Team Belize-Day 5

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They warned us that it was “rainy season” but this day (like the others) started with lots of sunshine and hot, humid weather. Word had spread to the whole team about the generous people at the bakery, so most everyone stopped by to pick up yummy baked goods on the way to work. The pastry with the coconut filling was really yummy!

The island is fairly small and we are able to walk from our condo to the clinic site in less than 10 minutes. As we arrived finishing our pastries, owners were lined up on the benches made for them from old boat seats set atop buoys and cement blocks.
We decided to switch things up a bit so team members could have the opportunity to see all facets of the project. Nancy was brought into surgery and Amanda went out to be the reception person.

Shawn stayed in surgery. She will be starting her third year of college at South Dakota State as a pre-vet major. She worked hard every day in surgery doing all the tasks to keep us going (cleaning, prepping, etc.) When things slowed down, she was given the opportunity to participate in some surgeries. The doctors noticed that she was an unusually quick learner and allowed her to participate more and more each time. By the end of Wednesday she was able to do a complete dog neuter by herself (of course only under the direct supervision of a veterinarian). She was even able to assist in some spay surgeries. Shawn is a natural at surgery and the doctors all agree she has a great future ahead of her.

We had a flurry of surgeries in the morning. Alexandra Sherertz, a recent Duke graduate, took time off from studying for her LSAT to be a Belize Team member. She was a great post op “nurse”. Dogs and cats would be carried from the surgery table to her recovery ward which consisted of a plywood board laid on the cement floor. Here she would carefully monitor them as the anesthesia wore off. During this time, she would remove IV catheters, give vaccinations, apply tick and flea medication and comfort them as they woke up wondering what in the world had just happened to them. She watched each one and helped them decide when they were ready to wobble outside and return to island life.

Alexandra’s sister, Sarah was multi-talented; however she was best at what we call “Kitty Rodeo-ing”. This is a term we use when we have a feral cat that needs to be nabbed and treated. It involves a cage with a mad cat in it, net, welding gloves (which we did not have) and someone more determined than the cat. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so see the pictures. These two sisters and their awesome mom, Nancy, were always busy. When things slowed down and we had a moment to rest, these girls would disappear and come back with supplies that we needed (fresh ice, cold drinks, writing utensils, paper towels just to name a few) Nancy went out on Friday and found penicillin at a pharmacy, otherwise, surgery would have come to a halt. This was all done at their own expense and without us even asking. These three also had a great way of connecting with the islanders and explaining why World Vets was there. We are certain the numbers of surgeries and treatments are as high for this trip as they are because of their tireless campaigning for spays and neuters.

Meanwhile, over at the dive shop:

Dr Winnie and her crew were busy like at PAW. There was a large pitbull on the island named Danger. His owner brought him in because he had weepy, red eyes. Dr Winnie quickly diagnosed this condition and said she could perform surgery to correct this condition, but when she mentioned this would be done while he was under anesthesia for his neuter, they said they did not want him to be neutered. After several minutes of discussion, Danger trotted off with Dr Winnie into her surgery room. After talking to her, his owner decided to get him neutered. The owner seemed very happy with the fact that from today on, not only would Danger’s eyes feel better, but he will be a much better family dog, happier to stay home and showing less aggression towards other male dogs on the island. This group also did several dental procedures on cats who had been suffering from teeth that needed to be extracted.

The dive shop team was working in a small room that was used as the classroom for people who were getting scuba certified. Although the room was air-conditioned, it was very warm because there was so much activity in the tiny room. Two surgery tables were set up. Water had to be brought in from another part of the dive shop. They were a full service surgery unit even able to administer IV fluids to a few of the more complicated surgeries they dealt with. And there were difficult surgeries. Most of the dogs on the island suffer from “tick fever”, or Ehrlichiosis. This is a blood disorder spread by ticks. It causes clotting issues during surgery.

Mary Durm, a bookkeeper from California was a vet assistant at the dive shop. The first day of the clinic, she was at the PAW sanctuary. On Tuesday morning Dr Winnie requested an additional assistant to help out at the dive shop and Mary was quick to volunteer. Before her World Vets trip, Mary had no formal veterinary experience however she quickly learned all the skills necessary to be a real asset to the team. She drew up and administered meds, gave injections, cleaned instruments, monitored anesthesia during surgery, gave vaccinations and even placed an IV catheter on her own! She was such a trooper jogging in the heat so many times back to PAW for meds and supplies needed at the dive shop.

Alex Torrance and his classmate Ilona Bayliss were here on holiday during their summer break from vet school at Cambridge in England. Both, touring in different areas of Central America, met up in Caye Caulker a week before the rest of the group. They were ready to get the vet project started having seen the large number of strays on the island during the past week. Dr Winnie was an excellent teacher. By the end of the week both students were confidently performing both spays and neuters under her supervision.

Lunch was served each day at the dive shop. It was served at a picnic table under the palm trees in the breeze. The first day we had fabulous homemade tamales. Tuesday was rice, beans and baked chicken. Wed we had lasagna and Friday we had lobster pizza. Each day Dawn from the dive shop would make us delicious fruit smoothies. We enjoyed this time to gather, chat with one another and cool off a bit.

On most World Vets trips we all stay together in a big vacation rental house. Caye Caulker was very generous to provide accommodations for all of us, but we are all staying in different places around the island. Dinner is always a nice time to get to know each other a little better, especially since we are also split up during the day between two locations. Dinner tonight is at Don Carlone, the only Italian restaurant on the island. It is right on the beach. There is a cool ocean breeze and an “almost” full moon. Lovely.

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