First day of project

Today we woke up and had orientation followed by a trip to the local craft and art festival market in Faridabad! We then went for a walk outside the house and as our house is literally right in the middle of the slums, we walked through and met the children and people. Staying in a house in the slums gives us such a unique experience to see the daily life of the local people here, it was amazing. I had asked Vishy (the man in charge of the volunteer house) if there was any surgeries today and he said that there would be 2 at 6pm however he wasn’t sure what these would be. Never the less I decided to go as I wanted to get as much exposure as possible! I went to this tiny slum hospital and the conditions were just a million miles away from england and the western world. The surgeon walked in in bare foot and in home clothes, before sitting down and starting surgery on his first patient. I first watched a prostate be removed and then a bladder tumour be removed. A sample of the tumour cells were removed to be used for biopsy. We then watched another surgery of a similar tumour removal and were about to leave when the surgeon said there was a C - section coming in! We stayed and it was the most INCREDIBLE thing I have ever seen. I was literally stood over the patient with the surgeon holding instruments as they cut open this lady and pulled out a tiny 32week old baby. We waited for it to cry as it was blue and so tiny! The amount they stretch the skin once they have made the incision was fascinating! I was literally stood over the lady when the baby was pulled out next to the surgeon, it was amazing. We then watched them stitch the uterus and stomach and everything back up and they showed us how to stitch the uterus etc together properly. The patients friend then said we could go and meet the baby whose leg was slightly deformed and so we did and he was gorgeous. It was one of the most surreal and incredible experiences I have ever had. It was amazing how one minute the baby was still in the uterus and the next it was crying in front of us!!Read more