Day 122

Happy weekend! I know that officially you have another 2hours of the working week to go - but I hope you all enjoy three days of relaxing and celebrating the beginning of summer! This week has been full of news about a British heatwave - if the news makes it to Thailand, it must be true (deep sigh of wishful thinking)!!

My penultimate week away has been mixed - a complete rollercoaster of the good, the great, the bad and the very very ugly - but I'm pleased to say plans for the weekend are good and I'm looking forward to a busy week next week and returning to British soil at the end of it!

I've spent the majority of my time in the hospital (I suppose that is a side-effect of being on placement!) and have seen a full range of diseases and accidents; from an HIV clinic with a suprisingly wide demographic, to a motorcycle accident leading to a double amputation, to my very first opportunity to be the "lead" in the operating theatre! This morning I delivered a 9 pound baby boy by ceasarean section - I don't know who was more excited - the new mum or me!!

On a more sombre note, my experiences have not all been positive - the more time I spend here the more I appreciate all the NHS has to offer. I truely believe that I know more than some (if not all) of the doctors here, and I have been exposed to some extremely worrying cases - where a simple and straightforward diagnosis has been missed, leading to unnecessary infections, operations and sometimes even fatalities. If I have learnt nothing else from this placement it is that there really is merit to learning science at medical school...

The weekend should be great, with a planned jungle trek (fingers crossed I don't get malaria...), swimming in a waterfall and some more time with elephants! I promise not to bring one home - if for no other reason I'm already over the baggage allowance!

Enjoy the bank holiday, and I can't wait to be in touch when I'm home,

Lots of love and hugs to all of you,

xxxxxxx