Granada Nicaragua May 2009

Granada Nicaragua - Day 3 First Day of Granada Spay/Neuter clinic
Up early, we each ate a quick breakfast at the casa. The walk to the clinic took about 10 minutes. We could see the locals lined up outside as we approached.
The clinic offered a perfect location for the project with two separate rooms and a large shady courtyard in the back. Check-ins went smoothly with lots of help from Heidi (a local Vet student who works with Dr Tom) Fatima, Lilly (local volunteer) and Claudio (Dr Tom’s tech). Fatima, who was actually born in Granada, was a huge asset in the check-in area. Many animals benefited because of her persistent and patient way of communicating the benefits of spays and neuters to the owners.
In the courtyard, under a big shade tree just outside the surgery room, Shannon and Pam were working in the surgery prep area. Here Patients received an IV catheter and some meds and were shaved and prepped for surgery.
Up to 4 Veterinarians at a time were performing surgery in a room next to the check in area. The animals were moved to this room after pre-op. The room was one of the best facilities ever offered to us, with ample lighting and nice tile floors. Even running water!

Drs Tom, Cathy, Amanda, Robert and Mike stood hours at a time at their surgery tables accepting patient after patient for surgery. Most surgeries ended up being spays and many were complicated because of bleeding issues caused from tick infestation. We also performed a leg amputation on a dog named Loco with a severely broken front leg.
Doctors took turns seeing 10 medical cases brought in by owners. These included wounds, skin conditions and various digestive issues among other things.
Shaneen and Katie assisted in surgery, busy scrubbing instruments and re-sterilizing them, monitoring patients and administering any meds necessary. Surgery was a busy place with 4 doctors operating at a time!
Patients went to recovery after this. Leslie was in charge of this critical area where patients received antibiotic and pain injections. We also treated for fleas and ticks, cleaned ears and trimmed nails. Patients again were carefully monitored until they were fully awake.
Lunch was prepared and served by Kit, also a local volunteer who was there each and everyday to help feed us and care for the animals and all the locals too!
By the end of the day, we had completed a total of 35 surgeries and 10 appointments. This was a stellar first day for a World Vets spay/neuter clinic. The first day of our clinics are usually the most challenging. The team members typically have never worked together before and certainly not under these unique circumstances. Things went amazingly smooth and by midmorning.We were a “fined tuned machine”!
Great job Team Granada!!!!!

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