 |
| Trista & Abby |
It’s pretty surreal
that we only have about three weeks left here in Cape Town. I feel like I’ve done so much but yet still
have much left to experience. There are
still a few things left on my bucket list, so I’m using these next few weekends
to check off those last few items. On
Friday, Abby and I journeyed to Muizenberg for a surf lesson (finally!). It was actually extremely difficult to get up
on the board. I only accomplished a
solid ride towards the shore once, falling off a million times before
that. The instructors were incredibly
helpful though, and made the process fun, even if I did end up swallowing a
significant amount of salt water.
Following an amazing
morning, I spent Friday afternoon traveling to the airport to meet my mom,
whose arrival I have anxiously been awaiting ever since she booked her flight
weeks ago. I’m feeling the pressure to
cram in all that Cape Town has to offer
in the next ten days so that she falls as much in love with this city as I have
over the last couple of months. On Saturday, we hiked Lion’s Head. Although I have seen the view before, being
up there for a second time didn’t lessen the experience at all. In fact, we even caught the sunset on the way
down and were able to view the night lights of Cape Town from an amazing
vantage point. On Sunday, we spent the
morning kayaking, and then my mom and I walked around Simon’s Town before
taking the train home. Spending time
with her has helped relieve an immense amount of homesickness that I have felt
on and off throughout the semester, and I am incredibly grateful to be able to
share my experience with her.
This past week at
Maitland, I’ve started to realize just how much I have actually learned from
the doctors there. My notebook is filled with various orthopedic
terms and their definitions. On rounds,
I now find myself having answers to the doctors’ questions for the medical
students, and I could probably give a brief medical history on at least half of
the patients. While I’m proud of the medical knowledge I
have been able to retain, I also appreciate that my internship has taught me
the absolute necessity of viewing a patient in a holistic manner rather than a
collection of symptoms or a single afflicted limb. Treatment extends far beyond the OR and, in
many cases, entails weeks of painful physiotherapy, so it is absolutely
imperative to keep the children hopeful and motivated. I’ve enjoyed watching the patients at
Maitland progress through this journey and am elated when they finally reach
the point at which they can continue their recovery at home, allowing them to
feel that much more like any other child.
I’m looking forward to the rest of the week
and spending as much time as possible with my mom and I can’t wait to show her
the multifaceted personality that Cape Town has to offer.
No comments:
Post a Comment