Blood, Organizing and New Volunteers!

Monday:

Today will go down in Bethany Smith history… I got to draw blood for the first time! Phoebe, Kayla and I volunteered in the lab today. We got to see different blood and urine samples. Dr. Daniel, the doctor in charge of the lab, tests different samples for diseases and viruses. I saw urine with too much sperm, macrophages and bacteria all in one day! I am sorry if you don’t find that interesting—I am a full on nursing nerd. J Dr. Daniel let me draw his blood-- he deserves an award for the most trusting doctor.  His veins were great and so I got blood within one try! I was also able to test my own blood after Phoebe drew my blood. I am O- (a universal donor). Afterwards we talked about biochemistry because he also teaches biochemistry at a local school. I told him that I just learned about Krebs’s Cycle and metabolism. His eyes lit up when I told him that I just completed a poster on the metabolism of a turkey wrap. He asked me if I had it with me. I told him that, unfortunately it wouldn’t have fit in my luggage. J

In the afternoon, Hannah, Josh, Rachel and I organized the medicine closet. Hannah and Rachel are two new nursing volunteers from Alabama. They are almost done with nursing school and have been teaching me a ton about nursing. The closet was incredibly disorganized. It was as if a pharmacy blew up! We were able to organize all of the donated medicine so that the volunteers can easily find medicine for clinics and donations.

Tuesday:

We took a break from the hospital today. Instead, we went to a boy’s orphanage that was 30 minutes away from the hospital. We painted and cleaned for the boys. The boys were adorable and we enjoyed giggling and playing with them. The walls were in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint. Dirt and dust covered the blue walls. I got to mop one of the rooms that was covered in dirt. It felt so good to be able to make their living space a little more like home.

In the afternoon, we went to a baby orphanage. Which—of course—involved lots of pictures and baby holding. We fed them and then played with the kids outside. A lot of the babies were sick—imagine living with ten other toddlers!

If you could remember to pray for the orphans, that would be wonderful. They need safe homes and loving families. The babies and boys are taken care of, but they don’t get the attention or love that every child deserves. Pray for protection and families that are willing to adopt a child.

The orphanage

Lydia and Jose

COWS!

Baby Orphanage

Wednesday and Thursday:

I got sick Wednesday morning with some type of food poisoning. I didn’t get all that sick but spent Wednesday and Thursday recovering from a weak stomach. I watched Oz and 007 Skyfall as well as Sparkle. Rose and the other girls took great care of me. I ate lots of soup and slept a lot.