LCECU Rheumatic Heart

On my last day in clinic, I feel a little strange... maybe out of place. I know i'm leaving and that this is the last time i'll see this clinic - somehow i've already distanced myself.  Yesterday I asked Dr. Sunil if the clinic could use some Doxycycline because some previous students have literally left bottles of the antibiotic behind trying to save space in their suitcases. Nobody here at the hostel has claimed it and i'd rather see it go to someone who needs it than sit around and go bad. So I waited out side the wards and dropped off the containers; Dr. Sunil was a gracious mentor and good ambassador to the students who have gone through there. In the back of my mind I feel like there is some sort of professional relationship that could be fostered between KU and CMC to develop new ideas and growth in the area of implimenting primary care with Dr. Sunil... but I can't quite solidify what that is yet, so I say nothing other than thank you for a wonderful experience. For a couple of hours I sat near the treatment room for patients coming in to get their penicillin prophylaxis shot for their rheumatic heart disease. They would first get a test patch on their skin to see if they had a reaction to the penicillin. In the half hour they had to wait to see if they reacted, I got to listen to their hearts. They ranged from barely audible murmurs to murmurs so loud I wondered if they could hear them the way you can hear your own heart pounding in your head sometimes. I was able to distinguish systolic vs diastolic, grade, and location but I realized that I had a hard time picking up the regurge on the murmurs... I need to buff up on my cardiology. It was a brief morning for my last day, but it was a good day. Now i'm back at the hostel packing and washing clothes before I head out on my night train this evening after one last dinner at the Darling Residency (great food ;-> ). Again, it's a weird sensation packing... I feel some nostalgia for leaving but I also realize i've only been here for 3 & 1/2 wks. Should I have nostalgia? Is it nostalgia, or just another wonderbug woking on my gut? I guess i'll find out soon enough. One thing I can say that i'm not going to miss is the ever increasing heat that is here to stay... it's hot now, probably 15-20 degrees hotter than when I arrived.

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