"April" (septiembre) showers

Hola! Quick update since I should really be doing tarea (homework) right now, but who says I can't take a break. There's been a lot of rain lately. September is basically April here. We're wrapping up the winter and heading towards la primavera (spring)! However, as you all know, "April showers bring may flowers." So I'll be stuck in the rainy weather for a bit. In fact, all this rain has caused many aludes (avalanche, landslides) near the mountains. It's caused el Río Mapocho to overflow and just terrorized the homes and lives of many chileans. One lady and her 1 year old daughter have died so far. Only her husband survived. On the news, they've been describing it as a dream that they wish they could wake up from.

I went to the partido de fútbol de Chile con Venezuela (World Cup qualifying soccer game) on Saturday. It was rainy the whole time. Plus, I got a fever on Friday, so standing in the rain for about 6 hours on Saturday didn't really help my cause. Oh well, part of the experiencia, cierto? Chileans are crazy at fútbol games! Out of nowhere, people will light fires in the middle of the stands and make all sorts of ruckus to pump up the fans. It was great!! I also learned many chilean cheers/songs because we sang those SERIOUSLY all night. However, sad to report, Chile tied with Venezuela 2-2. From what my papa tells me, now Chile has to play like 3 more games to try to qualify for the World Cup next year now.

Also, last Thursday, I got to scrub in on an open heart bypass surgery. However, I didn't just sit in on this surgery, I STOOD literally right next to the patient's head as I peered into this crevice in which the doctor was repairing the left mitral valve of the patient's heart. It was unbelievable. Purely amazing. Minutes before the surgery did I realize that they were going to cut open this poor 52 year old women and put her life on the line while they tried to help her. I walked into the the small quirófano (operating room) and this 52 year old women was lying on the bed in the middle of the room, dressed with the minimal clothing of a blue operating dress, with wires and tubes running in and out of her body, as she gathered every bit of life into her hand to wave hi to me. This was it. This was the moment that decided if I could continue my path of becoming a doctor -- could I bear to see all this blood, bones, human organs, and the face of this innocent lady, who may have wasted her last bit of life waving hi to me, simply hoping to live? It was kind of sad, but I had to get rid of naive Angela who wants everyone to be happy and be nice to everyone and convince myself that this was not a human and that the doctors were just playing with sharp knives....and a saw. I tried to erase every bit of humanity from her to make the smell of burning flesh and sounds of broken bones on this human being "okay." I thought I was going to be more grossed out, however the whole time I found myself with eyes wide open with an eager face wanting to see more. (Fearing that I may sound like a small 7-year old boy)... "It was so cool!" Nonetheless, after 4 hours of standing, peering into the chest of the patient, I walked out of the hospital in disbelief. Disbelief of what I just saw--- the ability of another human to fix a tiny, minuscule valve in someone's heart and sewing up the sternum (YES, SEWING BONE), but also the fact that this scared and hurting person was going to wake up to a healthier life. I got to meet with her today in the intensive care unit (la unidad de coronaria) and she looked bright as a peach! She was smiling and telling me how great she felt (and then proceeded to tell me about her "guapo" (handsome) 19-year old son who was going to visit her and how I should "really" stay to meet him). Less than a week after her surgery, she was up and ready to continue her life, now with a heart that works. Qué maravillosa! This is what makes me want to do medicine.

Okay, that's it for now. Sorry no pictures