Living it Laos Style

After returning to the ECC from Hongsa, William left to Vientiane (the capital of Laos) leaving me alone for a full week without any translator or any idea of what to do… fun, right? So this is what I have been doing during the last 3 weeks:

-Drive to town to run the hospital errands: It is not as easy as it sounds, what is normally a simple task here in Laos is a very stressful and consuming thing; especially because I don’t really drive stick, I don’t have a clue where anything is and I don’t know the language (making it challenging to buy something at the market and there’s no point in asking for directions). I also soon came to realize that there is no “rush” in Laos, it doesn’t matter how fast I want to get things done—I still have to drink and eat everything that I am offered wherever I go! When I am asked if I liked it, and I say “yes,” they serve me more.  If I answer “no,” they ask me to try it again! So there you go, there is no escape.

The car they assigned to me

Xayaboury Market

-Manage the hospital: The hospital has been recently built, but for me is more of a pharmacy rather than a real hospital. It runs by solar power, so there is equipment we cannot even connect, there isn’t a blood analysis machine or an ultrasound, and there isn’t an indoor treatment area. I am currently working on the pharmacy inventory, managing the elephant’s diet, organizing and cleaning the hospital as well as looking for funding to build an indoor area where we can perform treatments, surgeries and radiographs. Does anyone have any ideas on where to look for funding?

Buying corn for my patients!

-Treat 3 elephants.....and a cat! Right now I have 4 patients: Mae Kham Mai, Donoi, La and Meiu. Mae  Kham Mai is a female elephant recently bought by the ECC (we have 5) who is in bad condition; she had cutaneous parasites all over her body, foot problems and bloody feces. Donoi is a naughty male that had a huge chronic back abscess from the logging saddle and La is a small female who has a corneal ulcer in one eye and is blind in the other. Meiu is a male adult cat that has been breeding with all the stray females. I did the anesthesia (IV, no gas) and neutered him myself; my previous supervisors at the SDHS should be proud! So you might think 4 patients is nothing, but every little thing takes lot of time when it comes to these gentle giants, especially because they have to be “willing” to participate.

Donoi entering the holding :)

Treating Donoi's back abscess

Meiu, which means "cat" in laos

-Play doctor! I have treated 3 guests until now: 1 scorpion sting and 2 motorbike burns. My two-legged patients have been pretty happy with the outcome and their favorite part is that they get to hang out with elephants in the waiting area. Any suggestions? I would appreciate any advice on human first aid.

Hospital's waiting area: Donoi and Mae Khan Mai

-Be a movie star: I was recently featured in a short film about the ECC, playing the roll of the vet. This video will soon be available to promote the center and the work we do.

Action!

- Living it Laos Style! Drinking starts at 6pm, and if I am lucky enough they will offer me BeerLao instead of Lao Lao (rice whiskey)… Here beer is served with ice and we all drink from the same glass, so you have to drink it quickly to pass it around.  My only hope is that no one has oral herpes. The main food is sticky rice and is eaten with your hands (steamed rice is eaten with chop sticks); everyone eats from the same big plate (sharing is caring), and no silverware is used whatsoever. No one speaks any English, but they do know how to say, “you are beautiful” and they manage to ask me if I want a Lao boyfriend.

The ice helps me get less drunk!

Cuddling with Mae Dok!

Now you know why I haven’t been able to post anything… it’s been insane!

Karla Nova