This week was a mix of stressful, productive, and fun! It started at the end of last week with us checking out an awesome new farmers market just 5 minutes away from our hostel by foot and a visit to Pablo’s house, as he and his family were nice enough to have us over to watch the Champions League Final. They made my favorite meal that I have have had to this point in Costa Rica with an amazing carne asada with homemade pico de gallo and then followed that up with AWESOME cheese tortillas made from scratch. We walked around their beautiful neighborhood, played basketball (where Pablo’s dad showed us all up), and met their dogs. Pablo has been such an amazing host and I hope to try to replicate even a small part of his help when we go back to Houston.
Me and Sarah with my friends from Rice at the Farmer’s market!
View from Pablo’s house at night
View from Pablo’s house in the daytime
When we got to work during the week, I began working with Dr. Vargas, my main mentor. While I couldn’t take many pictures due to privacy concerns, it was great to observe him in patient consultation, testing, and surgical operation. I also helped him to print a tibial CT scan using FDM printing to help an orthopedic surgeon to better visualize a surgery he needed to do. Talking to Dr. Vargas at the end of the week, we were able to narrow down the scope of our project and begin brainstorming solutions for various ankle orthotic devices that could help various patient populations.
Tibia (and fibula) with surrounding anatomy printed from CT scan of patient to be operated on.
I got into the OR to watch a long spinal column correction surgery for scoliosis.
On Friday after work, our group left for Manuel Antonio for the weekend! The first day (today) was great with lots of beach time and some iguanas and lots of crabs seen! We hope to have a great time at the national park tomorrow!
Me and my iguana friends
A magical sunset as a thunderstorm rolls in
A panorama shot of the sunset over the ocean with a thunderstorm approaching.