With the end of Blood Pressure awareness month approaching; come last week, I had to change my customary schedule from taking blood pressure in the morning and finalizing the proposal of my Child Growth Standard project in the afternoons (which involved having what I thought was decent Spanish, continually corrected by my advising crew here at the clinic; Jennyfer and Paola.). Instead, I began to work primarily on my support group presentations in the afternoon after continuing my publicizing of the meeting in the morning.
Being able to spend the mornings taking blood pressure was surprisingly fulfilling. Not only did I become a pro at quickly being able to find arterial pulses and work the sphygmomanometer, more than anything, the patient interaction was humbling and rewarding. The majority of the patients I tended to were either waiting for a family member to be seen by the doc, or were passing by the clinic and figured they had little to lose when the word “free” was involved. The range of victims was immense. From small children that were fascinated by stethoscopes, to teenagers, to adults, to even small indigenous women that reminded me of my nana; I was able to interact, practice my awkward banter, and genuinely become acquainted with the community in a manner I couldn’t have ever anticipated. The sincerity of each person I had the pleasure to meet (which up to this point has been over 110) made the early mornings worth it; however, as fun as it was, with July 22nd approaching, I had to shift my focus to the reason why I was even able to meet them…the support group meeting.
In reality, I pictured the presentation to be a bit less time consuming than it ended up being. After practicing my basic explanation of hypertension, its risks, suggestions for healthier pressure, and answering any questions, I felt that I would easily be able to conceptualize my knowledge into a presentation that would last an hour or so. But, after realizing this knowledge only covered about 5 minutes of information, I knew I had a bit of preparation before Thursday.
So I jumped right into the topic of “la hypertension.” Fliers, pamphlets, information sheets- I read any and everything I could get my hands on in which ever of the two languages I’ve had running through my brain the past 6 weeks. For hours on end, I tried to synthesize the information, hoping to find an interesting and interactive way to present the info, finally realizing that the good old friend of mine, power point, would be able to provide the information in the most visually appealing and straightforward manner.
With the help of Dr. Andrade and the ideas catalyzed by what I gathered from talking with the patients regarding their knowledge over blood pressure, I set out to work on the presentation with the intention to motivate people to actually make changes in their lives. After looking at the lists for the past support group meetings it looked like something was missing- there was basically an entirely new group every time, and it sounded like the meetings were more lectures than providing support. Most of all, I wanted to give people a reason to come back to the August meeting.
Before anything though, I knew it was necessary to set forth a foundation of learning before delving into any advanced topics or lifestyle changes. As one gentleman was telling me after discussing his abnormally high blood pressure, although he had been taking medication for the past two years (well, at least saying he was taking medication; I’ve found even those with prescriptions usually don’t have the means to buy the expensive pills, often resorting to sporadically taking them, or reducing the suggested dosages to a point of inefficacy…), I was the first “medico” that had ever explained to him anything more than that he had two numbers of a greater value than they should be. Therefore, afternoon after afternoon I worked on setting forth a logical way to present the information necessary to truly understand what blood pressure is; my outline went through the most basic development possible: The importance of blood; the circulatory system; why we have blood pressure; what our blood pressures mean; and then the risk & development of hypertension.
Slide after slide, and animation after animation I attempted to make the presentation as interesting as possible, in addition to also encompassing themes and diction that I wouldn’t slip up on, or make a fool of myself trying to pronounce (“asesino silencioso” is pretty hard to wrap your tongue around when you’re half way through an hour long presentation…).
But then came the fun part, or at least the part that didn’t involve deadly pathologies of the disease or anything. Opposed to leaving the group with a dismal feeling about their maladies I tried to present reasonable and easy ways to change their lives- suggestions of sorts- that including things from dietary changes, exercises, how to lose weight, and lifestyle changes. Another thing I was excited to test, was the follow-through of the group. To give them as much incentive as monetarily possible (considering monetarily I couldn’t offer a thing) I decided to make a calendar hand out for each person that came to the meeting. Included on this were spaces for keeping track of dietary consumption, whether they did any form of exercises, and spots for specific goals that we would fill out during the presentation. Hopefully, with a little push, I could try to increase participation in the meeting, and more than anything, give people a hard copy of something to motivate them to change, and continue, healthier lives day after day.
Then finally the day of the presentation came. I had made my phone calls, practiced my presentation a few times, and had my hand outs printed off; by the time 5 pm rolled around I felt exceptionally prepared.
Ok, not really; I’d say I felt fairly prepared- ready to give the presentation and all, but a little nervous about forgetting all of my Spanish while standing alone in front of the group. Regardless, the moment the first members of the group made their way into the waiting room, I realized my nerves were misplaced, and that really, other than the possibility of being a little humiliated if I forgot how to pronounce a word or two, I had nothing to lose.
In all, 16 people ended up attending the support group meeting. From the first slide to the last, I scanned the audience and could tell that in the very least, I had their attention. Although, honestly, I was a bit nervous to begin with Dr. Andrade, Paola, Jennyfer, and the other volunteers all watching, it was actually relieving to see their supportive glances as the presentation went on. When all was finished- the most gratifying part came to see the smiles and appreciation on everyones faces; at first it caught me off guard, but every person who had come to the meeting went out of their way to introduce themselves, say thank you, and make the whole past month feel like it was worth it.
Since the support group, things have been relaxing. I decided to stick around Tumbaco opposed to go out and cram something into the weekend, and as I sit writing this, relaxed, content, and just having finished and submitted my medical school application, I feel more at ease than I did soaking in warm mineral baths.
The next week will probably be a little more laid back than the past, but if I’ve learned anything here, you’ve got to roll with what life brings you opposed to being set in any expectations. So for now, I’ll just keep carrying on, and hope that everyone at home- family, friends, fiancé, and all- are doing the same.
Buenas noches,
drew
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