wound care

I have been attending a few wound clinics lately to get some hands on experience in cleaning and dressing wounds. Opportunities like this would never be present themselves in the US without being qualified in some way, and we are really able to help people that come off the street. Most of the wounds are from car or bike incidents, which has cause us to be more wary when crossing busy streets. You really have to experience the streets here to know what its like, but I assure there's never a dull moment!! A downside of the wounds from cars is that often times they are not allowed to heal and then flesh eating maggots find their way into the tissue. I picked maggots out of a patients heel for about 35 minutes and we just had to close it up because there was no end in sight. Many of the patients are improving because they come often, which is encouraging. It is a great feeling to make a difference in someone's life.

In other news, we almost got struck by lightning while in an auto-rickshaw the other night! The rainstorm began while we were out to eat a good distance from our hotel so our group split up to take transportation back home. We were stuck in traffic when we saw this bright flash and heard the loudest crack I have ever heard, which caused us all to bail from the rickshaw and walk home very quickly. The storms over here are fierce, and monsoon is coming soon!! We leave for Bangladesh on Monday, so keep our last days in Kolkata in your prayers!
-Jimmy B