3 adults, 3 kids, 2 dogs and a chicken (mon/tue)



Here is all of us chasing after the chicken

Hi, so sorry it has been a few days since I have written, I have been doing so well on updating everyday. Becka just left Tuesday morning and she had the laptop we were all using, so for the last few days we had no computer. So, now I am going to try and fill you guys in on what’s been happening these last few days. Right outside my house at this moment is a group of army guys chanting and marching, with the walls being so thin it feels like they are in our living room, thankfully they are not. Remember, the other day how there was cheering at all hours of the night; here we came to find out that it was because of a football (soccer) game with Zambia against Zimbabwe for the championship game, Zambia ending up winning and it was like everyone won a million dollars. So anyways it is now just Harry and I at the house, it feels so empty, and we miss her already.

plucking the chicken

I am going to back up a few days, the last day was Sunday and Harry, Becka and I have just been given a chicken, which is a high honour and I was happy knowing we were probably going to have chicken the next day, and I was right! Monday morning we went to the Beer’s house and the kids were all ready to help us cut off the chickens head (I have some great pictures, so beware if you don’t want to see don’t scroll to the bottom.) We took the chicken out of the closet outside to find his legs we not tied together anymore, so the chicken just flies out. Let me tell you, I screamed pretty loud, but it was very comical trying to then chase after the chicken. Lets see, there was 2 dogs, 3 kids and then me and Harry running after this chicken, while Becka was videoing it, it was absolutely hilarious. After about 5 minutes we caught the chicken, and David the oldest boy got his axe and found a tree to put the chickens head on. After about 2 hits the head fell off and the chicken was just moving around. The kids were loving it, and of course they knew exactly what to do next- we had to de-feather it of course, and how do you do that, well put it in hot water, so that’s what we did. After we plucked out all the feathers it was ready for cooking, we gave it to a more professional to do the rest, so it would be ready for lunch, and it was!

                                                            chicken with the head cut off
 

We went back to the hospital after tea and that’s when other Canada Rebecca told be to come and help with another birth. I went and gloved up and the labour was well on its way, if you don’t come quickly you can miss the birth (these ladies pop their kids out fast.) That was not the case today, this lady was having a hard time and that is never a good ending with complicated births here. The lady is pushing and pushing and the baby would not come out, the nurses we even doing fetal pressure (that is when the nurse gets on top of the mother and pushes on the moms stomach to try and help the baby come out.), ya I was quite surprised at that site too (no, there wont be any pictures of that, so everyone can relax.) After about 30 min and the baby was not out, the doctor had to come and do some serious cutting-and of course with nothing but local lidocaine, but that wears off quick. After that did not work he had to perform an episiotomy, I was just cringing for this poor 18 year old. The girl was so young and just getting torn up, so after another 30 min and with some more cutting and fetal pressure the baby came out! No scream or cry came from this little boy, but he had a good heart beat. We are all trying to stimulate the baby to get him to breath but no such luck. He was brought over to the warmer and the doctor had to start bagging the boy, seeing how small the bag was just broke my heart. 30 min pass again and still nothing, doctor had to intibate, as he is asking for drugs to inject into the poor little boy; the nursing one by one had to tell him we did not have anything. They are frantically trying to put an IV in the boy (you know how hard it is to put an IV in a kid that’s 30 mins old) well, that didn’t work. The doctor had to inject some dextrose into his umbilical cord to see if the sugar would help at all (we didn’t have calcium gluconate, epi, or anything that would jump start his breathing-so sad.) Surely after intibating the boy that he would be put on a ventilator, we did not have that either, so we are all switching off bagging the little boy, checking the lungs to make sure it was going into both lungs evenly. Still, the baby had a good heart beat we could not figure out why he wasn’t breathing. So then finally a relative came and we taught the family member how to do it, she was so scared and sad, she didn’t want to mess up. When a life is in your hands you just suck it up and do what you have to do to save them. The doctor then stitched up the girl and she is just whimpering in pain, I couldn’t even watch, not because of the blood but because I very well knew she could feel every last tug, pull and stitch. I just went over to the baby and watched him and listened to his lungs. Hours later, we left and let the mom recover and the relative breath for the baby. Would come to check up on the boy to find the lady bagging crying, I tried to comfort her, but what can you say (and I cant speak Lunda or Luvale anyways, so there was literally nothing I could say, I just rubbed her back.) Our shift was over shortly after and the baby was still alive, but we later found out that the boys heart stopped beating around 4, I was very glad I wasn’t there to see that. First baby die while I was there, so sad, at least the boy will go right to heaven with Jesus.

how do you smile when your bagging a baby?

 

After work, we went straight to Julies house for lunch, it was Monday that meant Shima, but there was our chicken all cooked in a sauce, with cabbage. I can proudly say I enjoyed shima, ate an entire lump (with my hands don’t forget) and the chicken was very delicious, yup I could never not eat meat, I love it so much (I am a Buck through and through!) Later that afternoon we had some visitors stop in from Chit, the place Becka would be going for part of her stay in Africa. I met another girl from Canada named Jennie, a boy from Scotland but going to med school in Ireland named David, a girl names Erica, and Tanis with her 2 adorable adopted little girls. Becka was going to travel back with them Tuesday morning. They weren’t our only visitors, we had a car full of Poidevins- there was Tiffany she was 22 in nursing school, Naomi, 17 already in college, and Joel who was 14. Then there was Murray and Grace the parents and they were dropping off Debbie-Ann who was going back home and was going on the mission plane in the morning. There was quite a crowd there it was nice meeting so many other Christians.

 

We were showing the around and chatting with them, then later after a delicious meal we all played Rook. It is a lot like Euker (sp?)  never knew how to play but they taught we and I learned very fast. I actually ended up winning at the end of the night (which was till almost midnight, and the reason why I didn’t update my blog Monday) I was pleasantly surprised by my win and was happy I finally knew how to play.
 

The next morning we all went to the air strip to see the plane come in and say good bye to some of the people. Harry and I ended up finding out that David and Jennie are wanting to go to Victoria Falls as well, so now we are in the process are all going for a few days in August. I then thought I could fly back to Chit with Jennie, because David and Harry will be going back home and I did not want to stay in my house by myself. Jennie was saying how in Chitokoloki is much more fast pace and Tanis likes to do a lot more with everyone, play volleyball and different games. Julie said it would be fine to stay there for a week and I could see the hospital there, and they have a lot more materials and drugs. Harry and I are really hoping to be able to go to Victoria Falls, which is one of the seventh wonders of the world, and I am all this way I have to see that (makes Niagara Falls look really small.) I know everyone would love to see pictures from that; you can go on a safari tour, bungee jump, white water raft, shops and swimming. I will definitely let you know how the plans are going with that, I am very excited and hope it all works out.

 

After the plane left, we all walked back and I managed to drop the key, now that’s no good, so I had to re trace my steps and try and find it-no such luck,(the airstrip watchman ended up dropping it off later that day, what an answer to prayers). I did end up finding some kids and they followed me all the way there and I was playing with then and letting them listen to my stethoscope and it was the cutest thing. I was teaching them English, I would say a word and they would repeat, at the end I had them all singing Jesus loves me! We then said good bye to Becka and the Chit car, all hugging and taking pictures, of course. Tonight Harry and I hope to face book them and try to get everything figured out. After Becka left, the Poidevin’s left an hour later with the 3 kids to take to their place for a few days, now it will be really quiet without them! We said our goodbyes and headed back to the hospital for a pretty quiet rest of the day.
 

Later that night, since we had no computer Harry and I had a girl’s night. We did face masks, pedicures (minus the nail polish), I plucked her eyebrows-if anyone’s knows me, that made me very happy, and Harry picked my back (ha-ha she likes to pick zits- just like a Hoffman-Sarah you would get along with her very well.) We were listening to music and dancing and singing, caught up on our chit-chat and got some good reading in. We accomplish a lot without those 3 hours of internet, now here I am trying to update my blog, because I am using this like my Journal also.
 

I looked at my email and had some emails from my family asking if I was alright since they haven’t herd from me in days, so sorry to frighten my family. If I end up going to Chit I will have WI-FI, now that would be great. Well, now that I have written a novel, I am sure your eyes are getting a bit tired from all my jibber (see what happens when a girl goes days without internet-she just goes on and on.) I will write one more today, maybe you should come back to read that one, but I don’t think that one will be that long. Wednesday and Thursday are not as eventful. I am off for this blog I will see you on the next one (well not really see you, you know what I mean!)

Just bouncing in a skirt

Is this not the cutest thing, Tanis's girls

I don't think i will complain about potholes again

The church we went to today

the toilet, or just the hole in the ground, had to watch for snakes

Today was quite a tiring day, as we were gone from 9-5 at the little church that was about hour away (or so I thought.) Julie asked if we wanted to go to another assembly today, and the 3 of us agreed. Rebecka got home late last night from getting her work permit accepted, which she was very pleased about. Rebecka will now be staying till November, but she is leaving here from Loloma on Tuesday, so we do not know when she will be back. It looks like it will just be Harry and I in the house, then when Harry leaves in the beginning of August it will just be me :(. That will be very lonely, I hope Rebecka comes back here, or maybe I will travel somewhere else, not to sure.

two of the cutest kids

inside of the hall, the lovely benches

Looking for fruit, little detour on our way home

Anyways, there was about 5 of us in the back of Julie’s truck, we sat on these wooden benches, which were not comfortable at all. The trip there and back ended up taking 90 minutes both ways, with barely any paved roads. It was like a roller coaster, minus the seat belts and minus the fun ha-ha. We were getting bounced around like popcorn in the back of the truck, trying to hold onto things. I felt like she was smuggling Mexican across the boarder, we were so smooched in there. At one point I was sitting on the ground and we hit a bump so big I bunch up on top of the bench again. I never thought I would say this but I missed the pot holes in Twinsburg. I also wished I had more fat on my butt so it didn’t hurt so much! None of the roads are paved and you re driving on sand and grass (like off-roading, i'm sure Eric Sailor would like it.) You got to see how beautiful Africa was, but it was hard to see when your bouncing all around. Oh, the things you see when your in Africa, it is truly a life changing experience. So, about 90 minutes later we finally arrive at this very small church with about 15 people, sounds a lot like my church. It made me really miss everyone from my home town assembly. First, was Gospel, then Breaking of bread, ended with ministry. We used a very small piece of bread for the loaf, and used what tasted like kool-aid for the wine. I was very scared to drink it because water had to be used to make it, and I doubt they boiled it, I seem to be okay so the water must of been fine. The singing here is very lovely, you can sing along, I am getting very good at reading the language, just have no idea what I am singing, unless it is a tune I recognize. 

the back of our packed van, the awesome benches we sat on

Our Safari ride

Becka thinks we should keep this as a pet j/k

After the meeting the people made us lunch, of shima, cold beans, peanuts and a chicken that they just killed when we got there (how I know, because we herd it squaking). The chicken was very chewy but very good, I think I getting use to shima, it wasn't as bad today.Then after lunch we were given a gift of a live chicken and a bag of peanuts. It is funny because when I was writing emails to the missionaries from Africa, they said to always accept gifts with both hands, even if it is live chicken (and here is it actually happening to me ha-ha.) Someone had to hold it by the wings the entire 90 min home so it wouldn't fly away, I think it pooped on Harry. Tomorrow we are actually going to cut off its head, pluck its feathers and cook it (sorry anyone that's a vegan). Tomorrow I will literally have a chicken with its head cut off, no pun intended!! Around 5 we got home, dropping everyone else off on the way, because we seemed to pick up a few people on the way back. I think there was about 9 people in the back this time, but butt is still sore. The trip was especially hard on me because I am still getting over Malaria and I am so tired all the time, but I made it and I am glad I went because I felt like I did a real life safari without all the animals (unless you count the chicken and bugs and dogs.)

Well, I am off for today, hoping to skype with my family, missing everyone so much! We will see what tomorrow brings at the hospital, good night!

Harry holding the chicken

The fruit we found, they are not to good, very bitter

the chicken before we cut the head off

When friends become family

Here at Jean's house with her boy, Courage

In front of Jeans house, our new friend

It is amazing what God does for His children. I have been extremely blessed to be here. I have found helping people and seeing the smiles on the Zambian faces, has been more of a joy that I ever thought possible. Just walking by the kids and seeing them screaming and laughing and smiling and running up to you just to touch you is nothing I can even explain. The warmth you get when they get so happy just because they have touched you. (Imagine how Jesus felt when everyone was so excited to see him and touch him, there is nothing better.) Now take that feeling and times it by 10 when you truly help them and having them thank you, it is like God is blessing you even more when you are helping them. My dad always told me that you get more pleasure helping others then helping yourself, and being here I can see that more then ever (my dad is pretty smart sometimes ;) )

Jean's house on the right and her toilet and shower on left

Day two of Malaria is like getting over the flu. All day today I felt weak and tired and having stomach pains and headaches, it is not fun. Harriett has been so amazing taking care of me; we have become more then friends this week, I consider her a sister now, which makes the time in Zambia so much more enjoyable! We are so alike it is scary, but I appreciate her so much during my time of sickness, especially when I am use to my mom taking care of me. It is funny how little things make you think of your family. It has only been a week and a half and I miss everyone tremendously.  But, I am getting better and was able to leave the house and today was the day that we met our new friend, Jean for lunch (I thought her name was Gin ha-ha oops.) She came to our house and we walked to hers, chatting and learning about one another. She is such a sweet girl, renting a place with her teacher wages, supporting her son, sister and cousin.  I have some pictures down below of her house, they have no electricity and have 4 rooms for 4 people, but this is a lot more then the other village people, who just have huts.

Her sister washing clothes, that was nice to see

Jean's neighbor, so filthy :(

She made us rice and tomatoes, which was surprisingly very good. She asked if we wanted shima or rice and we said rice, im trying to eat shima as less as possible. In august they have a Christian girls camp and that’s all they eat, with beans and caterpillars, and they eat that every meal for a week. I might end up losing weight that week, compared to the weight gain this past week. We invited her to some gospel meetings later in the week and we got her number to make her dinner at our place. After the visit we felt more like family. She does not have many friends being new and we just enjoyed spending time with her. Later, we went to the market again I got eggs, and bread and rice, so we are actually able to make a meal. Not much to tell on a Saturday, on our day off. Tomorrow we are going to a smaller local assembly, which I am very use to and it will feel like home (besides the not being able to understand it part.) The Malaria is really catching up to me today; I am very tired, weak and achy, off to bed, goodnight!

other little kids that came over when they saw white people

the mice someone was selling, Jean bought one to cook

An unexpected turn to my day

My new set of pills

Waking up this morning was a real struggle; I could not get myself out of bed. Waking up at 6 Monday-Friday was hard enough, because I am use to working night shift at the hospital and rarely having to get up early, let alone 5 days in a row. This morning I just did not feel right, and to add to that, it was extremely cold, but I dragged myself out of bed, thinking thank goodness it is Friday.  I had headache, stomachache, weakness, fatigue and neck stiffness. None of these symptoms seemed alarming to me, I told Harriet and just went to work. I did not bother to tell Julie, our head missionary nurse but Harriet thought they should know. They told me that I might have Malaria and that I should get tested. They took a sample of my blood and put it on a slide to test it once it dried. I decided I wasn’t that bad and keep going on with the workday. I kept feeling tired and weak and everyone wanted me to go home and rest. Around 9 o clock they finally convinced me.

Before I left I had to check on Robert to see how he was doing. He was out of bed and I was very happy about that. He was still in a lot of pain and was throwing up after eating food. I explained to the father he needs to stick with liquids right now and to slowly work his way up to solids. I don’t know if he understood me because he keep nodding and saying “ya” ha-ha, I tired. I went to get him some pain medication, which is only Tylenol (usually after surgery it is morphine, poor kid.) I said my good byes and let him know I would check on him tomorrow, praying Robert will be better, I guess only time will tell.

I went straight home and went to bed, I fell asleep, to be woken up around 11 with Julie entering the house. I thought I was dreaming, it was like I couldn’t wake up. She came into my room, telling me that the slide came back and I had Malaria, I was like “what, there is no way I have it.” I thought I was still dreaming, but I wasn’t and she was there with my drugs. It is a 3 day supply of 8 pills a day, 4 in the morning and 4 at night. So I sat up and took the first 4, still groggy. Then she proceeded to tell me that on Sunday I will need to start taking new Malaria pills, because mine didn’t work haha naw you think. She ended up leaving and I went back to bed. The pills made me feel very dizzy, like I was floating, it was hard for me to fall back asleep. Around 2 o clock Harry came home and brought me lunch, I got up and ate that, and felt a lot better. Then I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I just stayed up and read and did some studying. Everyone from the mission came and stopped by to see how I was doing, it was very nice. They were shocked at how well I looked, they told me I had 160 parasites from the mosquito (which isn’t very much, because they caught it early.) It is a good thing I work at a hospital and they have the resources to treat it and they know the early signs. I did not think I had many but apparently I did and had no idea. Here I was taking a nap everyday which is unusual for me and that’s a major sign.

Well now that I have scared everyone, I am doing a lot better, I will let you know tomorrow, because some times the next day is the worst, but I feel good right now, stayed in the house most of the day. We were all talking about it, trying to figure out how I got it, people don’t usually get it till 7-10 days in the country and I have been here just a week. They said that it usually hits you when your immune system is down and that would make sense because I went 5 days with barely any sleep. So, I am thinking I got it at the flight house or the airport. I did not have any bug spray on and I did not use my mosquito net while there. While I have been in Loloma I have been religious about my bug spray and net at night. You get Malaria from the lady mosquitoes, which are quiet, you can hear the males, so that’s where they get silent but deadly here. I am not itching anywhere so I have no idea where I got bit, so who knows. I am going back to the states and going to get my money back, those were expensive pills and I got Malaria within a week of being here, they need to know they don’t really work. So anyways I am so sorry I don’t have any pictures, and not really any interesting stories, we will see what tomorrow brings, off for now.

Scrubbed up and ready to go....

ya, I actually got a picture in the OR :/

Hernia repair or tubes tied not sure? haha

concent forms here-fingerprints?

Wow, what a day today!! Being in the operating room was quite an encounter. The doctor preformed 6 surgeries in 5 hours, and they were one after the other and he still had 2 more to do before 2pm

The First surgery was on a one-week year old, the little girl could breast feed because part of her tongue was attached to her roof of her mouth. The doctor tried putting her under anesthesia and it didn’t work so he preformed the surgery with no painkillers, the baby was crying away. Let me tell you how hard it is to cut a babies tongue and keep her mouth open while crying. I had to hold the baby’s mouth open, another had to hold her arms and another had to widen her mouth while the doctor cut. That was truly hard to stand through without shedding a tear. But thankfully it only took 30 minutes and I was happy to wrap her back up in her blanket and give her back to her mom.

Roberts arm :( you can see why he was in pain

The next surgery was about 5 minutes later with a 10-year-old boy named Robert! This boy has been in a few of my pictures in previous blog’s. He has just stolen my heart from the moment he smiled at me; he is the taller boy with the baseball cap on. He is so sweet, and friendly, I am so happy he has a loving father because I would want to take him home with me. Anyways, he had a snakebite a while back and had a procedure where they open up his arm to reduce the swelling and take out the venom, now the doctor was stitching him back up weeks later. First off they gave him some painkillers to kind of knock him out, well the next thing you know is his toes and legs are cringing at the pain as they were sticking a needle through his arm sowing him up. I asked the doctor if he could have some more pain meds, apparently in Zambia sucking up the pain is the way to go. I could see his blood pressure go up and heart rate rise and I was just getting sick watching this boy go through this. So finally he got more drugs and he kind of fell asleep, but his toes were still flexing and a one point a tear rolled down his face, and I just wiped it away, I wanted to hold his hand the entire time, my heart was breaking! After about an hour they were down and we rolled him back to the pediatric ward. Hours later I went to go check on him, Robert was sweating, he felt hot and he was in so much pain. I asked one of the nurses if he had any pain medications yet, they replied no. I made it my job to find him some, I wrote on his chart his temperature, my assessment and what pain medications he should get. Then I went and got him Panadol, which isn’t that strong considering his surgery. I wiped off his sweaty face and elevated his poor arm. At this moment I had to be his advocate, he couldn’t speak English and in their culture they just endure everything. I told the father “if he has a fever tell the nurse, if he is in pain tell the nurse.” We need to watch for infection, which is very common after surgery here; this boy was one heck of a trooper.

The next 3 surgeries were women getting their tubes tied. All 3 women had 10 kids each, they were all about 45-50, just shocking at the age women still have kids. We were making jokes saying these women and their kids could be an entire village, the doctor forced these women to get this procedure done, he said 10 is enough ha-ha! What I love about this doctor is he prays before each surgery, and also there is a short gospel message on the loud speaker every morning, being at a Christian hospital is a privilege and I will miss it when I come back home!

The doctor also did a hernia repair and the anesthesia did not work, and here the doctor is digging around in this lady insides and she is just screaming (which I have never really herd from a women in pain yet) and I could not believe he carried on with the surgery, you know it had to hurt like the dickens. You would never see that in America, EVER, God bless them.

Harry and I on our run (well run/walk)

making lemonade-very proud of ourselves

That was about the extent of my morning, keeping sterile is not as strict here and I was aloud to help and stand close and watch, and they wonder why the infection rate is so high ha-ha I wonder why. Later, in the afternoon Harriet and I made our first lemonade from fresh squeezed lemons, which we were very proud of, it was delicious. Then after we went for a run on the airstrip, which is about a mile long. Try running in long skirts, on sand, in 80-degree sun, where the altitude is very high. Lets just say we weren’t running very fast and were really out of breath. That was the first time we worked out the entire time we have been here. We are going to try and make it a regular daily activity. I made a joke to the doctor asking if he would do lipo suction on me before I leave and he laughed and said exercise and don’t eat so much. That is easier said then done when you eat as much as we do. Then we met a 23 year old school teacher on our walk back home who invited us for lunch tomorrow, lets hope it isn’t shima. Her name is Gin and was very friendly; making friends here is so easy. The locals love white people; they call us chandelles (sp?) Later that evening we went to the market to buy food and just relaxed the rest of the right. We are both very happy tomorrow is the end of the workweek, getting up at 6 is not fun! Well I am off, I wrote a whole lot tonight, sorry, but I also have some pictures, which I know everyone loves, till tomorrow!

caterpillars-eww

A little boy, eating caterpillars like peanuts. You get them  in bags and then un-peal them and then eat them, no thanks

try running on this with a skirt on

our new friend, Gin! She loved my phone and that we could take pic ourselves

all my years of nursing school all wrapped into one week

Tonight I am trying to write this blog fast, only an hour till the internet shuts off. You don't realize how the internet is such a privilege, and with my iphone always having wifi. At the hospital today I got to help deliver 2 babies today, pretty amazing! The first birth was a complication and it is pretty amazing that these women have no pain killers at all and she don't even scream or flinch. I am flinching just watching her (I thought I was tolerate to pain, I guess not seeing what these women go through). The baby was face side up and he would not come out, then the doctor had to almost do surgery on her, again with nothing for sedation or pain! In their culture women don't speak when spoken to or don't complain or any of that, just makes me embarrassed for always grabbing Tylenol when I have any kind of ache or pain. A few hours later another lady went into labor, i helped guide the baby out and clean her up, cut the umbilical cord and deliver the placenta ( sorry guys if you find this disgusting). After I cleaned the baby and weighed her and clothed her and gave her to her mom to hold for a bit! She was very happy after 5 boys she finally had a girl! Then right after I took the baby into the maternity room where other women were waiting and when I entered they started cheering and clapping and dancing. It was quite comical, i was right there with them clapping and dancing, they thought that was funny. Down below you can see the picture of me and the baby girl, it was a fun experience!!

Just some beds and wheelchairs chilling outside in the grounds of the hospital

It's a girl!

Later in the night there was a youth group, that was great, almost 50 kids there, it reminded me of a conference sing back home!! (side note: outside my house there is quite a commotion: yelling, singing, clapping. It is very loud, there must be some kind of celebration.) Anyways the kids were all singing bible songs, and this one was in English so i could sing along and understand, I enjoyed it! Then we watched a movie and there was a gospel message and muffins after, it was so wonderful seeing so many young people and all knowing English and knowing about My Savior!!

a picture of a goat just roaming a round-no big deal

Tomorrow I will be with the doctor in the "theater" which means OR, and getting to help and watch his surgeries, hopefully that goes well. I am telling you it is like all my years of nursing school all wrapped into one week, learning so much!! Well better let Harry use the computer now, till tomorrow!!

This lady reminds me of the jungle book!

The youth group

A Wallie, gets rid of mosquitoes, i cant kill these, all over the walls

I could get use to this :)

The charts, with pills!

The middle of the hospital

one of the male rooms

laundry at the hospital

pharmacy

fish at the market

rows and rows of fish, it smelled pleasant

Harry bought sugar cane for 20cents aka 1k

girls at the shop that were playing hide and seek with me

its and to see this one, but the one lady has a baby on her back and the other has a live chicken in her hand

Today, I decided to post more pictures and write a little less. I am hoping to get a call from my mother tonight!!!
The second day at the hospital was a bit different from yesterday, which is a nice change of pace, Tuesdays are a lot more calm. During this mornings rounds, I saw a lumbar puncture done right there at the bedside ( which is a sterile procedure for all of you who wouldn't know that) for a patient that was seizing for hours, she probably has so much brain damage I don't know if she will make it through the night. Also the doctor about did CPR on a patient because she had no pulse and had a oxygen stat of about 70 (normal 95-100%). Rounds took a little loner then normal, but of course we had our tea break after with muffins. Boy, do they feed us to well here. We have a tea break about 3 times a day, im glad I like tea!
After rounds I was sent to help out in maternity, which was nice! I got to assess mothers and figure out what week they were pregnant, and if their child had a heart beat. My stethoscope came in handy today, the object the nurse was using was preposterous. I let her listen with my stethoscope and she was like "wow, you can hear it so well." haha imagine that, it works! But I have to say I enjoyed it, I mastered it after about 10 mothers and I was assessing them on my own and writing it on their charts, which i have a picture of. When they were done we gave them some iron pills and folic acid, i kid you not they were in scrapes of paper. For instance they get 14 pills so in a ripped piece of paper the 14 pills were scrunched in it (interesting). I will be helping her again on friday, which I am sure will lessen her work load, she saw about 50 mothers today. After that I was done for the day, it was an easy one. The sad thing was seeing the lady that coded, died :( first death.
After that my day was great, had a great lunch of chili which looked and tasted like my moms and it made me miss her. Of course we had dessert and what do you know...tea (surprise surprise.) Around 3 we went home and went to the market and bought a few things. Then I took a nap and did some reading till it was time for dinner. For dinner we had home made corn dogs and fries, then brownies and tea again. We played games and talked till we came home, now I am writing you guys-so related to my title I could get use to this!! Well my hour is up, don't want to get to stingy, hope to have more interesting stories tomorrow!