End of the Week

Thursday night a baby was born, and Sean being on-call he was called for the delivery.  He called the head maternity nurse since he hasn't seen a delivery completed here. So he observed (from 11:40 pm-3:40 am) so he was tired yesterday!

The day began with the morning meeting - Monday through Friday the day begins at 7:00 am in the administration building: all the hospital workers and staff are there (grounds keepers, guards, maintenance, nurses, techs. There we sing praise songs (in French) and then read about a chapter in the Bible (in French... good thing I have my English Bible) 

After the Bible lesson, morning report begins (the time where the night nurses give updates on the patients). After morning report rounds usually begin (Formal rounds are on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, but Sean rounds on his own on Tuesday and Thursday).  So we did formal rounds... it is good to see all the patients and talk about what is to be done that day.

Sad news on the patient who came on Thursday night (the 19 year old girl in sever pain after the D and C at another clinic). She passed away in the night. She was septic and wouldn't have survived surgery. We heard wailing around 9:00 pm and hoped that a baby was being born, but it was the girls family mourning her death. It isn

't fair, but at least she was brought to a place wher

e people were praying for her, and where she could be made a little more comfortable

In the afternoon I was called to the BLOC (where the OR is) to the recovery room to do the dressing change of little Eda (the 5 year old little girl with hand burns).  "E-boyee! E-boyee!" (I refuse! I refuse!) The left hand looked better, but the right still has some eschar (dead skin) that is difficult to debried off without a whirlpool, certain topical, and more pain medication! I tried to describe a whirlpool bath... but the message didn't get across... I'll have to get someone to translate for me on Monday!

She isn't using her her hands much... but the edema (swelling) looks better.  It is difficult to promote hand use here with here: 1. because she isn't on any pain medication, so she doesn't want to move at all, and 2. because there is no such thing as a burn unit... infection and bacteria are everywhere... so the more stuff she touches the higher risk of infection. Her range of motion looks good with her dressings off though... I just wish I had some splinting material to make some palmar extension splints.  (Thanks Laura and Susan for showing me that... that was the last splint I made on my burn rotation!) Who knows... if she needs it maybe I'll jimmy rig some splint with the Velcro and fishing line I brought.  They keep asking me what I think about the 2 burn patients here... YIKES!  I have been doing more reading... I don't want to say the wrong thing! 

Enoch (the little boy in traction) is still enjoying his balloon... he likes to hit it hard and let it bounce back and hit his mommy.  Little boys are so funny.  He said something funny to his mom yesterday... and she told us during rounds.... "Tell those Chinese to get me out of this thing!"  So he thinks Sean and I are Chinese!  We all got a great laugh out of that. 

The Stroke patient who was admitted, I saw him as well. Oliva (my Lingala translator, Dr. Harvey's daughter) came and helped me out.  He is 71 years old and I believed suffered a right CVA, leaving his left side somewhat paralyzed. He has decent function in his hand, but no wrist, elbow, or shoulder voluntary movement.  We went through some passive range of motion exercises, together, and we talked about working on dressing, and transferring (from bed to chair, from sit-to lay).  There was another man with him, who was not very helpful... he was basically repeating everything I was saying, only in a forceful tone.  My patient said that the other man was hurting his feelings... and he was frustrated that this happened to him... it is not easy getting older on whatever Continent you live on! 

Sean and I rode our bikes to a nearby (1 1/2 miles away) pharmacy to buy some medicine for the 6 month old boy named Prince with meningitis.  It is awesome to ride our bikes through the village... children saying "hello!" or "mundella!" (white person).  We can see the Congo River right off the road... it is dry season now so it is fairly low, but there are still plenty of people in carved out wooden canoes. Just across the river is the rain forest of the DRC. 

Why the Pharmacy visit? Well, here if the hospital doesn't have the drug in stock, they write a "prescription" for the drug, and then the family has to go out of the hospital grounds to a pharmacy in town to buy the medicine, and bring it back to the hospital to be given to the patient.  This little guys' father is not around, and his mother doesn't have any money, if he doesn't get this medicine, his status will get much worse... so for about $12 American dollars, we can get him through the weekend. 

In the evening we made pizza for a "kid party" we had last night.  The Harvey kids: Olivia, Claire, Isabelle, Noah, and 2 of their missionary kid friends who are staying with them came over for pizza, cookies, and a movie.  We had a good time.  We baked the pizza's and the cookies in an outdoor oven (we'll have to show you a picture!) It was all delicious... we are not going hungry here!  

We watch "Night at the Museum." Sean had to leave us for a bit because a new patient came in... a woman in her 20's with abdominal pain.  He and the nurses got her stable, consulted Dr.Fuka (surgeon) and decided she wouldn't need surgery yet.   Thankfully Sean wasn't woken in the night and got a full nights sleep! 

Fun Fact #6: There are little conversations that happen in the blue house: I think there are bats, lizzards, and mice that live in the walls and ceiling of the house. Every now and then you here a "thump, tap, thump, tap, thump, tap" that sounds like a lizzard crawling on the ceiling (the first night we were here, I thought it was someone climbing on the roof!)  Another sound are mouse arguments... a high pitched "squable, squable, sweek, seek, heck, keck, keck" replied by another "squable, squable, sweek, sweek, heck, keck, keck!"  And at night time, you can hear the bats wake up and "swooop" out of the hole in the overhang of the roof.  (the first night I thought this sound was someone breaking in the house!)  

So needless to say... lots of sounds... but we are more comfortable with them now!