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GOODBYE

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It is with a heavy heart that I leave Italy behind me. This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I was sure to go out with a bang, which is exactly what happened to our circuit system. A month of eating well, blissful afternoons and exciting weekends, it seems that I forgot some of the ins and outs of Italy, including the crucial fact that their electric system is very old. We are not supposed to have too many things plugged in and running at once, and two others girls were doing some work in our two person studio apartment while we were trying to pack. As soon as i started the washer and flipped one of 3 light switches, all the power just died. We tried resetting the circuit but soon after those attempts were made the power throughout the whole building went out. Now, we are still not entirely sure if that final outcome was entirely our fault, but it definitely began with us. And let me add the fact that this was our last night and we all are to check out the next mo...
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WEEK FOUR

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My last week was in a different hospital in Pavia so that we could shadow a surgery unit. I was in general surgery and it was such an eye opening experiencing. My first day we watched a tumor removal surgery of the kidney. It was the size of a pineapple and they wanted us so badly to see what was going on that they got me a stool so I could stand at the head of the patient and look over the cover to see everything perfectly. It was a complete transverse cut so we could see everything in the abdominal cavity, and after it was removed, the doctor took a few minutes to show go through and show us all the organs. It was much more exciting seeing them an a living person instead of a cadaver. During the course of the week, we saw a gastric sleeve implementation, part of a colon removed, a kidney transplant and and spinal cord alignment. Through it all, the doctors were so kind and encouraging. We also had the opportunity to practice patience since it usually took an hour and a half of wa...
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YOU ARE THE GIFT

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You are he Gift - Turning Enemies into Friends, Sharon Eubank When I first heard this talk given live from the Marriott Center, I was immediately struck with how insightful it was. Sister Eubank beautifully married the ideologies behind Humanitarian work and Christianity to allow for revelation and self reflection regarding interpersonal relationships. She began by discussing the idea of leisure time and how it defines who we are. We are not defined by how we act at work or school or even church, those situations require out best efforts and often result in scholarly, monetary or social benefits. Often times we do not have a choice on what to do or how to act in those situations since we must follow a strict schedule and must accomplish specific tasks. However, when we have our agency to decide what to do with our time, which is the case in our leisure activities, our true nature comes out. Do we choose to spend it participating in worthwhile activities or idle ones? Do we magnif...
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WEEK THREE

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This week I was in pneumology, which is the unit that focuses on diseases of the lungs. This was interesting because smoking is a huge epidemic in Italy and Europe as a whole. I also worked with a lot of doctors this week since there are so many and they are all very busy with many patients. Most of the patients were there for COPD and sleep apnea, so most of the treatments were the same. They had ventilators to help them breath as they slept and to regulate pressure in the lungs during the day. What was interesting about this department was the fact that they had a whole rehabilitation gym for their unit. When we first went it, we heard a young voice scream with much vigor, “DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!” As it turns out, that is synonymous with “come on” and used for encouragement when patients are breathing out so their lung capacity can be measured. It was a bit unsettling to hear when entering into the room though. Most patients there are working to improve their lung capacity and to p...
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TRAVEL

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These last two weekends we had two days to go and travel around the area. We decided to go from coast to coast: Venice and La Spezia. Italy is lucky to have an extensive train system that makes travel like this simple and efficient. They are, however, not blessed with a reliable one. Pretty much every time we got on a train it was delayed, meaning we’d miss a connection because the first was late, and have to reroute while scrambling for English speakers. At one point we missed the last train to Pavia and had to get a 120-euro cab back home. The cities we visited were well worth the hassle. Our first weekend we went to Venice. It was breathtaking, every street in that city looks like it should be on a postcard. I mostly know that because we got lost so many times it felt like we had seen every street on the island. They’re all short with tall buildings and almost no signs to distinguish one line of tourist shops from another. Finally reaching the square was transcendent, you emerge fro...
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WEEK TWO

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Week two in the hospital is in the Pain Medicine unit! This is apparently unique to Italy and is still a growing field. It is specialized in treating pain through the spinal cord and specific nerve regions of the body. Treating the pain more effectively helps reduce addiction to prescription medications as well as improving psychological damage that results of chronic pain. There is still a bit of “political unrest,” as the doctors say, behind this practice but there were doctors from all over Italy with us to watch procedures done. We were able to shadow a few operations very closely this week. One involved inserting an electrode in the epidural space of the spinal column that will administer shocks to alleviate pain in the associated region. A device they compare to a pace make is also inserted to the side and works independently to deliver the currents as needed. I was able to stand right next to the doctor for a sizable portion of it, it was incredible. There are a lot of epidurals...
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A DAY IN THE LIFE

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A day in the life of a Global Health Intern in Italy. How cool is it to have a title like that? Our day starts off wandering through the streets of Pavia, trying to keep our balance on the bumpy cobblestone and dodging cars since there is a fine line between sidewalk and road (if there is a line at all). Once we reach the bus station we usually stand in a sea of University students headed to class and sweat due to this country’s seeming hatred of AC in a humid climate. It doesn’t seem to bother Italians though, they wear their leather jackets and jeans even though the air feels like boiling water. This is also the point where I remember that everyone here dresses like they are 30 minutes outside the fashion capital of the world (which they are), a fact I did not fully consider when packing my seven solid colored tee’s and two pairs of jeans. We get to the hospital and meet up with the main doctor for that week’s unit. Usually we go on rounds with them, seeing their usual patients and ...
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