Yesterday I had my busiest day thus far and was able to treat 18 patients in five hours! I couldn’t have done it without my amazing interpreter, Gundaraj. He is a senior interpreter and has been with Andrew and ARP for four years so he’s very skilled at assisting me with moxa and e-stim for my patients.

I have been a part of the crew that is going out and working at a brand new satellite clinic in the town of Taukhel. It’s about a 25 min motorbike ride from Bajrabarahi. Right now it is the end of monsoon season in Nepal but we are still getting a lot of rain. This has made traveling to our satellite clinics a bit difficult but we are determined to get there because there are so many patients who need help. We tried to wait out the rain but headed out anyway and it took us around an hour to get to the site. A huge bus got stuck in the mud and had to be towed out while we waited for the road to be cleared. Several times those of us who were passengers on the bikes had to get off and walk in the mud. When it’s this muddy you have to watch out for leaches as they are quick to attach to legs and ankles.

By the time we arrived in Taukhel there was already a line of Nepali waiting in the rain. Some people walk for hours to be seen so we do our best to see everyone in the same day. I was working in tandem with our ND, Chelsea, and a local acupuncturist, Satya Mohan. At one point in time I had four patients in chairs and two on beds. It is a struggle compared to how we treat in the US. At times I feel like I’m not giving enough active attention to the patients here because I’m used to spending more than an hour with each patient at school. But I make sure to make eye contact and smile and connect for at least a second so that they know I DO care and I’m invested in their health. The majority of my patients are women with neck, back and knee pain. It’s been so cold and damp here so I am trying to use moxa on everyone because I know how good it feels on achy joints!

I’m sitting here writing this post after seeing my first Nepali patients this morning in the Bajrabarahi clinic. I woke up feeling a mixture excitement and nervousness. Luckily, it was a slow day in the clinic because we’ve been experiencing torrential rains. Everyone walks to the clinic, some for hours just to get treated.

I am so happy to be out of the city and in the country. I cannot describe the feeling of waking up to views of mist passing along the mountains. There are cows and goats everywhere and endless rice terraces. It’s very lush here and this town is so full of life. I took a walk to the village and got to walk two cows with an elderly Nepali woman! Eighty percent of the people here are Hindu. We visited the local temple that is more than 1000 years old. Every Saturday sacrifices are made of chickens and goats.

It’s been an adjustment to use the typical Asian squat toilet. No one uses toilet paper here or anything that will cause more waste for the environment. Every meal we eat is harvested from the clinic’s garden. We eat a lot of stewed vegetables with beans and turmeric and always rice. When it rains hard we lose electricity. No electricity means no showers. Rain also means there is no point in hand washing our clothes as they won’t dry. Yup. I’m sitting here in three day old clothes and a layer of dirt on my skin. I don’t mind though.

I was only able to see 6 patients this morning, but that’s way more than I would see in the USA at school! Low back pain was the most chief complaint for almost every patient. And, if you saw how hard these people work, you’d understand why. Everyone is so grateful and it is such an amazing experience. The doctors spent yesterday training with the interpreters. Most of the interpreters are young, ages 17-23. It is harder than you’d think to work together as a lot of the questions we ask our patients in the USA are not easily translated into Nepali.

A welcomed arrival to Bajrabarahi, Nepal

Part of our team with Andrew Schlabach on the first day of clinic

Doctor selfie

After about 30 hours of traveling we finally made it to Nepal. All I can say is–this city is CRAZY. I’ve never been in a place quite like it. There a around 1.4 million people who live here. A lot of people from India visit because there are some very special Buddhist temples in this city.

Trying to function after so much travel has been hard. We’re so exhausted that eating food is even a chore. Crossing the street here is like Frogger but in slow motion. You take a few steps and cars and motorbikes zoom all around you within inches of your body. Then, you take a few more steps. It’s not uncommon to be standing in the middle of the road with cars going fast all around. Traffic rules are not enforced here. The only rule? Don’t step backward or you’ll definitely get clipped!

This city is very polluted and almost everyone wears face masks

We. Freaking. Did. It. After three years of grind we have finally made it to this point. We have sacrificed time with family, friends and even time nurturing ourselves all to make our dreams come true.

Sorry I don’t have any official graduation photos to post but this is one of my friend Leah and I on our special day. She will be joining me on this medical journey in Nepal and I know some of you will be checking out this blog to follow both of us along the way!

So many of you have sent out well wishes and prayers to us and tomorrow we leave for our 30 hour global trek via airplane. This time is a bag filled with mixed emotions. There is sorrow to leave our loved ones behind, excitement for the unknown ahead, nervous anticipation of all the new people we’ll meet and medical cases we’ll encounter. It’s also a time for new beginnings; setting aside what no longer serves us and focusing on the gifts we have been given. Our knowledge will be tested and put to use–we are no longer only students, we are PRACTITIONERS.

Now the journey toward health, healing and happiness begins. Join us.

Thank you for your support and love ♡

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TO WATCH THE FULL NEPAL VIDEO CLICK HERE

I am so thankful for everything you have done to help make this opportunity of a lifetime become my soon-to-be reality! None of this would be possible without your help.

Just one more quarter left of school, it’s hard to believe. I’ll be graduating on August 26, 2019 then I have one week to clear out of Portland and fly across the world to Makawanpur, Nepal. Stay tuned as I will be blogging to bring you along this journey with me. Internet connection will not always be possible, or that strong, but I will try and post videos and pictures as often as I can 🙂

Raina Leialohalani Chang