Happy to be... Engaged!

Reasons I'm Way in Love with Jake

1. He's the hunter-gatherer type. We'll never go hungry! He has his bow hanging for decoration at his house, for goodness's sake. My mom's warning when she found out we were dating seriously: "If you marry him, you're going to have to eat deer meat!!!"

2. Despite his exceeding manliness, he is smart enough to make the women in his life happy by showing his "softer" (cough cough, artsy-craftsy!) side at times.

3. That smile :)

4. He has always loved me.

5. We love to dream about the future together.

6. He picked out a ridiculously gorgeous engagement ring!

7. He makes me feel so beautiful... and brings out the best in me!

8. His family!

9. He loves spending time with my family, and they love him.

10. He wears hard-core sunglasses, and always has :) Now, he wears them on the back of his head more than on the front. Go figure on that one!

11. Every day, he makes me fall in love with him all over again.

12. We just fit!

*To be continued... Forever!

Glimpsing into Esperanza de Nicaragua

How can I explain being in a world where people are the only things that matter? I’ve never gone to pray at night and felt so full of joy as I did during the time I spent in Nicaragua last week.

The lessons I learned in San Rafael del Norte ranged from how to chart anesthesia, which landmarks to watch for while performing intubation, all the way to why it is so dangerous for a gall stone to be fixed in the common bile duct. But they were also lessons about how happiness comes through service, how sacred the body is, and how profoundly the Atonement reaches into the depths of human life even in a remote corner of the semi-tropics.

Here are some of the images that I feel really captured the essence of what it meant to be a part of Esperanca’s medical mission to Jinotega and San Rafael del Norte in July 2010.

Clínica Nazareth, San Rafael del Norte, Jinotega, Nicaragua.

Built by an Italian family for the community and discovered by Grandpa and Uncle Mark last year. Families of the patients would sit in the red chairs lining the atrium for hours and even days.

The drive from Jinotega to San Rafael del Norte takes about 30 minutes, along twisting mountain roads frequented by kids walking to school, men walking to work in long rubber boots, cattle, horses, stray dogs, and donkeys transporting milk. The drives were usually spent bugging our driver, Herman, into teaching us all sorts of Nicaraguan vocabulary.

"Los doctores" y "Maestros de los maestros"- Grandpa and Uncle Mark are also known as "el guapo" and "el inteligente", respectively. They are seamless in their work together and are well-respected and trusted by the people.

While Uncle Mark said DeeDee and I were to be the "go-fers", we were really spoiled by hours of of observation and by being taught hands-on and eyes-on about anatomy, physiology, and their application in anesthesiology and surgery. We also got pretty good at identifying the different types of sutures! :)

Priceless for a future Speech-Language Pathologist, Grandpa's intubations provided rare opportunities to clearly visualize the vocal folds.

On the last day of operations, this woman appeared with mammograms that clearly indicated she had a breast mass. Uncle Mark confirmed the diagnosis, and she bravely agreed to have the operation done that same day. She also allowed each of us girls to palpate the breast so that our ability to self-detect would be more accurate. This photo was taken after she had only been out of surgery for a couple of hours. She snuck out of her bed in the recovery room to try to sneak a photo of the doctors with her cell phone. She was so grateful, and was one of my favorite patients.

The Nicaraguans who make it all happen: Carmen (head nurse), Conni the laundry woman, and Luis (organizer with the local volunteer program, Avodec). All of them love to joke with Grandpa and Uncle Mark- incessantly! And of course, the humor goes both ways!

The team: (minus Carmen, Luisa, Carla and Bilma) Lara (American volunteer with Avodec), Julio (Nurse Anesthetist), Milton (Instrumentist and Scrub Nurse), Maren Wilson and DeeDee Hancock (Go-fers exceptionale), Grandpa Max Kartchner (Anesthesiologist), Luis (Avodec Organizer), Uncle Mark Kartchner (Surgeon), Unknown Woman who was warmly accepted into the group photo!

Here are some shots of the team at work:

Case of the Week: Axillary Lipoma (Before, During, and After Surgery)

Talk about a grateful smile- having no teeth didn't stop him! He was hopping out of bed the day after surgery- his main concern was getting back to his viejecita!

What most impressed me was the happiness the people found in simple living, faith, and heartfelt appreciation.

A mother of one of our patients approached Uncle Mark in a really spiritual moment to express her gratitude to "los doctores" and the rest of the team. It always amazed us to see how quickly the patients and their families were smiling and giving their thanks, expressing their gratitude and trust.

Other memorable parts of the trip:

Riding First-Class! Thanks, Uncle Mark... and all the seven bags that made this the better way to go!

Waiting in Managua- Grandpa and Uncle Mark's approach to conquering culture shock- NAPS!

Couch fabric as upholstery in the taxi car of "Pies de Plomo" (aka. David). Bring on the Raggaeton!

Overcoming my weak stomach! Only two colesistectomias into the week!

Young love- language is no barrier! Not really a true romance, but Milton sure did like teaching DeeDee how to be an instrumentist.

Seeing anomalies such as pectus excavatum.

Las calles

El campo

Spending all of our time with Grandpa and Uncle Mark. They were great free entertainment, and we were a great captive audience! It was a perfect relationship!

Twenty-six stones in one gallbladder... not to compare with 135 in another.

Anesthesia team extraordinaire! Grandpa and Julio- we loved Julio's great sense of humor!

El Hotel Cafe- a luxurious stay.

Morning "sidewalk consultations", many a day thanks to Carmen!

Resting at the end of a hard day's work!

Textbook anatomy! (Inguinal hernia repair)

Milton's admiration for los doctores.

Humidity!

Achieving the seemingly unachievable.

Bilma, our matronly figure. Her eyes said it all. She was also a "top notch" scrub nurse, per Uncle Mark.

Finding out that Grandpa is a regular Frank Sinatra and being stumped every time by his literal translation of English idioms into Spanish. But they were inevitably hilarious!

The last, and very grateful!, beneficiary of Grandpa and Uncle Mark's chocolate stash!

Saying goodbye.

I will always be grateful for this ultimate gift.