Now that I’m back at Alma, busy with classes, friends, different clubs and organizations, etc, it seems like Sierra Leone was so long ago. I’ve noticed small changes in myself, like the fact that I went from being what some people might call “cold blooded” to having the cold tolerance of the average senior citizen. I also brought far less to school this year in the way of material possessions. Seeing people live with so few precious possessions that they could all fit in their arms and be carried off at a moments notice can be sad in some ways but freeing in others. I’d never thought I’d say it but being without a cell phone long enough to get used to being free of the tether of it all was really nice. I still forget it regularly, and the first couple times it happened, I didn’t even consider running back to get it. When I got back to my room and my cell phone, I had three text messages from the same person, the last one reading, “Where are you? Why aren’t you responding to my texts? Are you mad at me?” It also seems silly to tote every single pair of shoes I have up to school with me when I wear only two pair regularly, and do I really need to bring up enough books to keep me busy for the entire school year even if I didn’t have classes to study for?
I spent so much time while I was in Sierra Leone worrying about getting sick. About malaria, and typhoid, and then about rabies when I learned that they no longer have access to the proper treatment of Magbenteh Community Hospital, and if you get bit by a rabid animal you basically have to get your butt to civilization within forty-eight hours or you’re toast. Which would probably mean being medically evacuated and is the reason I made sure I knew how to set the ball rolling in case it came to that. Even when I got back I was a little paranoid about getting malaria because of its long incubation period. I was only home for about a week when I started displaying some malaria symptoms. I figured that I could have malaria, but could have the flu, and I was hoping for the flu. Eventually I got sick enough that I called around to a couple hospitals to find out that the malaria test must be sent to Grand Rapids to a special testing center so no matter where I went it would be two days before I knew whether or not it was malaria. I felt so sick that I needed to go to the ER either way, so I went home and Andrew took me to the ER.
When I got there, I told the doctor my symptoms and said, “Oh, by the way, I’ve got a curve ball for you, I just got back from two months in Africa. Where there was lots of malaria.” Like I expected, he seemed a little excited about the prospect of something a little out of the ordinary, as I probably would be if I were in his position. I had a kinds of fun tests done, including blood tests and chest x-rays, and received some IV fluids. While I was there I spiked a terrible fever, which just added to the fun I was already having. When the urine and blood tests came back, the doctor came and told me that unfortunately (or fortunately) I didn’t have anything fun or different, but I did have a massive urinary tract infection that had spread all the way up to my kidneys. They gave me some antibiotics by IV for a boost, and a prescription for some more antibiotics. I was fine for about a week, then the antibiotics messed up my physiological balance and messed me up even more, so I had to stop those meds and start different ones. I felt like it was almost Africa retaliating against me for leaving, haha!
At the start of the school year I went to Dr. Grimnes and asked if she had and advice about who I could talk to and maybe do more with my HIV and Hep B data, and she sent me to Dr. Anderson. Dr. Anderson teaches epidemiology here at Alma College, and she was almost excited as I was about the data. I am taking a couple credits of independent study with her and preparing for an Honors Day presentation. The Ionia paper also interviewed me, and they did a feature about me! Here’s the link: http://www.sentinel-standard.com/topstories/x1291382980/Ionia-graduate-learns-first-hand-medical-experience-in-Sierra-Leone
All in all, it was a wonderful experience that I wont forget for the rest of my life. Thanks for reading!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Day 52: Arriving home 07/29
I woke up on the plane to a flight attendant delivering a little box with breakfast in it. I wasn’t very hungry so I stuffed it in my bag to eat later. When we got off the plane in Brussels, we decided to wait outside security where the food court is until our gate was posted. We played cards and napped, and once we’d actually woken up a bit we had breakfast. Mine was the free breakfast from the plane that the other girls were jealous of, which I found especially funny since they paid around $15.00 for their breakfast.
Once our gate was posted we went through security and found spot early, which is good because they wanted to perform an extra security check with us because we hadn’t done our initial check in at that airport. They just asked us questions like, “Who packed your luggage? Who other than yourself has been left alone with your luggage? Have you been asked to carry anything by a stranger while in the airport? Are you carrying any electronic devices?” When we were boarding they asked us again, “Has anything about your baggage changed since we last spoke?” and we were off!
Unlike the flight from Freetown to Brussels, I couldn’t sleep a wink on this flight. Taylor and I were seated together, so we played cards and talked, watched movies and tried to nap. Once the dinner service came around, the attendant apologized and told us that all he had left was chicken. I told him the ‘good news,’ that we weren’t picky and would take whatever they had. When he asked us what we wanted to drink, I asked how much the wine was and he said, “For you, it’s free!” so I asked for red wine. I was enjoying my meal, having a good time, when I dropped my fork and asked Taylor to hold my wine and food while I picked it up. We were both sort of moving around at the same time, and we ended up knocking the wine over onto my pants. The flight attendant appeared out of nowhere with a can of club soda to soak my shorts in to help keep them from staining. Once I was in the bathroom rinsing them out, I realized that I didn’t have anything else to wear….other than my scarf. So I threw on my shorts and scurried back to my seat, grabbed my scarf, and scurried back to the bathroom. Luckily the scarf was a big one, and actually looked like some cool African garb, because my shorts never dried enough to put back on. Once I got back to my seat, Taylor apologetically told me that she had bent over to pick something up and when she looked up again the attendant had taken what was left of my wine and dinner. It wasn’t a big deal, but I was sad that I hadn’t even been able to enjoy my free wine!
Once the plane landed, I turned on my phone for the first time in two months, and was flooded with text messages, which made me feel nice and popular. Customs were nice and quick, and once I picked up my luggage I was free to go out into the real world! Waiting for me was my parents and Andrew, who had a GIANT bouquet of beautiful flowers for me, including my favorite, purple orchids. We all pilled into the car and started the final leg of the journey home. We stopped briefly to feed my craving for an omelet with real cheese, and finally arrived home by 9pm. I tried to show off some of my pictures, but was falling asleep while talking so after a very long journey, I finally crashed in my own bed.
Once our gate was posted we went through security and found spot early, which is good because they wanted to perform an extra security check with us because we hadn’t done our initial check in at that airport. They just asked us questions like, “Who packed your luggage? Who other than yourself has been left alone with your luggage? Have you been asked to carry anything by a stranger while in the airport? Are you carrying any electronic devices?” When we were boarding they asked us again, “Has anything about your baggage changed since we last spoke?” and we were off!
Unlike the flight from Freetown to Brussels, I couldn’t sleep a wink on this flight. Taylor and I were seated together, so we played cards and talked, watched movies and tried to nap. Once the dinner service came around, the attendant apologized and told us that all he had left was chicken. I told him the ‘good news,’ that we weren’t picky and would take whatever they had. When he asked us what we wanted to drink, I asked how much the wine was and he said, “For you, it’s free!” so I asked for red wine. I was enjoying my meal, having a good time, when I dropped my fork and asked Taylor to hold my wine and food while I picked it up. We were both sort of moving around at the same time, and we ended up knocking the wine over onto my pants. The flight attendant appeared out of nowhere with a can of club soda to soak my shorts in to help keep them from staining. Once I was in the bathroom rinsing them out, I realized that I didn’t have anything else to wear….other than my scarf. So I threw on my shorts and scurried back to my seat, grabbed my scarf, and scurried back to the bathroom. Luckily the scarf was a big one, and actually looked like some cool African garb, because my shorts never dried enough to put back on. Once I got back to my seat, Taylor apologetically told me that she had bent over to pick something up and when she looked up again the attendant had taken what was left of my wine and dinner. It wasn’t a big deal, but I was sad that I hadn’t even been able to enjoy my free wine!
Once the plane landed, I turned on my phone for the first time in two months, and was flooded with text messages, which made me feel nice and popular. Customs were nice and quick, and once I picked up my luggage I was free to go out into the real world! Waiting for me was my parents and Andrew, who had a GIANT bouquet of beautiful flowers for me, including my favorite, purple orchids. We all pilled into the car and started the final leg of the journey home. We stopped briefly to feed my craving for an omelet with real cheese, and finally arrived home by 9pm. I tried to show off some of my pictures, but was falling asleep while talking so after a very long journey, I finally crashed in my own bed.
Day 51: Starting Home 07.28
This morning we woke up at our normal time and went to Morning Handover before leaving. It was great to be able to see everyone one last time, and say goodbye to everyone. I was very sad to say goodbye, but at the same time I’m so tired, I want to get home to my family! We took some pictures with everyone, and then piled into the car and went on our way. It was sad to say goodbye to such a great place, but hopefully it’s not goodbye for good!
We traveled on the main roads to Freetown, and were hoping to make the 14h00 ferry across to Lungi. When we got there, it was shortly before 11h00, when the first ferry of the day leaves, and they decided to try and fit us on, so we had to literally run through the gates to get on the boat. When we got on, we tried to find somewhere up inside the cabin where we could sit down, but there wasn’t a space for us, so we ended up standing next to the car. It had been a cloudy day, but about ten minutes into the ferry ride the sun came out and shined hard on us for the rest of the ride, and guess who forgot to put on sunscreen? I made it the whole trip without forgetting and without getting sunburned, and on the last day got a burn! Good thing it wasn’t a very bad burn.
Once we got off the ferry, we had a short car ride to the airport, which was a beautiful ride. It was very beach feeling and peaceful, and seemed almost like that beach-y surfer attitude. When we got to the airport, we had like six hours until boarding and it was around lunch time, so Taylor and I took a short walk to the market and found some boiled eggs and fruit to snack on. When we got back to the car, we moved our stuff to the check in area and waited some more. Taylor and I played cards, and waited until it was check in time.
Once we were allowed to check in, it seemed like we got first priority for whatever reason, which was nice, and check in was really smooth. They did ‘search’ our check baggage, but all they really did was open one of my suitcases and send us on our way. Then we checked out bags, and sailed through customs. We were basically the first people in the waiting area, but because two flights were leaving that evening things filled up quickly.
About seven games of wild rummy latter, the plane we were taking home arrived with our friends who were replacing us at MCH. We asked the security personnel if we could go through to meet them, and she said no. I thought she was being silly and was telling us no only because she was getting tired of doing her job and didn’t want to deal with people. I told her I was disappointed in her, and she gave me this look like, “Girl, please.” She reminded me of a Jerry Seinfeld bit where her talks about airport security and that the ‘first line of defense’ should be the ‘heavy set woman with pants that look like they’ve been spray-painted on. You should be able to see the flap pulled open and the metal tangs of the zipper hanging on for dear life!” She fit all the necessary requirements.
When we finally boarded, I was sitting near but not with the rest of the girls. I thought about trying to switch with whoever sat next to them so that the four of us could sit together in the four middle seats, but I ended up falling asleep and barely woke up for dinner so I guess I didn’t really mind that much. Because the Sierra Leone airport doesn’t have a fueling station, which makes sense for them financially but isn’t that great of a situation for the airplanes that come through, we had to stop in Gambia to refuel, and pick up more passengers. Apparently while we were on the ground in Gambia, there was an argument over who actually had a ticket for one of the seats in first class. A man who’s son works for Brussels Air, was convinced that his sun had gotten him that seat even though he had no ticket, and refused to move to a different seat because he didn’t want to move his stuff. Luckily the woman who actually had a ticket for that seat was gracious enough to give up her first class seat to sit in the absolute back of the plane. I slept through the whole thing.
This post is dedicated to the child who died during the night.
We traveled on the main roads to Freetown, and were hoping to make the 14h00 ferry across to Lungi. When we got there, it was shortly before 11h00, when the first ferry of the day leaves, and they decided to try and fit us on, so we had to literally run through the gates to get on the boat. When we got on, we tried to find somewhere up inside the cabin where we could sit down, but there wasn’t a space for us, so we ended up standing next to the car. It had been a cloudy day, but about ten minutes into the ferry ride the sun came out and shined hard on us for the rest of the ride, and guess who forgot to put on sunscreen? I made it the whole trip without forgetting and without getting sunburned, and on the last day got a burn! Good thing it wasn’t a very bad burn.
Once we got off the ferry, we had a short car ride to the airport, which was a beautiful ride. It was very beach feeling and peaceful, and seemed almost like that beach-y surfer attitude. When we got to the airport, we had like six hours until boarding and it was around lunch time, so Taylor and I took a short walk to the market and found some boiled eggs and fruit to snack on. When we got back to the car, we moved our stuff to the check in area and waited some more. Taylor and I played cards, and waited until it was check in time.
Once we were allowed to check in, it seemed like we got first priority for whatever reason, which was nice, and check in was really smooth. They did ‘search’ our check baggage, but all they really did was open one of my suitcases and send us on our way. Then we checked out bags, and sailed through customs. We were basically the first people in the waiting area, but because two flights were leaving that evening things filled up quickly.
About seven games of wild rummy latter, the plane we were taking home arrived with our friends who were replacing us at MCH. We asked the security personnel if we could go through to meet them, and she said no. I thought she was being silly and was telling us no only because she was getting tired of doing her job and didn’t want to deal with people. I told her I was disappointed in her, and she gave me this look like, “Girl, please.” She reminded me of a Jerry Seinfeld bit where her talks about airport security and that the ‘first line of defense’ should be the ‘heavy set woman with pants that look like they’ve been spray-painted on. You should be able to see the flap pulled open and the metal tangs of the zipper hanging on for dear life!” She fit all the necessary requirements.
When we finally boarded, I was sitting near but not with the rest of the girls. I thought about trying to switch with whoever sat next to them so that the four of us could sit together in the four middle seats, but I ended up falling asleep and barely woke up for dinner so I guess I didn’t really mind that much. Because the Sierra Leone airport doesn’t have a fueling station, which makes sense for them financially but isn’t that great of a situation for the airplanes that come through, we had to stop in Gambia to refuel, and pick up more passengers. Apparently while we were on the ground in Gambia, there was an argument over who actually had a ticket for one of the seats in first class. A man who’s son works for Brussels Air, was convinced that his sun had gotten him that seat even though he had no ticket, and refused to move to a different seat because he didn’t want to move his stuff. Luckily the woman who actually had a ticket for that seat was gracious enough to give up her first class seat to sit in the absolute back of the plane. I slept through the whole thing.
This post is dedicated to the child who died during the night.
Day 50: My last full day in Sierra Leone 07.27
This morning at Morning Handover I was able to present Part II of CPR to all the nurses. The beginning went pretty well, but near the end when I asked for questions I started to feel like they were just trying to come up with excuses and situations not to perform CPR. I was very frustrated, but tried to concentrate on how well Part I and the beginning of Part II went. And many of the nurses told me afterward that they really enjoyed it, so I’d say it was a win.
After Morning Handover, I made a deal with Dr. ABD: If I get to see one more surgery today, then I have to come back within the next two years to the hospital for a visit. I have no idea how I’m going to be able to afford another trip to Africa when I’m graduating and hopefully headed to med-school, so I’ll probably be pretty far in debt by then. I guess I’ll have to figure it out!
After Big Rounds, we tried to organized Danielle to get her hair braided, but the nurse who braided mine wasn’t successful in finding someone to cover her shift, so she wanted Danielle to hid in the supply closet with her so she could braid her hair on the job. Not very good work ethic. Plus Danielle has been feeling on and off because of having malaria and all. The Matron also found me while I was following the doctors on big rounds and gave me a personal note. It was a request that I purchase him a laptop. I don’t know what I’ll tell him yet, but unfortunately I can’t promise him a laptop.
Around mid-day we gathered everyone into the hut for a live demonstration on proper oral hygiene. It went really well! We had decided to do a live demonstration so that we could pass out Taylor’s toothbrushes and toothpaste that her dentist gave her to bring and give out. When the demo was over and we started passing out toothbrushes, people started showing up out of the woodwork to get the ‘free stuff.’ We had to tell people that if they didn’t sit and watch the demo that they didn’t get a toothbrush or we wouldn’t have enough for the people who actually watched the demo.
After the demo we went back to the house and had lunch, and afterward I decided to stay behind at the hospital while the other girls went into town one last time, not only because I don’t have money but because I was hoping to catch a surgery. I waited until about 16h30, and when they still hadn’t started surgery I decided to go help David cook on last time. Dinner was great, and had all our special favorites.
After dinner I had one last phone call with my family, and then went over to the Morning Handover room for on last Wednesday Night Lesson. Tonight it was about the stabilization center and the protocol they use to diagnose and treat. It was very interesting. At the end of the lesson the doctors and CHOs talked about the funding problem in the stabilization center. Not only has UNICEF cut two-thirds of the funding already, which means no plumpynut, but the last shipment that the hospital was supposed to receive still hasn’t arrived. It was stuck in the port for a while because the government wouldn’t release it, but now it has been released and last I knew it was nowhere to be found. While they were talking about whether or not the hospital could afford to supply the milk themselves once UNICEF cuts that too, I remembered Steve, the gentleman I met in the Brussels airport who knows someone (his son maybe?) who could possibly help supply the center with food and formula. I gave his contact to Dr. Erdi and Dr. ABD, and when I get home I’ll contact him and see about getting him to help fund us.
When we got back to the house, we hung out and shared pictures until late. We were going to go over to Steve’s, but by the time we were ready to head over there we were exhausted so we just went to bed.
This post is dedicated to one of the two twins that was delivered earlier this week, and died during the night last night.
After Morning Handover, I made a deal with Dr. ABD: If I get to see one more surgery today, then I have to come back within the next two years to the hospital for a visit. I have no idea how I’m going to be able to afford another trip to Africa when I’m graduating and hopefully headed to med-school, so I’ll probably be pretty far in debt by then. I guess I’ll have to figure it out!
After Big Rounds, we tried to organized Danielle to get her hair braided, but the nurse who braided mine wasn’t successful in finding someone to cover her shift, so she wanted Danielle to hid in the supply closet with her so she could braid her hair on the job. Not very good work ethic. Plus Danielle has been feeling on and off because of having malaria and all. The Matron also found me while I was following the doctors on big rounds and gave me a personal note. It was a request that I purchase him a laptop. I don’t know what I’ll tell him yet, but unfortunately I can’t promise him a laptop.
Around mid-day we gathered everyone into the hut for a live demonstration on proper oral hygiene. It went really well! We had decided to do a live demonstration so that we could pass out Taylor’s toothbrushes and toothpaste that her dentist gave her to bring and give out. When the demo was over and we started passing out toothbrushes, people started showing up out of the woodwork to get the ‘free stuff.’ We had to tell people that if they didn’t sit and watch the demo that they didn’t get a toothbrush or we wouldn’t have enough for the people who actually watched the demo.
After the demo we went back to the house and had lunch, and afterward I decided to stay behind at the hospital while the other girls went into town one last time, not only because I don’t have money but because I was hoping to catch a surgery. I waited until about 16h30, and when they still hadn’t started surgery I decided to go help David cook on last time. Dinner was great, and had all our special favorites.
After dinner I had one last phone call with my family, and then went over to the Morning Handover room for on last Wednesday Night Lesson. Tonight it was about the stabilization center and the protocol they use to diagnose and treat. It was very interesting. At the end of the lesson the doctors and CHOs talked about the funding problem in the stabilization center. Not only has UNICEF cut two-thirds of the funding already, which means no plumpynut, but the last shipment that the hospital was supposed to receive still hasn’t arrived. It was stuck in the port for a while because the government wouldn’t release it, but now it has been released and last I knew it was nowhere to be found. While they were talking about whether or not the hospital could afford to supply the milk themselves once UNICEF cuts that too, I remembered Steve, the gentleman I met in the Brussels airport who knows someone (his son maybe?) who could possibly help supply the center with food and formula. I gave his contact to Dr. Erdi and Dr. ABD, and when I get home I’ll contact him and see about getting him to help fund us.
When we got back to the house, we hung out and shared pictures until late. We were going to go over to Steve’s, but by the time we were ready to head over there we were exhausted so we just went to bed.
This post is dedicated to one of the two twins that was delivered earlier this week, and died during the night last night.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Day Forty-nine: “African Beauty Queen” 07.26
Today before handover I got up early to finish my lesson on CPR so that I could present part II of the lesson, but after all the nurses gave the ward reports (Female didn’t show up again) the Matron just told everyone to start their day and forgot about me! I reminded him, and hopefully I can present tomorrow because I want to present before I go home.
Taylor and I followed Dr. Erdi on rounds in the children’s ward, then Dr. Erdi went to find Dr. ABD because she wanted to go to town and meet with a guy who would help her fix her internet. Dr. ABD told her that he was just about to come find her to let her know that he got a call from the government hospital and they wanted him to go there to perform a C-section. Dr. ABD agreed because he wants to see what kind of set-up they have, and Dr. Erdi left to go fix her internet. Dr. Abel also had to leave for a meeting in town, so for about an hour there wasn’t a doctor at the hospital at all. Opps.
Dr. Erdi got back and finished rounds, and decided to do scanning before going to the theatre, which took about two hours. By the time she was headed to theatre, it was 14h30 and I had planned to meet with one of the nurses, Hasinatu, at 15h00 to get my hair braided. I ended up sitting with my neck and back in awkward positions for four and a half hours until she finished. In the mean time, a TON of guests arrived to join us for our Tuesday night dinners. David received money to make food for 36 people, but he only bought and made food for 20 people, and since I wasn’t there to stake my claim when it was being passed out, I didn’t get anything to eat. I was pretty disappointed, especially since David made eggplant and fries, my two favorite things that he makes, but Dr. Erdi told him to make fries again tonight so hopefully I’ll get some tomorrow.
Once Hasinatu finished my hair, it looked so cool that Danielle and Ashley decided they wanted theirs done, and asked Hasinatu if she could come back again tomorrow to do theirs. I really like mine, even though the fake hair is a little strange. I look pretty different, I don’t know if my family and Andrew will recognize me when I come through customs!
This post is dedicated to a small boy who passed of malaria in children’s ward last night.
Taylor and I followed Dr. Erdi on rounds in the children’s ward, then Dr. Erdi went to find Dr. ABD because she wanted to go to town and meet with a guy who would help her fix her internet. Dr. ABD told her that he was just about to come find her to let her know that he got a call from the government hospital and they wanted him to go there to perform a C-section. Dr. ABD agreed because he wants to see what kind of set-up they have, and Dr. Erdi left to go fix her internet. Dr. Abel also had to leave for a meeting in town, so for about an hour there wasn’t a doctor at the hospital at all. Opps.
Dr. Erdi got back and finished rounds, and decided to do scanning before going to the theatre, which took about two hours. By the time she was headed to theatre, it was 14h30 and I had planned to meet with one of the nurses, Hasinatu, at 15h00 to get my hair braided. I ended up sitting with my neck and back in awkward positions for four and a half hours until she finished. In the mean time, a TON of guests arrived to join us for our Tuesday night dinners. David received money to make food for 36 people, but he only bought and made food for 20 people, and since I wasn’t there to stake my claim when it was being passed out, I didn’t get anything to eat. I was pretty disappointed, especially since David made eggplant and fries, my two favorite things that he makes, but Dr. Erdi told him to make fries again tonight so hopefully I’ll get some tomorrow.
Once Hasinatu finished my hair, it looked so cool that Danielle and Ashley decided they wanted theirs done, and asked Hasinatu if she could come back again tomorrow to do theirs. I really like mine, even though the fake hair is a little strange. I look pretty different, I don’t know if my family and Andrew will recognize me when I come through customs!
This post is dedicated to a small boy who passed of malaria in children’s ward last night.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Day Forty-eight: Where is Gay? 07.25
Early this morning about 3h30 or so, I woke up to someone pounding on our door and calling out to Taylor and I. I was still a little drowsy, but then I heard them say, “It’s Gay! I really need to talk to you guys!” So I went out there and let her in, and because my mind was in hyper paranoid mode, I locked the door behind her. She told me that she was sorry for waking me, but that she was in a tough situation because she found out that her flight home actually left later today in the afternoon. She started handing me things and telling me to please give them to this or that person, and asking me to tell so-and-so goodbye. Then she asked me if I remembered the woman she’d gone with for the weekend, and I told her I did. On Friday when we were at the clinic two men and a woman from the Sierra Leonean side of the organization that sent her met up with her and took her for the weekend to tour Freetown and Bunce Island. Gay told me that her relationship with this woman was a ‘little strange’ and that she was going to go to the police station early the next morning to speak on her behalf, so she had to go shower, change, pack, and go. I was really surprised, but too tired to really process anything, anything. And when someone wakes you up and seems frantic in the middle of the night, your mind goes into ‘emergency situation’ mode, so when I went back to bed I kept wondering if I’d remembered to lock the door after her and wondering if people were watching me through the windows and trying to get in the house.
In the morning I found out that Gay only told what was going on, she didn’t even tell Dr. ABD or Erdi. The matron asked me if I could wait until tomorrow to present CPR part two because Monday’s are normally very busy. Normally all the wards are supposed to report at Handover, but the nurse from Female ward showed up late and then didn’t come in, she just stood by the door and when the Matron dismissed everyone she ran off and left first out of almost everyone.
I decided to go to wound care and help Kady after Handover. Apparently over the weekend they ‘didn’t have time’ to do dressings for some of the people who have really terrible wounds that require daily dressings, so their wounds looked bad and smelled horrible. I told Kady on one of them that she needed to take over, but I had been doing them myself no that I’ve gotten to know how to do it. I mentioned it to Dr. ABD later, that some patients had gone all weekend without having their wounds cleaned, and he was a little upset by that. He took a quick look at the two patients that he’d done amputations on, one was to foot, and other was the toe, and both looked good. There weren’t any emergency surgeries, so Dr. ABD told us we didn’t have much left to see at the hospital.
After a quick lunch, we went down to the TFC and filmed our video on Family Planning. It was so funny to hear what the Creole translation of some of the information was. When they were talking about the different kinds of birth control that Magbenteh Hospital offers, Musa would end almost every explanation with, “You and you partner just enjoy you selfs, ‘n no worry about the pikin for come!” (Pikin means baby.) And then he would smile this little smile that was just so funny, like he was trying to say, ‘and you know what kind of enjoyment I’m talking about!’
After we finished that video, we made a video about antenatal care, which also went really well and we got Musa and Abi to translate for us. In the late afternoon we played about three rounds of euchre before dinner, which was really good! They have this strange fruit called breadfruit here that you can peal and fry and it turns out like French fries!
After dinner we were hanging out and Dr. Erdi came in and asked if she could get a couple volunteers to scrub in for a C-section, and Taylor and I immediately raised our hands. We all ran over to the theatre and I scrubbed in while Taylor helped the midwife. The baby was laying transverse, or side-to-side. It was very difficult to get the baby out, and they had to resuscitate the baby, but it started breathing fine after three minutes or so. Another successful surgery added to my resume!
This post is dedicated to a patient in male ward who died after severe typhoid. He had a laporotomy but not all repairs could be made, and he passed away shortly after receiving a blood transfusion.
In the morning I found out that Gay only told what was going on, she didn’t even tell Dr. ABD or Erdi. The matron asked me if I could wait until tomorrow to present CPR part two because Monday’s are normally very busy. Normally all the wards are supposed to report at Handover, but the nurse from Female ward showed up late and then didn’t come in, she just stood by the door and when the Matron dismissed everyone she ran off and left first out of almost everyone.
I decided to go to wound care and help Kady after Handover. Apparently over the weekend they ‘didn’t have time’ to do dressings for some of the people who have really terrible wounds that require daily dressings, so their wounds looked bad and smelled horrible. I told Kady on one of them that she needed to take over, but I had been doing them myself no that I’ve gotten to know how to do it. I mentioned it to Dr. ABD later, that some patients had gone all weekend without having their wounds cleaned, and he was a little upset by that. He took a quick look at the two patients that he’d done amputations on, one was to foot, and other was the toe, and both looked good. There weren’t any emergency surgeries, so Dr. ABD told us we didn’t have much left to see at the hospital.
After a quick lunch, we went down to the TFC and filmed our video on Family Planning. It was so funny to hear what the Creole translation of some of the information was. When they were talking about the different kinds of birth control that Magbenteh Hospital offers, Musa would end almost every explanation with, “You and you partner just enjoy you selfs, ‘n no worry about the pikin for come!” (Pikin means baby.) And then he would smile this little smile that was just so funny, like he was trying to say, ‘and you know what kind of enjoyment I’m talking about!’
After we finished that video, we made a video about antenatal care, which also went really well and we got Musa and Abi to translate for us. In the late afternoon we played about three rounds of euchre before dinner, which was really good! They have this strange fruit called breadfruit here that you can peal and fry and it turns out like French fries!
After dinner we were hanging out and Dr. Erdi came in and asked if she could get a couple volunteers to scrub in for a C-section, and Taylor and I immediately raised our hands. We all ran over to the theatre and I scrubbed in while Taylor helped the midwife. The baby was laying transverse, or side-to-side. It was very difficult to get the baby out, and they had to resuscitate the baby, but it started breathing fine after three minutes or so. Another successful surgery added to my resume!
This post is dedicated to a patient in male ward who died after severe typhoid. He had a laporotomy but not all repairs could be made, and he passed away shortly after receiving a blood transfusion.
Day Forty-seven: A Rainy Day at the Beach 07.24
This morning we got up at 7h30 and packed our backpacks with snacks for the road and the beach and were ready to sit and have breakfast and wait for Dr. ABD, who was undoubtedly going to be late. When we got to the main house, we found Erdi busy in the kitchen making us scrambled eggs with ham and cheese! I was so excited! She had heard me mention the night before that I missed good breakfast food, and said, “Hey! We can do that here!” and made it happen for us! It was so good!
By about 8h30 or 8h45, Dr. ABD arrives and told us that he’d had a flat tire on his car that needed repairing before he arrived. We started discussing what car to take, and realized that we would have five going down but nine coming back, so we needed to take a second car. Dr. ABD called about three different drivers, and none of them answered. Then he asked Marcel or Dr. Abel and his family if they would join us and possibly drive, but it was too short of notice. So Dr. ABD called the friends that Gay had gone to Freetown and Bunce Island with and asked them instead of meeting up with us and dropping Gay off with us if they could take some of us and follow us to Makeni, and since they had borrowed Dr. ABD’s car anyway they said yes. On the way down I interviewed Dr. ABD about HIV and Hep B for my research project, and talked a lot about the state of health care in terms of HIV and Hep B in Sierra Leone, it was very interesting.
When we got to the Freetown area we decided to take the road that sort of goes up and around Freetown to get to the Bay Road and take that to the beach rather than getting on Bay Road in Freetown and following it all the way to River No. 2, our destination. When we got there though, there was a giant traffic jam and we had to turn around and back track all the way to where the Bay Road starts in Freetown, adding two hours to our journey. After being nice and sunny, but not too hot, all day it started raining about 30 minutes before we got to the beach. We sat in the little restaurant hut the entire time and enjoyed the view and ate really amazing shrimp and rice. A meal and two drinks cost me $10.25, and the meal was big. It was ten huge shrimp on skewers that had been seasoned with a little spice and grilled perfectly, with rice that had been fancied up with a little tomato sauce and spices, and a little sauce on the side that was sautéed onions and carrots that was also seasoned really well. I mixed them all together and it was delicious! I was so sad that I couldn’t eat it all, but I got so full after half of it that I knew I would be sick on the ride home if I ate any more. There were guys walking around selling wooden carved stuff, and so I bought a goofy little bracelet off of one of the guys. It appears fine until you really look at the design that he carved into the sides. Little hearts that say, “I love you,” inside them. I figure that this place is a little goofy, so a souvenir that reflects that is perfect.
Gay finally met up with us at about 15h30, and Dr. ABD was very happy because he was antsy to start home. However, Gay and her party explained that they were hoping to stay in Freetown for the night and then head back to Makeni in the morning. Dr. ABD was a little upset but said, “Okay, I guess we all have to fit in the car!” We ended up with two in the far back, which really only fits one, and four in the middle. When we were all trying to fit, John asked if he could sit up front because he’s the only guy and he felt a little awkward about squeezing in with all us girls, so I told him he could since I’d sat up front on the way down. He got in though, and Dr. ABD told him to get out and let someone bigger sit there so that it would be easier to fit four people in the middle seat, and told me to sit up front. I was happy to have the front seat, and I am much taller and unlike John who is very thin I have my big woman hips, but I was a little sad that Dr. ABD thinks ‘da body be fat fat’ as the locals would say here. I made a joke about it, and he said, “No, my dear! You have body!” Which is like telling someone that they have a fit or athletic frame.
On the way back Ashley interviewed Dr. ABD about the hospital for a paper she’s writing. Apparently all she has to do is write a paper about something dealing with her POE, which is international healthcare, and she gets four credits for it! Lucky bum! It was really interesting to hear about all that it took to start the hospital, and all the speed bumps there have been along the way.
When we got back in the evening, I decided to organize my things and figure out what I’m leaving here for the hospital and what I’m taking back, so I started sorting through things and sort of packing things that I know I wont use this week. Taylor told me I was crazy, but ten minutes later they were all doing the same thing. When we were finished we took the stuff over to Erdi, who was happy to have it, and deiced we should watch the rest of “The Sound Of Music” that we started Friday. I can’t believe I’ll be home in four days!
By about 8h30 or 8h45, Dr. ABD arrives and told us that he’d had a flat tire on his car that needed repairing before he arrived. We started discussing what car to take, and realized that we would have five going down but nine coming back, so we needed to take a second car. Dr. ABD called about three different drivers, and none of them answered. Then he asked Marcel or Dr. Abel and his family if they would join us and possibly drive, but it was too short of notice. So Dr. ABD called the friends that Gay had gone to Freetown and Bunce Island with and asked them instead of meeting up with us and dropping Gay off with us if they could take some of us and follow us to Makeni, and since they had borrowed Dr. ABD’s car anyway they said yes. On the way down I interviewed Dr. ABD about HIV and Hep B for my research project, and talked a lot about the state of health care in terms of HIV and Hep B in Sierra Leone, it was very interesting.
When we got to the Freetown area we decided to take the road that sort of goes up and around Freetown to get to the Bay Road and take that to the beach rather than getting on Bay Road in Freetown and following it all the way to River No. 2, our destination. When we got there though, there was a giant traffic jam and we had to turn around and back track all the way to where the Bay Road starts in Freetown, adding two hours to our journey. After being nice and sunny, but not too hot, all day it started raining about 30 minutes before we got to the beach. We sat in the little restaurant hut the entire time and enjoyed the view and ate really amazing shrimp and rice. A meal and two drinks cost me $10.25, and the meal was big. It was ten huge shrimp on skewers that had been seasoned with a little spice and grilled perfectly, with rice that had been fancied up with a little tomato sauce and spices, and a little sauce on the side that was sautéed onions and carrots that was also seasoned really well. I mixed them all together and it was delicious! I was so sad that I couldn’t eat it all, but I got so full after half of it that I knew I would be sick on the ride home if I ate any more. There were guys walking around selling wooden carved stuff, and so I bought a goofy little bracelet off of one of the guys. It appears fine until you really look at the design that he carved into the sides. Little hearts that say, “I love you,” inside them. I figure that this place is a little goofy, so a souvenir that reflects that is perfect.
Gay finally met up with us at about 15h30, and Dr. ABD was very happy because he was antsy to start home. However, Gay and her party explained that they were hoping to stay in Freetown for the night and then head back to Makeni in the morning. Dr. ABD was a little upset but said, “Okay, I guess we all have to fit in the car!” We ended up with two in the far back, which really only fits one, and four in the middle. When we were all trying to fit, John asked if he could sit up front because he’s the only guy and he felt a little awkward about squeezing in with all us girls, so I told him he could since I’d sat up front on the way down. He got in though, and Dr. ABD told him to get out and let someone bigger sit there so that it would be easier to fit four people in the middle seat, and told me to sit up front. I was happy to have the front seat, and I am much taller and unlike John who is very thin I have my big woman hips, but I was a little sad that Dr. ABD thinks ‘da body be fat fat’ as the locals would say here. I made a joke about it, and he said, “No, my dear! You have body!” Which is like telling someone that they have a fit or athletic frame.
On the way back Ashley interviewed Dr. ABD about the hospital for a paper she’s writing. Apparently all she has to do is write a paper about something dealing with her POE, which is international healthcare, and she gets four credits for it! Lucky bum! It was really interesting to hear about all that it took to start the hospital, and all the speed bumps there have been along the way.
When we got back in the evening, I decided to organize my things and figure out what I’m leaving here for the hospital and what I’m taking back, so I started sorting through things and sort of packing things that I know I wont use this week. Taylor told me I was crazy, but ten minutes later they were all doing the same thing. When we were finished we took the stuff over to Erdi, who was happy to have it, and deiced we should watch the rest of “The Sound Of Music” that we started Friday. I can’t believe I’ll be home in four days!
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