Category: The Panama Journals

This was the first adventure that launched my blog.

When I was a medical student in Ireland, I started my final year of college expecting to watch closely, be a little bit useful, and learn. What I didn’t expect was to find myself operating as lead medic alone in the Panamanian jungle resuscitating a 13-year-old native boy kicked unconscious by a horse—and that was only my first day. Yikes.

So began my ten-week adventure as a part of Floating Doctors, a humanitarian group I had signed up for in a desperate attempt to salvage some value from a 2020 that ripped a calendar full of planned electives out from under me.

Despite having never shouldered real medical responsibility before, I was suddenly involved in a lifetime’s worth of bizarre patient interactions, in an unfamiliar region, dealing with everything from brain-invading worms to diabetic nerve damage to toxic pregnancies. As if that wasn’t enough, I also had jellyfish hordes, snake bites, tropical storms, and bubble gum-chewing apes to contend with at every turn.

Pushed to my limits, discovering first-hand what it truly means to feel fear, I initially floundered. As time went on, I slowly found my feet by calling on every humour-based coping mechanism I could think of. By striking up a rapport with each patient no matter how dire their circumstances, I began to turn the tide. Above all, I learned the value of asking the right questions, both in medicine and in life.

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First Day in the Field: Welcome to Bozo Town, Population You

By juan.lopez, January 10, 2021

Posted in: The Panama Journals

On the morning of our first adventure I woke up as ready as I could have been. Everything had been meticulously packed and I had quadruple checked my lists. The…

First Day in the Field: Welcome to Bozo Town, Population You

Day one

By juan.lopez, January 10, 2021

Posted in: The Panama Journals

My first day on the job (i.e. the real job) had me busy as a bee. The day’s schedule was sent in the day before via whatsapp, delivering and then…

New Years

By juan.lopez, January 10, 2021

Posted in: The Panama Journals

As the days of my isolation blended into one another, by the time New Year’s Eve came around I was happy at the prospect of finally getting to work. I…

Dark Days of Isolation

By juan.lopez, January 10, 2021

Posted in: The Panama Journals

Christmas itself and the following days provided little excitement. The internet went out for patches of Christmas, followed by the entire day of the 27th, and most of the 28th…

Attack of the Gelatinous Cretins on Christmas Eve

By juan.lopez, January 10, 2021

Posted in: The Panama Journals

Turns out that jumping feet first in the ocean is overrated for a few reasons. Number one, and the only real reason I carry any sort of disdain for the…

Attack of the Gelatinous Cretins on Christmas Eve

An Unexpected Visitor

By juan.lopez, January 10, 2021

Posted in: The Panama Journals

The next morning I woke up absolutely miserable from the mosquitos and the chitras. They positively massacred me. I tried to distract myself with making breakfast before sitting out on…

First Taste of Bocas Town

By juan.lopez, January 10, 2021

Posted in: The Panama Journals

The next morning I got to meet the rest of the staff on base. Mancha, who fit the similar characteristics of Marlon and Anselmo (I would find that short stocky…

To Begin at the Beginning…

By juan.lopez, January 10, 2021

Posted in: The Panama Journals

I’m not really sure how to begin this. Nor am I really sure what I am trying to achieve, and if anything at the very least this well help me…

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