Reflections on Oropesa

Hugging the bottle of hot water. We've been boiling drinking water and dumping it in the giant plastic bottle. At night it doubles as a nice heater since it's so cold.

Tomato soup at a surprisingly delicious Mexican restaurant called "El Cuate."

Main course at "El Cuate." This chicken chimichanga was absolutely scrumptious.

Hello readers,

First I want to apologize for the delay in posts. Our internet has been spotty the past couple of days. I posted some fun pictures above because this post isn't going to be very cheery. Erick and I went to Oropesa yesterday with Dr. Velasco (the Chilean doctor that's the chief medical officer of the clinic). I mentioned Oropesa before, but in case you've forgotten it's essentially a hospice for terminally ill cancer patients. I went once before with Dr. Patricia (the Spanish doctor that left) but this last trip affected me far more than the first.

Oropesa is an interesting place. It's an oasis of tranquility that lingers in the shadow of death. The hospital is found at the top of a mountain and it's the only structure for as far as the eye can see. All of the patients inside the hospital are terminal and near death. Some are closer to the other side than others. During this last visit, the patients were not doing well. One poor man was writhing in pain, delirious from the colon cancer consuming him. Another with gastric cancer told Dr. Velasco he would rather die than live with the pain he was experiencing. It was too much for me. My heart hurt for them and I felt helpless. I know that I will encounter death frequently in my chosen profession, but on this particular day death felt like a thief stealing the lives of these poor people.

At the same time, Oropesa is the place where I would like to die. I don't mean to be morbid, but the place is already one step closer to heaven. The nurses dispense loving care, birds chirp by the windows, natural light fills the air, and nuns sing in the background. So I guess I came out of my second visit conflicted. Ultimately, I'm comforted by the fact that without the care these people receive in Oropesa, they would most likely die alone and in pain. The alternative, spending their final days surrounded by the peace offered by nature, is infinitely better.

Saludos,
Annelys