Day 27 of 71

Thursday

Not too much has happened this week...

I did my first complete blood transfusion. Here they call it “tapping” the patient. (Jordan, get your head out of the gutter. They're referring to the process of tapping a palm tree to get the oil.)

I watched the removal of a 4-6kg tumor from the coccyx of a patient.

I was reprimanded by Pa Agbar (one of the patients) for being too busy in the lab to do the dressings in the Male Ward two whole days in a row.

I made enough hot water for a sponge bath using my Traveler's Mini Coffee Pot.

And I watched/participated in the Coaches Across America's presentation of HIV awareness and prevention.

Tuesday was a busy day in both the lab and the Theatre. It was the day that the tumor removal occurred. In preparation for that surgery, we had to gather 2 units of blood. I watched the first transfusion and did the second one completely on my own. I ran all of the tests for insuring the donor was a complete match, then “tapped” the patient and delivered the blood to the Theatre and set up the transfusion. It was a brutal surgery, but the new doctor that stepped in for Dr. Pale while he is on vacation did amazing work. I was very impressed by how quickly he executed each step. Even though it was strenuous work for both the doctor and the nurses, the doctor remained cheerful and constantly explained what he was doing to us, always teaching and joking around.

Wednesday I spent the morning with the two guys from Harvard and their representative from Coaches Across Continents as they presented their lessons on HIV. Essentially, they teach games and drills to coaches and teachers that are healthy for the children to play and educate the children on life lessons. For example: we played a game where one person stood in the center of a circle and everyone threw a soccer ball at their feet. The person could dodge and jump but was hit by the ball the majority of the time. The ball represented HIV and the person was “unprotected” which made being hit, or infected, by HIV very easy. In the next round a person stood in front of the person and took the hits for them, blocking them from the ball most of the time but not always. That new person was a “condom,” more effective than unprotected sex but not always effective. The third round two people blocked the person in the center. One of them represented a condom and the other represented a faithful partner. It was nearly impossible to hit the target's legs...which illustrated that using protection and remaining faithful to your partner is most effective in preventing HIV infections.

Faithful partners and condoms were very undesirable solutions for many of the people (men). One man said “But using a condom every time you're with a [new] woman is like sucking on a candy with the wrapper on....it's not as much fun or feel as good for me.” And in a country where polygamy is not uncommon and men are considered the superior sex, women/wives are almost regarded as a material item. Men want sex as much and as often as possible from whoever is available--even at the risk of getting HIV. One man had even said that he could be unfaithful to his wife and contract HIV (it was his right as a man to have sex when he wanted it) and it was her job to be a good wife and still sleep with him, it was also her job to be a good “Christian” so God will protect her from his HIV. It just made me really grateful for my culture and my upbringing. By no means are people saints in Mississippi (highest teen pregnancy rate, y'all!), but for most people sex isn't a necessity that every day revolves around. My momma and daddy taught me that it was special and the Bible says it should be shared between a husband and wife as something special between them. It's not (or shouldn't be) an action or means of instant gratification, but something at least a little significant shared between two people. Plus...I mean, you'd think it was less of a big deal in a place where cold showers are the norm but hey...

Today was Theatre day again. It didn't take too long to finish the surgery...in fact, it took about 15 minutes from first cut to finish. The doctor repaired a (__)umbilical hernia on an elderly patient using no anesthesia...only enough ketamine to paralyze the abdominal muscles around the incision. After that I reported directly to the male general ward (as promised to Pa Agbar) to do dressing changes. The man with the crushed pelvis and bladder is making an incredible recovery after his second bladder repair surgery! I was so happy to see that. I love how the patients light up when they say “good morning” everyday and you can really tell when they are healing or hurting by whether their smiles reach their eyes or not. Today, Mr. Pelvis' smile when all the way to the top of his head. He looks so much healthier even despite the atrophy (he's been bedridden since the second week of May). It really pumps me up about medicine when I see it's progress! (ha nerd.)

For those of you who, like me, have fallen in love with Charles, he is doing very well! Today during rounds the doctor was trying to write his progress notes at the bedside and I kept making faces at him over the doctors shoulders. Charles got tickled and the doctor had no idea why but he got tickled too and they both just laughed for a minute or two....the doctor had no clue Charles was really laughing at him though! His wounds are healing very nicely and he no longer pains when his dressings are changed. I also found out today that his feet are extremely ticklish....

Several of the nurses I work with are in various stages of pregnancy. One I work closely with in the ward, Cecile, is about 5-6 months along. She is having a rough time with dizziness, but absolutely loves the idea of becoming a momma. Today she talked about how she talks to her baby every day and he knows exactly what she's saying, she just knows it! When she's happy, he kicks like crazy. When she is sad, he stays very still. When she says her prayers, he swims and dances. She talked about how much she loves him already and when he finally gets here she never wants to be away from him. “It's so hard to bring a baby into this world. The pains, the sickness...it's hard! That's why children are treasured so much by their mothers. We wouldn't work so hard to get you here if we didn't love you like nobody else could.” I almost cried when she said this. It made me miss my momma so bad!! I've heard her say very similar things. I can't speak for everyone, but I think when we grow up a little and finally get away from our mommas for a little while we realize how much we treasure our mommas too. I know I'm responsible for 98% of the grey hairs my momma would have on her head if she wasn't so young and all (Chloe's responsible for the other 2%, calling that right now) so it means a lot that she hasn't throttled me by now.

I've got to say, though, I've got a pretty great daddy too. He still claims me after 21.5 years. This Sunday is Father's Day, I believe. So, in the event I don't make it to the Cyber I'll go ahead and say:

Happy Father's Day! Thanks for being a father and a daddy, for being so patient with me all these years and always believing in me, for the ninja-like skills, ability to “really” watch tv and my dashing good looks! I love you!!

The temperature has dropped to a humid, chilly, mid-seventies, so with my window opened I'm going to set to work on my application essays and then I plan on making a few bracelets from the kit I brought to give to some of the patients. I think Charles and his sister would like one and God forbid if I don't make enough for the men in the general ward. I may not be going through the meaning behind each bead, but they're Cameroonian colors and the people will remember (at least for a little while) who gave them to them. The meaning behind the action of giving will be enough, I think. Later, a new volunteer from the U.S. is expected to arrive, so we will greet her.

Friday:

Today was a hard day at the hospital. I realized a lot of things about people, the culture here and medicine. And about myself. A lot about myself.

I'm going to gather my thoughts and put them up Sunday-ish.