During the week that my family was here, Alex and I
finally went into surgery!! It was really really cool and I didn’t even come
close to passing out (which was definitely what I expected). There was an
unbelievable amount of preparation before the surgery. I was also shocked when
the anesthesiologist told Alex and I that they have to tape the patient’s eyes
shut because eye issues is the most common reason they are sued. The patient
was an 8.5 year old female who got eight incisions, four in the same places on
each leg. There was one by the groin, one above the front of the knee, one
behind the knee, and one at the bottom back of the calf. They released the
tendon in all of those spots, except the cut above the knee they actually cut
some of the tendon out. It was crazy to see how much the insides of a person
can be man handled; I forget how strong our bodies really are because we often
act like we’re so fragile. I got to see the femoral nerve and how that moved
the muscle, all the adipose tissue under the skin, tendons that she grabbed and
moved all around, and all that she stitched back together. The entire surgery
process was so complex; all tools used were marked down, along with the amount
of blades and bloody gauze pads that were used. Everything was so sterile,
which was a slight change from being in the wards. It was also the first air
conditioning I’ve been exposed to since being in Cape Town. The second I
stopped thinking of medical procedures as gross, it all became easier to
handle. I kept reminding myself during surgery that the patient was being
helped and that it’s just a necessary process for her improvement. It felt like
we were on a TV show when the doctors had washed their arms and hands and
walked into the theatre with their arms up in front of them, all sterile and
dripping wet. After the surgery finished up, Alex and I helped hold the girl’s
legs up so that they could cast her. It was all so incredible to see and I
cannot wait to go back in next week! Internship has been so great even aside
from going into surgery. Being around the kids makes it all so worth it and
it’s so amazing to see them progress with their healing processes.
I really loved class this week; we watched a video
called I Am about Tom Shadyac. He acquired lots of money and lived a
material life, yet he realized that more and more material items did not
actually make him any happier. The thing about Tom is that he actually did
something with this realization, changing his life for the better. I had no
idea that in Noam Chomsky’s book the concept of survival of the fittest is only
mentioned twice throughout the whole thing, yet the concept of love consists of
95% of the writing. All classes and conversations regarding Chomsky are solely
focused on survival of the fittest, never love. It just shows how little
information we actually are exposed to. So many people use survival of the
fittest as validation for the way they live their lives and many even use it as
an explanation of poverty. At a point in the movie it mentioned a universal law
of nature that all living things follow except humans: one doesn’t take more
than it needs, and if it does it falls subject to it and dies off (something
along the lines of that). This was a harsh reminder for me and made the reality
of me going home something that I need to focus on. I know it’s going to be
hard being surrounded by my close friends and family that are unaware to topics
related to what I have talked and learned about while here. It’s easy to say
while I’m here, as I’m surrounded by 17 other girls that have similar views as
myself, that I when I go home I will stop shopping at certain stores and stay
strong in my beliefs. I know myself though and know that doing so is going to
take a lot more effort than I anticipate. I don’t want to force my opinion and
thoughts on people close to me, but at the same I also don’t want to just do my
own thing without sharing why I am doing it; I want to find the middle ground
and a way to explain it all to them in a way that will allow them to understand
where I am coming from and then make their own decisions from there.
On another note, many of us had a one day week at
internship this week because of Human Rights Day on Tuesday. I had a
packed weekend full of amazing memories with amazing people in the most amazing
city (as cliche as that sounds). Friday turned out to be an ordinary day that made
us all so happy, even though plans did not go accordingly. Sara, Claire, Karen
and I went to UCT to use the wifi and just enjoyed the beautiful weather on our
walk up to campus. When you’re that happy doing such “normal” things as that,
that’s when you know life is so good. Sara, Claire and I then went thrift
shopping and to the Cavendish mall after to shop for a St. Patty’s Day shirt.
Going out on Long Street that night was so much fun since most of the girls
came out. Saturday was SO COOL. Karen and I went to a photography
workshop held by Shannon Benson (aka Shannon Wild). Her and her husband, Russ,
are both amazing wildlife photographers and cinematographers. We learned so
much and I just cannot wait to continue learning more about photography. It’s
been one of my passions for years, but I have not prioritized it enough and
have forgot a lot of the information I’ve learned. After the workshop we went
to the waterfront to get lunch and walk around and it was just such a great day
all around. Sunday was a day well-spent with Maddy’s family on their
last day here. We hiked Lion’s Head at the hottest time of the day (I almost
died haha) and had dinner at their place later in the evening.
I saw the sunset
that evening at Camps Bay and it was breath-taking. It made me want to go there
for sunset every night. Monday a few of us went to Clifton Fourth
Beach for the day. It’s located right underneath Lion’s Head; the water was
insanely cold, cold enough to make my entire legs tingle just from having my
feet in the water… yet Sara and I went in all the way,
anyways. Tuesday morning Alex, Laura, and I woke up
at 4:30am to hike Lion’s Head for sunrise. It was already extremely
hot and humid (which is rare here) at 5:30am when we started hiking.
It was a tough hike and super crowded, but crazy beautiful. The clouds covered
the sun for most of it so it was hard to capture in pictures, but in person it
was still so unbelievable. Later in the day we went to Bloubergstrand Beach
after I saw a cool sunset picture on Instagram and I’m so so happy we did. It
was gorgeous and felt so unreal. It was the perfect beach day. We were there
for over seven hours and it felt like it was three. We stayed all the way
through sunset. It hit me hard this weekend that we only have five weeks of the
program left; however, living life like this, at my internship, and with the
Fire Fighters is exactly how I want to spend my remaining time here.  |
| This beach makes folks jump for joy |
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| U C O N N |
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