.

Obviously, things have gotten better. I feel like when you remember that medical school is a marathon, not a sprint, it helps put things into perspective. Yes, there is a lot of information coming my way, but there's also a lot of  time to learn the material. At first, 3.5 weeks didn't seem like enough time to learn all the bones/muscles/arteries/nerves of the upper limb, but once you immerse yourself in the material every single day, it's amazing how much you can learn. I'm definitely amazed at how far I've come in a single week and excited by all the material I'm learning (sounds pretty nerdy right?). I've still got a long way to go before I'm prepared to take an exam, but the journey so far has definitely been encouraging!

Anyways, I figured I'd end my post with some takeaways from my first week in medical school.

• Don't compare yourself to other students. Everyone comes from a different background and all that you're doing is placing additional pressure on yourself. Just because one student can recite all the branches of the axillary artery and brachial plexus doesn't meant that you're any less competent. Take your time and slowly chip away at the material, it'll be fine in the end.
  
• Try to maintain some semblance of balance in your daily life. Medical school is definitely time consuming, but don't let it consume all of you. For me, that means trying to work out and talking to my girlfriend every night. The last thing I want to do it think about Gross Anatomy 24/7
  
• Get to know the people around you outside of just medicine. Don't simply ask them what specialty they want to do, ask about their hobbies, passions, and life experiences. It makes for better conversations and helps build stronger relationships.

That's all I got for now. Thanks for checking in and see you all next week!

Andrew

Done with Orientation!

It's been a long week, but I'm finally done with my medical school orientation! I forgot how tiring it was to be in a lecture hall for four hours at a time. My legs have never been happier to get a solid stretch. Anyways, I don't have much to say about the orientation itself. I basically just listened to various presentations detailing the history of the school, what to do in Detroit, how to pay off my loans, and other similarly exciting material.

The best parts of orientation for me were when we got to interact with the faculty and older students. It was really interesting to listen to the advice they had to offer. Everyone seems to have a different and unique experience in medical school. Some people study 8-12 hours a day whereas other people can get a way with a couple hours and maintain a normal life. I'm not sure where I will fall on the spectrum, but I'm hoping somewhere closer to the latter.

Another cool part of orientation was when I got to see the cadaver I will be dissecting. In our Gross Anatomy course, we get to dissect a deceased person who has donated his/her body to help educate future medical students. It was definitely a little bit nerve wracking walking into the a room with a bunch of dead bodies, especially knowing that pretty soon I will be dissecting one. However, the more I think about it, the more I'm excited about this opportunity. I've never dissected anything in my life before so I think this opportunity can really further my knowledge of the human body! Sounds pretty nerdy right? Oh well, I'm totally fine with that.

At orientation, we also got our short white coat. For those of you may not know, the short white coat is typically given to physicians in training and the long white coat is for actual doctors. Basically, the short white coat is an initiation of sorts. It didn't really hit me that I was actually on the road to becoming a doctor until I saw my white coat and put it on for the first time. I'm typically not one to display a huge array of emotions in public, so it was definitely hard to remain calm and collected when I was trying on my white coat. Luckily, it fits!

Me in my spiffy white coat.
Hopefully I look like a doctor lol

Anyways, I'm pretty tired at the moment. So much stuff has happened this week and if I were to describe it all this post would be way too long. Maybe I'll write my thoughts down later once I catch up on rest (probably not happening), but we'll see what happens. I start school on Monday and I'm definitely pretty excited! Here's hoping for the best! Thanks for checking in and I'll see you all next time! :D

Andrew

Got a Stethoscope!

A couple days ago, I took a big step towards my future medical career! My cousin sent me a stethoscope as an early birthday present! Needless to say I was pretty stoked!

My new stethoscope! I feel so official now

Someone that I immediately thought of when I saw the packaging was Louis Litt from the TV show "Suits". I couldn't help it since the stethoscope was "Littmann" brand. Anyways, after the initial shock of getting a stethoscope wore off, I proceeded to open the package. Nothing too crazy, seemed like a typical stethoscope to me. Then again, I could totally be wrong and this might be the most epic stethoscope in the world.. I guess I'll find out in a couple years lol.

Like the typical nerd I am though, rather than immediately play with my new toy (i mean medical tool), I went ahead and read the manual. In retrospect, I really wasn't sure what I was expecting from the manual though. I guess I just wanted to make sure how to properly use it just in case I found the 1/1 million way to break the stethoscope. Nothing too insightful though, just how to clean the stethoscope after a while. 

 The handy dandy manual!

So after reading through the manual, I went ahead and started playing with my new stethoscope! The first thing I checked was my own heart beat. I heard nothing... Just kidding! It was pretty cool listening to my own heart beat! My parents were also sharing in my excitement and proceeded to ask me to listen to their heart beat. We probably looked really silly, but whatever it was a lot of fun.

Would you trust this future doctor? :p

Anyways, it's slowly starting to hit me that I'll be beginning medical school in a little over a month and a half. I'm definitely excited and nervous as heck, but I know God is with me so everything is going to be alright! Thanks for checking in and I'll see you guys next time! :D

Medical School

Friends, it's been a while. Needless to say, I've neglected this blog for quite a while so here's to hoping I can do a better job going forward.

Anyways, as many of you may (or may not) know, I originally applied to 17 medical schools. Out of those 17, 16 of them rejected me. Many of the schools that I thought I was a lock for an interview or acceptance were the schools that rejected me early on in the process. Needless to say, the whole medical school application process has been a very humbling experience. My faith has been tested, but I can honestly say that God has provided for me in amazing ways.

This brings me to the medical school I'll be attending. At the beginning of August, I'll be starting my journey at Wayne State University's School of Medicine. I'm definitely excited by the multitude of opportunities WSU has to offer as well as the chances I'll have to serve the Detroit population. I know working and learning in Detroit will definitely force me out of my comfort zone, but I believe this whole experience will help me grow both as a physician and person.

As for what specialty I want to choose, I honestly have no clue yet. It changes on a daily basis. I have thought about pediatrics, radiology, anesthesiology, and general surgery just to name a few, but I am pretty open to anything. I figure with my lack of experience in the medical field, I can go through my clinical rotations in the 3rd year with an open mind and pick the specialty that best suits my passions and skills.

That's pretty much it for now! I have a couple more blog ideas (like how I decided between engineering and medicine), but those will come at a later date. Enjoy the weather and see you all next time!