American hospitals have no room to complain...First day at the hospital

Today at the hospital was heart wrenching, seeing things I have never seen before. I think today I saw and did almost more in a 6-hour period then I did in all of my years of nursing school! For all of you nurses that are reading this you can understand what I am talking about. My first shock of the day was getting right next to a TB patient with no mask or anything on. In the U.S we put the patient in a private room, we always have to wear sealed tight masks; and here they are in open rooms with other TB patients. I am thinking my hospital might have to test me before I go back to work. I saw my first cleft lip, hydrocephalus, snake bite, grand mal seizure, also there was 9 babies born yesterday and they were all in one room with the mothers (some slept on the floor with a mattress if anyone was wondering where we put them all.) So that was day one, I wonder what day two will bring us.

 Everything is much more relaxed and free (like you can actually do your job without worrying someone is going to sue you.) I didn’t wear gloves once, re was pancakes there too…fancy-that ha-ha o no I am sounding like I am English, Harriet is rubbing off on me.) Then I washed my hands when I was all done for the day. Compared to after every patient at the Cleveland clinic.and I washed my hands only when we took a tea break (yes, we took a tea break, and the

First, we did rounds with the doctor and that took about 3 hours. The doctor here is very good, a Christian man that told a patient this morning that he was seeing things (hallucinations of colored people) because he didn’t have God and he needed to pray. I laughed at that, because that would never happen in an American hospital! After the rounds I went with Daisy, an older nurse here and helped her with outpatient. I will have to take a picture tomorrow, people everywhere trying to get seen and helped. At one point Daisy left me alone and I was diagnosing people myself and assessing them, and writing it down on a pink sheet of paper, called their “chart.” I had a few malaria patients that needed blood work to be sure they had malaria, a few TB patients that needed x-rays. But the funny part was trying to ask them questions. The nurse Julie wrote down a few key words to say, but I was just laughing trying to pronounce them. Also trying to call the next patients name was a sight to see I am sure, but I must of said it good enough because people came up nodding, signaling it was indeed them.

Seeing all the dirty clothes, and all the supplies the hospital didn’t have and the stench that I don’t think I will ever forget, just heart-wrenching. I wish I could send them so many things and do so much more, you feel like your never doing enough. Tylenol is the only pain killer, almost out of antibiotics, barely any gloves and so many other things that I am sure I can make this list go on all day! But seeing what these people have and how they live and the way the kids light up when you smile and play with them is just amazing (more of a Christian nation then U.S where we have everything, never once complaining of their circumstance, or blaming God for what they don’t have.)

Well now I am just babbling on and on, I am sure I will have more stories tomorrow, bye bye for today!

 Harry and I went to the pediatric ward and the kids just came from every where. Smiling and waving at us, I wanted to get a picture of them and they just loved it and all wanted to get in!

 You can see how the kids are dressed and these pictures, the one boy has no clothes and a big belly, all so happy to see you. We were playing with them and they were loving it, I guess in their culture, kids don't matter and the parents don't play with them, really sad!

 Today we got normal village food- Shima (white mash potato looking thing), they eat it twice a day, everyday, and I can barley eat it once

 Step one put it in your bowl, step two, take the shima in your hand, and taking off pieces and dipping it in whatever other food you have. Yes it is custom to eat it with your hands, my dad wouldn't of been very proud of me. But for the first time it was acceptable.

 Here is Harry chowing down on the last part of shima. The shima is like a thick, doughy consistency. Apparently i will be having it for a week at the girls camp, so they are getting us use to it now :/