Now that I am not running, I need a new excuse to travel overseas. I love travelling to third world countries, I am a serial volunteerer and am very concerned about global health. So every year I plan to use my medical skills to volunteer overseas each summer. Last summer I went to India but didn't gain much experience because I had only done 2 years of medical school. After our first clinical year we now have much more experience and useful skills to work in hospitals. I have been following the progress of a few overseas clinics that require volunteers so in August I started the process of deciding which one to spend my summer at.
Several of the clinics I plan to visit over the next few years only take students after 4th year or in final year. The Bairo Pite clinic (http://bairopiteclinic.org/) in East Timor is generally one of these. However I was ecstatic to find they accepted my application and I will be spending a month at the clinic in December and January. The clinic has been run for about 12 years by an American, Dr Dan. It relies on medical students and foreign doctors to keep it going.
This is how I have planned my trip so far.
December 7th - fly Melbourne to Bali, Indonesia via Darwin.
Spend 4 nights/3 days in Bali staying at a homestay in Ubud.
December 11th - fly Bali to Dili, East Timor
Spend 32 days working 6.5 days a week at the Bairo Pite clinic. Staying at a homestay in Dili city.
January 11th - fly Dili to Darwin
Spend 3 nights in Darwin
January 14th - fly Darwin to Melbourne
I am very excited about spending a month living in Dili. I just feel so at home in developing nations. I just love the way of life.
It is going to be hard work in Dili. The medical students generally work 6.5 days per week. Long days too.
This is what a typical day is supposed to be like
7.30am - give a tutorial to the locals about healthcare
8.00am - ward rounds with the whole team
11.00ish - go out with a 'mobile clinic' to a remote town - this is generally a 4WD with a nurse and interpreter and medical student. See many patients. Dr Dan runs an outpatient clinic back at Bairo Pite Clinic during this time
4.00ish - the medical students run a ward round to ensure the patients are stable
6.00ish - finish
later - can stay back to help with maternity.
I hope I will be able to cope with these long days in the heat. I hope to meet many new people and do lots of activities around the island too, such as scuba diving or snorkelling.
But I need to keep studying now if there is going to be any point in me going to East Timor!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Travelling
I wanted to write on this blog again mostly to document my trip to Asia over summer.
Since I left school at the end of 2008 I have been able to travel overseas quite a few times. I love travelling so much and want to visit so many places. Many of my friends have been to exotic places on family holidays but what makes my trips far more special is the fact that I fund it all myself through hard work during the year. Not many other students work about 20 hours a week while studying medicine.
These are the overseas trips I have done since 2009.
January 2009 - 3 weeks in Thailand (with family)
June 2009 - 3 days in Christchurch, NZ for the Christchurch marathon with friends.
July 2009 - 2 weeks in India with friends
September 2009 - 10 days in Europe for the World Mountain Running Championships visiting Italy, London and Paris and back via Malaysia
June 2010 - Christchurch, NZ with my Dad for the Christchurch marathon
December 2010/January 2011 - 3 weeks in India, both with friends and with a group of medical students doing volunteer work and a few days in Singapore with a local friend on the way home
Since I left school at the end of 2008 I have been able to travel overseas quite a few times. I love travelling so much and want to visit so many places. Many of my friends have been to exotic places on family holidays but what makes my trips far more special is the fact that I fund it all myself through hard work during the year. Not many other students work about 20 hours a week while studying medicine.
These are the overseas trips I have done since 2009.
January 2009 - 3 weeks in Thailand (with family)
June 2009 - 3 days in Christchurch, NZ for the Christchurch marathon with friends.
July 2009 - 2 weeks in India with friends
September 2009 - 10 days in Europe for the World Mountain Running Championships visiting Italy, London and Paris and back via Malaysia
June 2010 - Christchurch, NZ with my Dad for the Christchurch marathon
December 2010/January 2011 - 3 weeks in India, both with friends and with a group of medical students doing volunteer work and a few days in Singapore with a local friend on the way home
Crash and burn - 2011
I finished off 2010 injured (but still running ~20km per week) and in India. I was looking forward to doing the 2011 cross country season but thought it'd be a slow start.
I spent 3.5 weeks holidaying and doing some medical work in India. It was brilliant and I didn't want to come back - I love the third world way of life.
After I came back from India I couldn't believe I was still sore. I started Med III at Dandenong hospital and was spending all my money on massage and chiropractor treatments. Finally in March I saw Dr Karen again who told me my problem wasn't a challenge. I thought she'd fix me up and I planned to build a base and get back to speedwork in June. During this time I was still running 20-30km per week. I was also riding my bike and catching the train to the hospital which I really enjoyed.
I had a couple of MRIs and cortisone injections into a spinal nerve and my hip in May. After this I stopped running. Nothing seemed to fix my injury. It was causing my so much pain it was affecting my uni - I couldn't stand up on ward rounds and couldn't sit down to study. Basically my whole leg hurt - back, glutes, ITB, hip flexor, groin, shin.
My 21st birthday came and I received a beautiful road bike. I was banned from riding it (but of course I still did).
It is now October. Like last year, I am eagerly awaiting my next summer overseas trip. Track season is starting.
I CANNOT BELIEVE I AM STILL NOT RUNNING!
I spent 3.5 weeks holidaying and doing some medical work in India. It was brilliant and I didn't want to come back - I love the third world way of life.
After I came back from India I couldn't believe I was still sore. I started Med III at Dandenong hospital and was spending all my money on massage and chiropractor treatments. Finally in March I saw Dr Karen again who told me my problem wasn't a challenge. I thought she'd fix me up and I planned to build a base and get back to speedwork in June. During this time I was still running 20-30km per week. I was also riding my bike and catching the train to the hospital which I really enjoyed.
I had a couple of MRIs and cortisone injections into a spinal nerve and my hip in May. After this I stopped running. Nothing seemed to fix my injury. It was causing my so much pain it was affecting my uni - I couldn't stand up on ward rounds and couldn't sit down to study. Basically my whole leg hurt - back, glutes, ITB, hip flexor, groin, shin.
My 21st birthday came and I received a beautiful road bike. I was banned from riding it (but of course I still did).
It is now October. Like last year, I am eagerly awaiting my next summer overseas trip. Track season is starting.
I CANNOT BELIEVE I AM STILL NOT RUNNING!
Crash and Burn - 2010
A lot has changed since I last posted on here.
2010 goals - I only managed three. 1) Pass Med I and Med II. 2) Work too many hours per week. 3) Sub 1.28 half marathon.
I had a fairly good first half of the year in terms of running. I lost the first couple of months to overwhelming fatigue - again. But by mid-April I could train a bit again and I was running quite well in May. Despite not much training I was putting out good results - 10.36 for 3km, 18.36 for 5km, 22.50 at Jells Park - 6km. I was really happy with those results.
At the start of May I had my peak - two weeks in Traralgon for uni which were two of the best weeks of my life. We had a fun group staying there and did some interesting things. But I also did some fantastic running, particularly with Kathryn and the Traralgon Harriers. This culminated in a 27k long run, by myself around Traralgon.
The week after I came back to Melbourne I hurt my Achilles at Tuesday training. Sandown was 1.5 weeks away and Christchurch was 2.5 weeks away, more importantly. I nursed the Achilles to get through Sandown and it seemed to get better. However, when I warmed up for Sandown I had the most excruciating pain in my ribs. Usually my ribs are a bit sore while training but this pain was BAD. There was no way I could run for 38 or so minutes with that pain. So I watched Sandown to get ready for the more important Christchurch half marathon.
I had put a lot into Sandown - paying for my Dad and I to go there for 3 nights just so I could run a half marathon. Dad had never been overseas so it was a big trip. There was no way I could go there and not do the race. During the week between Sandown and Christchurch I was doing everything I could to make sure I got through the race. I did a run at uni on Wednesday and the rib pain was still there - argh! But we flew to Christchurch on the Friday night anyway. Dad and I spent Saturday sightseeing and I didn't really rest my legs because I wanted to make the most of the trip if the race didn't work out. However I ended up having a great race running 1h 27m 48s. I was very happy with that! I came 2nd in my age group and enjoyed the prize giving ceremony again.
After Christchurch I kept training hard and didn't have a rest. I did a session 2 days after a race and continued the long runs. Two weeks after the race I did a Sunday morning long run but was unhappy with only running - I think it was 20km. I just felt fatigued. So after babysitting during the day I did another 7k, but I felt a sharp pain in both my right foot and left knee. This knee pain ended up keeping me out for 6 weeks which felt like the end of the world.
At this time I also changed training groups which was a very hard thing to do. I thought I would never be able to replace my old group but my new group seems fantastic. If only I could do some training.
At the end of July I started back run/walk and by September managed a full week of training. But at the start of October I was pushing myself too much again and my right leg started to get injured. First it was a sore ITB. I also felt like I'd overstretched my hamstring at Bikram but the pain there didn't go away. I managed a 1 sec 1500m PB out of nowhere - 4.57. I was so happy to have my new coach and training group there to support me. But then my glute became very painful. I went to an unfamiliar sports doctor who thought a cortisone injection in the hip bursa would fix it. I got this done which didn't help and then went away to India for the rest of the year...
2010 goals - I only managed three. 1) Pass Med I and Med II. 2) Work too many hours per week. 3) Sub 1.28 half marathon.
I had a fairly good first half of the year in terms of running. I lost the first couple of months to overwhelming fatigue - again. But by mid-April I could train a bit again and I was running quite well in May. Despite not much training I was putting out good results - 10.36 for 3km, 18.36 for 5km, 22.50 at Jells Park - 6km. I was really happy with those results.
At the start of May I had my peak - two weeks in Traralgon for uni which were two of the best weeks of my life. We had a fun group staying there and did some interesting things. But I also did some fantastic running, particularly with Kathryn and the Traralgon Harriers. This culminated in a 27k long run, by myself around Traralgon.
The week after I came back to Melbourne I hurt my Achilles at Tuesday training. Sandown was 1.5 weeks away and Christchurch was 2.5 weeks away, more importantly. I nursed the Achilles to get through Sandown and it seemed to get better. However, when I warmed up for Sandown I had the most excruciating pain in my ribs. Usually my ribs are a bit sore while training but this pain was BAD. There was no way I could run for 38 or so minutes with that pain. So I watched Sandown to get ready for the more important Christchurch half marathon.
I had put a lot into Sandown - paying for my Dad and I to go there for 3 nights just so I could run a half marathon. Dad had never been overseas so it was a big trip. There was no way I could go there and not do the race. During the week between Sandown and Christchurch I was doing everything I could to make sure I got through the race. I did a run at uni on Wednesday and the rib pain was still there - argh! But we flew to Christchurch on the Friday night anyway. Dad and I spent Saturday sightseeing and I didn't really rest my legs because I wanted to make the most of the trip if the race didn't work out. However I ended up having a great race running 1h 27m 48s. I was very happy with that! I came 2nd in my age group and enjoyed the prize giving ceremony again.
After Christchurch I kept training hard and didn't have a rest. I did a session 2 days after a race and continued the long runs. Two weeks after the race I did a Sunday morning long run but was unhappy with only running - I think it was 20km. I just felt fatigued. So after babysitting during the day I did another 7k, but I felt a sharp pain in both my right foot and left knee. This knee pain ended up keeping me out for 6 weeks which felt like the end of the world.
At this time I also changed training groups which was a very hard thing to do. I thought I would never be able to replace my old group but my new group seems fantastic. If only I could do some training.
At the end of July I started back run/walk and by September managed a full week of training. But at the start of October I was pushing myself too much again and my right leg started to get injured. First it was a sore ITB. I also felt like I'd overstretched my hamstring at Bikram but the pain there didn't go away. I managed a 1 sec 1500m PB out of nowhere - 4.57. I was so happy to have my new coach and training group there to support me. But then my glute became very painful. I went to an unfamiliar sports doctor who thought a cortisone injection in the hip bursa would fix it. I got this done which didn't help and then went away to India for the rest of the year...
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