I've been in the clinic for over a week now, so I decided to do something different today. I went with Vincente, one of the local Health Promoters, via microbus to the nearby village of Xejuyu. Our main purpose was to educate the mothers of malnourished infants on the use of Nutri-Mantequilla, an enriched peanut butter fortified with nutrients that are frequently missing in the local diet.
Our other purpose was to see sick patients in the village. As the only health professional in the village, I felt that I was much better suited for this part. In reality, I couldn't do much for them. Armed with only a stethoscope and a reflex hammer, how was I supposed to determine the cause of non-descriptive diarrhea in the malnourished infant? To rule out a slow intracerebral bleed in the old man with an alarming contusion below the scalp? To treat a postictal epileptic child who has been suffering from an increase in seizure activity over the past week?
I feel as helpless as the patients I'm supposed to be helping. That's not a good thing, is it?
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