Guatemala Part 1: Conquering Fear

Okay, so an update for this little Wilkinson family is overdue. I have been out of country for a week tomorrow, and Clynn has been hard at work catching up before Spring quarter finals arrive and picking up some extra work around the Auburn School District. The kids love him and all the teachers want him!

I don't have the patience to tell you about every day here in Guatemala. However, I'll be sure to hit the highlights in a 3-5 part series!

PART 1

Conquering Fear

As a little kid, I was HORRIFIED of needles. If you ask me, I had bad medical providers and mean older siblings who taunted me over it until I was about 10. By then, it didn't matter how good the providers were, I didn't trust a thing they did or said. I had recurring nightmares that crotchety old lady nurses would hunt me down and force vaccinations on me. I didn't refrain from crying and throwing a fit until my HPV series at like 15 years old.....Now that I am older, I don't see medical professionals unless the Army makes me. (Even then, I sometimes find a way out.) I anticipate dying young over the matter. I am at peace with my decisions.

Given my past, it was a straight up insane miracle that I performed my first IV insertion yesterday! Little Jackie would have lost her mind if I had known what I'd be doing down the road. ;) My mom could hardly believe it either, so I was sure to document well. I put them in black & white for my readers who get queasy. (That used to be me!.....still kind of is.)

These are some photos of my very thorough class prior to the sticking. 

I haven't been so focused in ages! 

You'll notice my mouth is open allot. 

I was taking deep breaths as often as
I could remember to breathe.

This is after I begged for more training. They said "I just have to do it" and my patient, who was also my secondary teacher, informed me that no matter how it went, he's had worse. Haha, poor guy gets queasy from needles too! What a trooper and a stellar NCO.

Here you can see me holding the vein taught (left thumb).....

And here you can see where I let go too early (left thumb).

Here,the patient (also seasoned medic) took control for a minute to reset the needle himself to make sure I had the chance to set the catheter. (Yes, that's a band aid in his left arm from the example stick my primary instructor performed just minutes before this.)
Freaking beast mode.

Here is me about to cap and finishing up. He was making sure I was applying enough pressure so as to not....squirt blood everywhere. (No nice way to say that) I actually ended up spinning the catheter in a circle in his arm trying to apply the cap...oops. =\

I learned a ton and apparently I didn't do too badly for my first try! I learned about proper angles, valves, keeping the vein taught, the feel for a catheter resisting vs. not resisting, and how much pressure is really needed to stop blood flow. (More than I thought!) Most importantly, if someone needed an IV in a life or death cenario, I am confident I could provide!

I'd love to hear about a fear you conquered!

Feel free to leave a comment or shoot me a message! :)

Stay posted for an epic helicopter ride, Mayan ruins from afar, local food, some hilarious signage, futbol games, and tree climbing for mango picking! 

Shout out to my AMAZING husband:
I miss you!!!! I love you more than fried plantains and home made tortillas! I am so proud of all the hard work you do and how readily you support my military endeavors. I could never do it without you. <3