end of July

For the most part, my last week of July has been tedious, full of work, and a little tiring. But above all this, it´s been very rewarding to finally be able to start what I came here for- my project on the health of the children using the clinic. In these beginning stage, I´ve been exposed to the wonders of paper medical records.
Not just paper medical records- paper medical records in a non-profit clinic. 7000 records down and a couple more thousand to go, all i can say is I am extremely grateful that in a few days I should finally be done with the scouring, and hopefully be able to computerize the information I have found. The only thing the 6 years worth of records have in common, is that, like i previously mentioned, they’re all "paper."

Starting with the first record ever made at the clinic and continuing through the history of patients, I immediately noticed the progression of medical record style. The centro medico originally started out with lined paper that had "historia" across the top. From there, in about a year or so, it appears as though they transitioned to a more formal record style with actual spaces to fill out information concerning the visit and/or the patients, and in 2008 I guess that either funds were low or there was a paper shortage, because for about 4 months, every of record was recorded on anything from scrap paper cut into post-it sized squares, to ripped out pages of magazines. In all, the entire experience of medical record revision has given me a brief exposure to the history of the clinic, accentuating how far the community has come, and how great the potential it still has to improve.

This weekend, to relax and give my paper-cut fingers a break, I´ve decided to wear-out my legs a little bit instead. Ajay and I are going to be waking up early tomorrow, hopping on the first bus to Quito, and meeting a climbing group that will then depart for Cotopaxi National Park. With a little luck, lots of sunscreen, and the help of the guide & included snacks, we´ll hopefully be on top of the 19,000+ mountain by Sunday afternoon.

According to this description on a web-site i came across while researching what we´re getting into, it sounds like it may even be a “religious” experience:
"Cotopaxi was also once worshiped by Ecuador’s ancient civilizations, thought to be the bringer of rain and prosperous crops; and the top of Cotopaxi was considered to be where God resided."

We´ll see what the world’s second tallest volcano has to offer…



Wish me luck!