Without question, one of the biggest highlights of my trip was the opportunity to watch Tom perform surgery. I have been in operating rooms before - but not upright and never awake. Plus, this was way better than TV.
Occasionally, Tom would send word for me to take a break from sterilizing instruments to observe an interesting procedure. Before the week was through, I saw Tom perform a thyroidectomy, foot amputation, hernia, and circumcision.
Tom is an excellent technician, but he's a terrific teacher, too. Third year surgery resident Alan scrubbed with Tom on a number of cases, and I was impressed with Tom's coaching and calming presence around the operating table. Alan benefited from learning "tricks of the trade" from this veteran surgeon, and Tom occasionally made time to teach me Internal Organs 101. I had no idea how small a parathyroid gland is.
What I appreciated most was the interaction Tom had with his patients. The official language of the Philippines is Tagalog, and in Northern Samar the Waray dialect is spoken. Filipino nurses were always on hand to translate questions the English-speaking medical team had for patients prior to surgery.
But no translation was necessary when Tom looked at a Filipino patient in the eye and said "We'll take good care of you."
I still maintain that one of my favorite Christmas presents was getting to scrub in with Dad a few years ago over the holiday break. Seeing the insides of the human body is a pretty cool experience. I loved dissecting the inner ear bones in anatomy lab- SO small!
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