Day 11: Medical Clinic Day 4 - Last but Not Least

Day 11 of the trip consisted of the final clinic day in Tien Giang province. As with the last three clinics, we held the same health services, providing the same standard of care for the patients. We worked with the university representatives as we had during the previous clinic day. We held clinic at a different elementary school, opening up at 8am. The level of patient care was no different for our final clinic day.

The 7G team and the university representatives. Ready or not, the photo will be taken. No one was ready for the photo as shown.

The 7G team. Heads were turning here and there. Group photos are often hard to take.

The 7G team on their last day of clinic. Photo taken by Dr. Timothy Bui.

We were greeted by the rural vegetation when we walked off the bus.

We arrived at the elementary school, where we held the clinic for the last day.

The location of our last clinic day.

Set up of the clinic consisted of moving chairs and tables in the classroom.

The clinic was crowded as always.

As it was hot the day before, today was no different. At least there were trees to shade everyone.

Ranging from different age groups, everyone waited patiently for the clinic to be set up for the day.

Final clinic day consisted of a long wait as well. As people have been waiting since 4am, we set out to help out each patient as quickly and efficiently as possible.

We carried out the same services as we had done the previous three clinics:

The triage team, consisting of Julian, Alex, and a university representative in this picture, treated each patient with respect and kindness.

Dr. Belville writes down the results of the Ultrasound scan.

Johnson and Katrina work together on the Ultrasound under the supervision of Dr. Belville. Phoebe, Ben (UCI), and Tristan work together on the EKG. Picture taken by Dr. Timothy Bui.

Tiffany waits with the patients, as she is part of crowd control.

Christina helps an elderly patient to the next station.

Trang teaches the children at the clinic about dental hygiene.

Phoebe and Lindy play with the kids at the clinic.

Today was a special day for the dental team, as they had the chance to do something special: extract a tooth. Under the careful supervision of Dr. Timothy Bui, the dental team had the opportunity to extract a tooth from a patient. This was Dr. Bui's way of rewarding the dental team's hard work and dedication. For everyone on the dental team, this was a privilege and honor to them.

Mai Anh works with the university dentist as her dental assistant.

Dr. Timothy Bui and Catherine are ready to demonstrate the excellence of the dental team.

Under the supervision of Dr. Timothy Bui, Dean, part of the dental team, has the chance to extract a tooth from this child. Working with care and diligence, he followed the instructions of Dr. Bui.

Dean's first extracted tooth. Success! 

The patient smiles after Dean's extraction of his tooth under Dr. Bui's dental expertise.

Catherine extracts her tooth under the supervision of Dr. Bui.

Katy extracted her first tooth! Even though she has a mask on, she is smiling.

Kevin extracts his first tooth under the supervision of Dr. Bui.

In addition, during this clinic, EKG and Ultrasound also found some abnormalities in the patients. For EKG, they detected an atrial fibrillation in a patient, which is irregularity in pace of the heartbeat. It is a "irregular irregular" condition, where the patient has an irregular heartbeat that occurs at irregular frequency. The patient was then referred to a heart specialist at the University Medical Center for future treatment. We were able to detect this condition through our EKG machine. In addition, for Ultrasound, a patient was found to have a kidney tumor by Dr. Belville. This explained why the patient had trouble urinating and eating. The patient also lost significant amount of weight as a result of his condition and was then referred to the hospital for further treatment. Explained by Dr. Duy, he/she had only about five months to live, as his/her kidneys would begin to shut down. The tumor was spreading, and it was an unfortunate case. Dr. Duy also explained the cultural difference between the United States and Vietnam. In the United States, the patient was told the exact amount of time that he or she had before the cancer would end his or her life. In Vietnam, the patient was told more than the exact amount of time left in order for him or her to spend as much time with his or her family. In medicine, the standard of care is the same, but there are still cultural differences.

As the final day of clinic came to a close, the 7G goers, both on the medical and dental teams, came together in celebration of their hard work and efforts to carry out the clinics.

The dental team. All smiles.

7G team: all hands in!

MEMO! MEMO! MEMO!

7G Cheer: AHHHHHHH...1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7G!

On this last day, we were able to help over 500 people. In total, over the course of the four clinic days, we were able to help over 2100 people. We could not be any more proud of our 7G team for their dedication. Whether on the medical or dental team, each 7G member put in the work necessary to run these clinics smoothly and efficiently. The matter of fact is that we provided the healthcare necessary for the rural villagers to continue living healthy lives. These clinics are only possible through the efforts of the 7G team during the school year as well as the kind donations that we have received. Thank you for the continual support in M.E.M.O. That closes the chapter on our medical clinics...for now. Who knows what will be possible in the future for 8G and on?

Next stop: Ky Quang Thanh Loc Orphanage and closing M.E.M.O. 7G banquet.

Written by Johnson. Photos taken by David.