Vietnam Day Five: Eagle Project Final Day

Mine and Scott's day started quite early! We got up at 4:30 am to catch the amazing sunrise we keep hearing about. While the beach was very beautiful and peaceful this early in the morning, I think we picked the wrong morning to view the sunrise. It was very overcast this morning so we didn't get the full effect. But it is too gorgeous to miss, so I'll add some pictures from another doctor the day before!

Today was mine and Layton's last day at the hospital. Our goal for today was to pass out the 50 pre-made dream catchers (along with the translated legend of the dream catcher), and 50 gift bags to the children and babies that are critically ill and can not get out of bed to participate in the craft classes. Due to the condition of the children, we were asked to put on a special medical top and wear hospital slides so as to help keep germs out of this special area. Layton had a hard time finding any shoes that would fit him. Our Vietnamese helper, Mimi, warned us of how hard it would be to see these really sick kids, but no warning can prepare you for something like this. Bed after bed of week old babies and young children, obviously very sick from disease or birth defects, lying so listless in their beds. This was very hard for Layton to see. I could see the pain in his eyes and the change in his demeanor while we were in those rooms. The hardest part for me was to look in the parents eyes. As a mom, you know the greatest pain of all is worrying about your children and knowing they are suffering and you can't take it away. It was a battle for both of us to hold back the tears. We left the hospital feeling good about our efforts and the opportunity to serve.  We also left wishing there was more that we could do. 

Our visit to the hospital was earlier and quicker than the other days, leaving us with a full day to ourselves. Scott was still working at the cancer hospital so Layton and I caught a taxi to Ba Na Hills. Ba Na Hills is a hill station and resort located in the Trường Sơn Mountains west of the city of Da Nang. It was founded in 1919 by French Colonists. The Ba Na Cable Car, opened on 29 March 2013, holds the world record for longest non-stop single track cable car at 5801 metres in length. It took about 20 minutes on the cable car to reach the top of the mountain which stands at 1485 meters. Once you reach the top, it's like stepping into A French mid evil Disneyland. Crowds everywhere, castles, dressed up characters, rides, games, gardens, wax museum, temples, pagodas and our personal favorite, the alpine coaster. We only had a couple of hours once we made it to the top of the mountain so we chose to do the alpine coaster, the tower drop ride and climb 20 minutes the almost completely vertical stairs to see the big Buddha statue. Once again the overcast day got in the way of some spectacular views! We were almost completely encompassed by a cloud at the top of the mountain and often times could barely see 20 feet in front of us let alone the views of the valley. But the views coming up along the cable car were worth the trip alone! 

After our adventures, we had one final dinner set up by one of the hospitals. We ate in a beautiful banquet room in the back of a restaurant. Here they prepare many courses and serve one at a time and everyone eats family style. One by one they bring out each new dish. I love eating all this variety of food in one sitting, but I would hate to have to prepare dinners like this at home every night! 

Here is Scott's account of his day:

It's starting to feel little bit like the movie "Groundhog Day". Our taxi was here to pick us up early this morning and we had a new taxi driver so we took different route to the hospital. As we drive through the streets, I have never seen so many mopeds in my life. After driving to the hospital we went to the conference room and the junior doctors presented five or six new patients to me. There was a lady who had a couple of pelvic masses. We reviewed her CT scan and reviewed her history and they asked me if I recommended surgery or some other treatment. I told him I thought surgery was appropriate. They then asked me if I could operate on her within the next hour! I'm starting to realize that every patient they present to me is in the hospital and prepared for surgery if I recommend surgery. Who knows how many ladies have been restricted from eating or drinking anything after midnight in case it is  determined surgery is appropriate?

Unfortunately this lady did have cancer and it was a very difficult case. She had cancer that was growing from her ovary into her colon. I wanted to resect it back together. We normally use a special stapler to do this. One of the doctors had to go to the family and see if they were willing to pay the money to use the stapler ($900). They said they did not have the money and therefore it was agreed upon that I should simply do a colostomy. That put me in a little bit of a dilemma because there was no way I was going to give this lady a colostomy because they didn't have $900 but at the same time I did not want to offend them by pressing the issue or offering to pay the money for the stapler myself. Fortunately I was able to repair the colon without using the stapler.

I continue to have lots of opportunities of teaching the Vietnamese Junior doctors. I must be enjoying it because I dreamt last night about being reunited with one of my mentors from residency who had a big impact on my training who has since passed away.

I asked if I could go see the patients in the area where they receive their chemotherapy. They are giving the patients pretty much the same drugs that we give them United States. However, the patients receive chemotherapy in my office over six hours as an outpatient and then go home. The patients here are admitted for three days and are put in rooms with up to eight patients and their families.

Two of the doctors wanted to take me out to lunch in between surgeries. We went to some little café close to the hospital and I played it safe by ordering more chicken and rice with the broth soup and it was delicious.  They insist on paying and it makes me very uncomfortable knowing how little they make. I have found the Vietnamese people to be very kind and hospitable.