I had the chance to go to the orphanage one last time today. It was great to play with the kids as always, but knowing that I would never see them again made it very hard to leave. They are precious children and it was easy to fall in love with them from the start.
Benny
Noah. He found a mud puddle.
Abigail
Friday, November 13, 2009
My first sip of the local drink, chibwantu. It's made of roots and cornmeal. It's obviously delicious...
Last Tuesday, 8 of us split up and went to three orphanages here in Choma. The one I was at houses 21 kids from 7 weeks - 12 years. The children are allowed to stay until they are 18. Most of them are not orphans in the sense that we normally think. Most have had one parent die and the remaining parent is unable to care for them. Most of the kids are between 1 and 3 years. When we arrived, they ran to us with their arms up, wanting to be held. It was very sad to see what they go through, but it was wonderful to hold and comfort the sick ones and play with the well ones. Wana, the girl pictured above, is two years old. I would have guessed her to be about 8 months. She is unable to sit up, and she cannot use her legs or her left arm. She scoots around by using her right forearm and pulls the rest of her body behind her. She grinds her teeth so much that she only has little stubs left and can only eat baby foods. She goes to physical therapy once every two weeks, but there are just not enough resources to get her the help she needs.
Wednesday, we traveled to Lusaka, the capitol city. We stayed in a catholic guesthouse, which is run like a hotel and it was very nice. It was great to not have to worry about spiders or sleeping with a mosquito net! It was like a mini vacation of sorts, because the city life had more things that made it feel closer to home for us.
Yesterday, three of us went back to the same orphanage. This time, I knew what to expect, so it was a better experience than the first week. Hopefully, we will have another opportunity to see these kids again sometime this week.
This morning I woke up at 6 am to a storm! I laid there for a long time just listening to it, then I got up and sat on the porch to watch it. I was even cold enough for a sweatshirt! My feelings about rainy season have changed since this morning, though. We have had literally THOUSANDS of bugs in our house. There are gnats, termites, moths, flying ants, and some other kind of flying thing that are all looking for shelter from the rain and they are choosing our bathrooms and kitchen. I don't typically have freak out moments, but when we were in the middle of killing all the termites taking over, the electricity went out and the generator ran out of fuel. We were in the dark with all the bugs and it was not my finest moment.
Thank you to all who sent me encouragement notes and get well cards! I just received them all today. It was great to open seven letters from seven people when I wasn't expecting to have any more mail while being here!
So, it's been quite a while since I've made any updates. We've continued to do clinical work, go out to the villages, go to our local churches, and have fun day trips. I have lots to share, but will just stick to explaining about what I have pictured. The Zimba OR is pictured. That is where I saw a MVA (clearing the uterus after a woman has miscarried early-term), resetting of a broken arm, keloid removal, and a chest tube insertion on Monday and Tuesday of this week. The boy dancing was a part of the Independence Day events on October 24th. This is Zambia's 45th year of independece from Great Britain. Each school in Choma sends a group of students to perform for the District Commissioner (like a mayor). Thousands of people come to watch the dancers. We got to sit under the tent and were served cold drinks with the District Commissioner! We visited a traditional healer, or a medicine man. He told us he was called on by his ancestors to become a healer. He said they come to him in dreams and tell him what roots, berries, etc to use to treat specific illnesses. He showed us the room he works out of. The village right next to the compound is Mochipapa. We went there on Thursday and had a short visit with some o the women and children to talk about health issues. We had a great time educating, playing, and getting to know them all! Today, we traveled to Chabbabboma, where there is a huge banana plantation. They have over 10,000 banana trees. We got there and the village women greeted us with singing and dancing. We had a tour of the plantation and then drove to the near by lake, Lake Cariba. It is man-made and is over 200 miles long! It was gorgeous. The women made us lunch and we headed back. It was a long day of bumpy roads, but we had a great time. The Zambians have told us that it rains every year on Independence Day, and that is usually the start of rainy season. It did not rain this year, though. There was only the one rain, and none since then. It's really windy right now, though, and sounds like a storm could be coming, so we're all keeping our fingers crossed!
I was expecting dirt, dust, and more dirt when I came to Africa, but these beautiful flowers are all over!
The Zimba Hospital OR
Trees outside our compound
A boy, dancing for the District Commissioner at the Independence Day festivities
The traditional healer showing some of the girls his medicines and tools
Mochipapa village kids
A little guy enjoying his nshima and kapenta (similar to sardines)
Preschoolers. Very weary of us white people.
Cutie
Mochipapa moms and their babies
My roommates, Keri and Alicia, and I.
Few of the girls at Lake Cariba
Lizard in the banana tree
Weird, spiky fruit. Bitter, don't try it.
The "road" we took to Chabbabboma
Kara, Brittani, and I discovered recently that we were all on the same missions trip to Panama in the summer of '04. Five years later, we're in Zambia together!
Hello! The past week has been extremely busy! (I feel like I start all of my entries like that, but it's always true). Last Saturday night, one of the girls became sick with some kind of stomach virus, got extremely dehydrated, and then came down with malaria. She spent two nights in the local clinic we've been doing some of our clinical hours at. She's been recovering well since being released.
I spent Monday and Tuesday at the Zimba Mission Hospital again this week. The first day, I was in the outpatient clinic and in the lab. I was able to get my first experiences doing blood draws so that was exciting. The second day, my partner Alissa and I were in the pediatrics ward. Four of our eleven patients were HIV positive children under the age of five and were admitted for illnesses secondary to the HIV. I knew it was going to be tough to see children suffer, but it's been emotionally tiring thinking so much about the death and injustice we have witnessed. A seven-year-old girl had been bitten by a snake on her left hand, which was already deformed from birth. The bite caused her wrist to flex back toward her elbow and could not be manipulated back to the normal position. She was no longer on any medications, but was being held there until a doctor from the capital city can come down to fix it. Until then, her grandmother ad little sister are sleeping in her hospital bed with her on the concrete floor. She could not speak English, but she loved having new company to sit with and draw. Wednesday, a few of us went to the Choma Hospital's AIDS clinic. The patients get check-ups and ART (ant-retro viral therapy) if they qualify. I sat in with the doctor and registered children when they came in. It's been interesting to see not only the clinical side of the health care, but also seeing the administrative side. There is no filing system. Each patient has a file with a number on the front. They tell the worker their number and the worker looks though every file until they find the right number. Thursday morning I woke up feeling pretty tired and a little foggy. One of my roommates had a headache and got tested right away for malaria and had it. Around lunch I had a headache and felt a little warm so I decided to take my temperature. It was 102.6 so I went to get tested and I had it too. I was very blessed, though, and only felt sick for two days. The treatment medications have really helped me feel better. Thank you to everyone to who has been praying for my recovery!
Today we had the opportunity to visit a school for the disabled children of Choma. Most of them are hearing impaired, some are visually impaired, and the rest are mentally handicapped. There is a group of Japanese teachers volunteering at the school right now and they held a Japanese culture day. They invited us to go watch Japanese and Zambian traditional dances. It was an amazing sight to see Japanese, Zambians, Americans, children, adults, disabled, and blind all dancing, singing, and celebrating together!
Visually impaired students leading each other
My roommate, Keri, using her sign language to communicate with the kids
Brothers watching the Zambian dance
Picture 1: An older gentleman waiting outside the outpatient clinic at Zimba Hospital
This week has been so tiring! The good kind of tired, though. Early Monday morning, eight of us traveled an hour south to the Zimba Mission Hospital to observe and get some hands on experience for two days. The first day, I was in the men and women's medical ward. I gave meds and injections and took vitals. Best thing of the day, though, was one of my patients showing me his gangrene foot. It was not bandaged or covered and the flies were all over it. The smell was overpowering and his last two toes were shriveled and black. I could see his tendons and bones. Sadly, he would not let the surgeons amputate. He was under the impression that he could put medicine on it and it would be healed.
The second day was my favorite. I was in the theatre (which is what they call the OR) with my partner, Estie. The surgical nurse asked what we wanted to do while in the OR and we said we thought we were observing. She asked if we'd ever been a part of surgery and I said no, but that I would try anything if she just told me how to do it. Then she asked if I would like to scrub in. Of course I said yes! I got on my gown, cap, mask, and gloves and waited for everyone to be ready. The patient, a four-year-old boy, was brought in and laid on the table. He was so brave. They inserted his IV and prepped him before giving him anesthesia. The doctor scrubbed in, but the nurse was not scrubbed in yet. I asked why and she said "Today, you are the nurse!" I got to hand him tools, cut sutures, and hold the incision open!
Thursday and Friday, we stayed at The Salvation Army Hospital in Chikankata, which is about four hours north. There is a hospital, a nursing school, and high school, and a biomedical college all in one compound. I was able to sit in on a mental health class with the nursing students and spent an hour or so talking with them about their schooling and how it compares to our program. Today I was in the children's ward and the maternity ward. Most of the kids I saw had been admitted a few days ago and were feeling better, but one little baby boy broke my heart. He was the most malnourished child I've seen since being here. If he makes it, I would be very surprised. He was literally skin and bones and did not even have the energy to let out a cry or hold up his head. The doctors had put in a feeding tube, but the mother made them take it out 30 minutes later because she did not like seeing the baby in discomfort with a tube up his nose. I cannot imagine the pain of watching your child slowly dying in such a way.
The rain on Saturday and Sunday brought some nice, cool weather, but the heat has come back with a vengeance! I love being here and have been learning so much, but this week was the toughest with missing family and friends. I'll be so happy to get back to seeing you all!
