clinicals and adventures in the sky

Whew! This week has been very full, mostly with lots and lots of time spent in the hospital. It has been wonderful though and I think each of us saw amazing things.  But, we also were able to do some fun and adventuresome things as well.  We just arrived back in Choma this afternoon, and I think it’s safe to say we are all exhausted.

Here is a recap of my week—

Monday we spent listening to lectures about malaria from a very passionate doctor.  He knows a whole lot about mosquitoes!! He works in a malaria research institute that’s part of the hospital.  We saw where they breed mosquitoes to do testing, saw the mice which the mosquitoes feed off of, and the traps that are used to catch “wild” mosquitoes that are tested.  Things have improved over the years.  The researchers used to have to use themselves as bait at night to catch mosquitoes, and would even stick their arms in the mosquito cages to allow the mosquitoes to feed every few days.  Talk about self-sacrifice!  The workers were constantly getting malaria!  Luckily the system has changed since.

Tuesday Dana and I followed around the Nursing Officer of the Hospital, equivalent to a House Supervisor.  Miriam was awesome to work with, and to say I was impressed with her would be an understatement.  I wasn’t expecting much, just because of different cultural norms and the way I had seen nurses work within the hospital.  However, she challenged the nurses who came in to give report and questioned some of the care that was given.  She is very organized and obviously respected by everyone.  The hospital is extremely understaffed (almost always just 1 nurse for a whole unit), and Miriam knows each staff member’s name including the nursing students who are doing clinicals at the hospital.  While I was following Miriam, she gave Dana and I the task of updating the statistics of the hospital for the last 3 months.  The most common diagnosis were things we do not see in the states on a regular basis- such as tuberculosis, epilepsy (they have an incredibly high rate of this but I’m not sure why), meningitis, and dehydration.

One sad case Miriam was working through this week was about a woman who was admitted with burns covering 60% of her body.  Her 2 year old son was also admitted with severe burns, and she was 8 months pregnant.  She went in to labor shortly after she was admitted due to all the stress, and gave birth to a stillborn baby.  Her 2 yo died shortly after as well.  Her home was set on fire and boarded up from the outside, most likely from her husband’s girlfriend.  It was incredibly sad, and it seemed like the bad news wouldn’t end for her.  When I was there seeing her, they still hadn’t told her that her son passed away- and it had been at least 1 day since it happened!  The woman was incredibly beautiful.  She was one of the prettiest Zambian women I have seen so far.  She does have an incredible support system though.  She had about 50 visitors, and her mother never left her side.  Thankfully, Zambian police are investigating the situation, and the girlfriend is in jail.  Their system is different- the offender is considered guilty unless proven otherwise.  This woman needs prayer.  Her life has turned upside down in a matter of a few days. 

Another awful thing I saw was some very emaciated adults, all of whom are HIV +.  They were actively dying and were suffering from wasting syndrome.  I was rounding on many women with the same illness performing vital signs.  I went to one woman and got my stethoscope out to listen to her heart rate, but my stethoscope was sitting on top of her ribs.  I couldn’t hear anything because not one part of her chest cavity was smooth enough.  That was a first, and it bothered me so much!

Amidst all this sadness is happiness as well! I was able to help assist in a delivery this week.  I would have caught the baby myself, but the baby was breech and a nurse needed to help the mom deliver the baby- naturally.  It was very interesting to see, and is something that rarely happens in the states.  The baby boy transitioned well and was very handsome!  About 3 minutes after delivery, the mom stood up and dressed.  She finished dressing and starting walking to the postpartum side.  I still can’t get over it!  The women are supposed to continue lying down for an hour, according to their policy, but they never do.  She was up and out of there! 

Last night I went in to work a couple hours in the male ward.  I had been there earlier in the day with Laura and really enjoyed talking with some of the Zambian nursing students.  We talked about dating and relationships, and it was so funny to hear what they think about it.  They were asking if I would ever marry a black man, why am I not married, and they were concerned I would confuse guys with my relationship status because of a ring I wear on my right hand.  We talked with them for an hour and had a ball.  One of the girls wants to meet Laura’s brother.  Her friend said, “What if he doesn’t like you?” She responded, “Oh, I will make him love me.”  We told her his name, and she said she loved him already.  The Zambian women would love to marry American men, because they are more faithful in marriages.  It’s not a big deal for married Zambian men to have girlfriends.  Their wives even know about it sometimes.  It is a huge problem, and is one of the major factors of the HIV/AIDS epidemic here.  Jessica was pretty serious about wanting to meet Laura’s brother.  It was pretty funny! But anyway, when I was working last night, a 21 yo male came in with a compound fracture in his calf.  I was able to help admit him, and between a couple of us we started an IV, irrigated his wound, and got him settled in for the night.  The night shift nurses are very lazy.  They work 7 nights in a row, and then have 7 nights off.  So, they are always tired, and are allowed to sleep at night.  Andrea and I were pretty much given free reign with this man.  I think we did very well!

As for our adventures, we climbed a water tower in Macha yesterday, and today we got to ride in a prop plane!  The water tower was terrifying.  I don’t like heights all that much, and climbing a perfectly vertical ladder to the top was not my favorite.  We are estimating it was about 5 stories high.  However, the view at the top was a-mazing!  We could see the hospital where we were all 3 weeks, and the different surrounding villages.  Check out the pictures! I’m glad I did it, but I don’t think I ever need to do it again : )

The prop plane was by far my favorite.  It was like a roller coaster ride.  I had never been in a plane that small before, and it feels much differently.  Our pilot was a German missionary.  He was a hoot, and had a blast taking us up.  He dipped up and down a lot, and turned the plane from side to side, where we were looking straight down.  He enjoys his job!  It was awesome and only totaled about $6.  Can’t beat that!

Everyone on the team continues to do well.  We experienced some rough stuff this past week, and we all had our weak moments handling it all.  We have had good discussions about what we are seeing, and it always helps to talk it through.  There were many more stories I could tell, both good and bad!  I am trying to record them all so I don’t forget.  The experience is priceless and I am trying to take advantage of it all.  I received surprise gifts and letters this week from home and that was so fun.  My chocolate supply is now abundant, and I am one happy girl.  Reading the letters gave me a great taste of home too!  I loved it!  I am continuing to stock up on plenty of souvenirs.  Everything is so cheap, and there are so many things I want to remember!  We are down to 30 days, and I am trying to soak it up.  Time has gone quickly, but I know I will be ready for home too! 

I am including lots of pictures this week! Enjoy--



I helped this beautiful baby girl's mom labor!



This is where all deliveries happen. Notice the only privacy between beds are shower curtains!

16 year old Rachael and her new baby girl (same baby as the 1st)! This is the mom I helped labor last week that ended up needing a c-section.  She was a trooper!

 

I can't remember if I have mentioned how each person greets one another after church. Exiting the service, you go down the line shaking hands with each person, and then join the line to shake hands with the people behind you.  I love this tradition! This is Bud going down the line!



Here you can get an idea of how many people it can be. I would say this was about 2/3 of the people last Sunday. It takes a while : )

This 3 yo guy is a favorite of everyone who works in Peds.  He broke one of his femurs and will be in traction for 4 weeks! He is very squirmy and quite animated!

This is a little boy in the malnourished area of the Peds ward. Look at how skinny his upper arm is- one of the biggest indicators of malnutrition in children.  His name is Blessed.

Dana and I at the top of the tower. Check out that view!

The monster- 90 rungs of steepness to the top.

They were obviously a little more comfortable than I was.  They were getting their picture so it looked like they were falling down backwards!

Our group for the flight! The 2 girls next to me are from the Netherlands, and are also studying abroad.  We have run in to them several times this week.