Christmas in the hospital

As you could imagine Christmas is the most difficult holiday being here in Panama. Last year, my first Christmas in Panama was spent sitting in the coffee shop and reading a book. I was determined not to have a repeat of last year so I decided that I will not be in my city alone for Christmas.

I was told about a few volunteers going to a hostel that is in a secluded area in the mountains this year, so I also decided to go. On Christmas Eve another volunteer and I hopped on the bus and made our way to the hostel. He told me that it would be a 30 minute hike off the road to get to the lodge. But he didn’t tell me that it would be all uphill with rocks and mud. I was wearing some old tennis shoes without any traction and almost busted my skull two or three trying to climb up the path.

We finally made it up the hill and went to the reception to check in. The attendant showed us to our rooms and I was placed in a dorm room with about 10 other people. When we walked in, the first thing I noticed was a 3 story bunk bed. I immediately pointed to the top and said I’m not sleeping up there. She laughed and said “Naw you’re here in the bottom bunk”.

Fast forward to later that night. I met a few new volunteers that I have never seen and a couple of familiar ones. Everything was going great, good food, good company and it was Christmas eve. Around 1 o’clock just about everyone headed for bed and it was lights out.

Now I don’t know exactly what time this happened, but it was somewhere between 1 and 3 o’clock. When I was sleeping I heard a small crash as if something fell on the ground. I woke up and looked around and noticed that a bag that wasn’t there before was hanging over my bed. So I figured that the bag must have fallen from the top bunk. Then immediately after, I saw something in the air move and heard a big SMMACK on the ground. I peaked over my bed and just thought “you can’t be serious” It looked like an outline of a body. I jumped out of the bed and turned on the lights to see the girl that was on the top bunk was laid out on the ground bleeding from the nose.

OK OK OK OK OK Alec remember remember, its been 5 years but remember whats next. The next 10 minutes I didn’t pay attention to anything to what anyone in the room were saying. Keep her head secure, turn her over, check her airway and see if she has any injuries to her face. That’s when I snapped out of it and realized I needed someone else’s help. When I asked for help of course there was a spectator that yells DON’T TOUCH HER, DON’T TOUCH HER, DON’T TOUCH HER, I WOULD HELP BUT IVE BEEN DRINKING. I didn’t want to be the one to yell at him to shut up because we might need him later so I just kept quiet and acted as if I couldn’t hear him. A volunteer shortly came over to me and we turned her over. At first when I saw her on the ground I thought that something was blocking her breathing because of the sounds that I was hearing, but after turning her over I realized she was snoring. HOW IN THE HELL IS SHE STILL SLEEP? We woke her up and of course she was disoriented. I continued to go down her body asking her if she had any pain and the only answers I got from her was no or she would just stick her tongue out at me. I was stumped. I couldn’t remember how to continue so I just sat there trying to think while others tried to get in contact with the ambulance.

About an hour and a half later the ambulance arrived, but they refused to hike up to the lodge to help get her. Someone had to hike down to the road get the stretcher and neck brace and then hike back up so we could put her on the stretcher and place the neck brace.

Remember how I described the hike in to the lodge? Well it was like that but pitch black and raining now. It took about 8 people and 45 minutes to get her down to the road on the stretcher safely. Since the nearest hospital was in my city two other volunteers and I accompanied her to the hospital.

After a few hours the doctors at the hospital did their assessment and said that she could be released shortly. I wasn’t allowed in the room where they were holding her so I had no idea how she was doing and what her condition was. So I was under the impression to just trust what the doctors said. But the guy that was allowed to go see her said that she was still not able to remember what happened to her and she seemed like she was still in bad shape. After hours of volunteers from the lodge persistently calling and urging the medical officer to allow her to get a CAT scan, they finally did it. They found 2 contusions on her brain and some bleeding. I’m sure that you know, an injury like that is serious stuff. It’s just sad to know that it took all that effort to get the doctors to take her injury seriously and go the extra step to assure that she was fine.

Fortunately she was shortly transferred to the hospital in Panama City and is now resting and under observation. From what I’ve heard she is continuously improving but her it’s possible that her service as a volunteer may be cut short.