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| Cantor Marcello Barra |
Since I am switching hospitals beginning on Monday, this
weekend I was able to relax a little and visit some friends I have here in
Goiania from my trip here last summer. It was so great to be able to see them
and catch up. One of them is a famous musician here so I visited his music
studio and got to sit in while he and his guitarist chose songs for his
upcoming concert. It was excellent!
On Saturday morning, I went to work with Dr. Mauro (I stayed
in his home last year). He is a pediatric neurosurgeon and had one surgery. Here is a summary:
- Patient: 10 yr. old Aline Mendes de Jesus, female, otherwise in good health and mentally stable
- Problem: Brain abscess in right frontal and temporal lobes
- Cause: SINUSITIS
- Surgery: patient arrived in OR; anesthesiologist put her to
sleep; Dr. Mauro shaved a small rectangle of hair off (4cm by 6cm) just
above her right eye; he injected some saline under the skin to stretch
it out a little and loosen it from the bone; 4cm incision was made; a
large crank was used to drill into the skull, making a hole about 1.5cm
across; a 3mm wide tube was inserted into the brain to find the abscess;
about 3/4 cup of fluid was drained from the abscess (color of vegetable
oil almost but the consistency of water); saline was injected into the
brain to clean the location of the abscess; the skin was stitched
together (about 10 stitches); anesthesia reduced and removed
- Observations: not very much blood, the girl was very small
and I thought maybe 7 years old, the patient's x-rays were not on paper
because it is very expensive so they are only on CD and therefore Dr.
Mauro had to find the abscess from memory
- *side note: I talked to the anesthesiologist about working
at Maternidade Nascer Cidadão and he said the medicine they practice
there is like war medicine because they are so poor. I was very taken
aback because it is not good but it is not horrible! But this man had
worked there too so I am sure he saw more than I did.
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| Samba |
Then for lunch, we went to a Samba restaurant to hear a
local Samba singer. She was great and very popular among the patrons of the
restaurant. Although some people were dancing, fortunately for me, I did not
have to put my newly-learned Samba skills to work and was spared an infinite
amount of embarrassment! After that we walked through the Feira da Luna, a
street fair similar to the one in which my host parents work on Sundays. It too
is very big and has food, clothes, shoes, and more. Everyone it seems likes to
go to these. Right now, chemise shirts are a very popular item there because
the main actress in one of the soap operas wears them all the time (Soap operas
here are not like those in the United States. They are very popular, are with
the best actors, and are on at night so the people are home from work to watch
them.).
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| Senhor Barra |
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| Lila and Mara |
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| Senhor Barra and Dr. Mauro |
