August 27th, 2017 by jenniferolmstead

Got up early and read for a while. I spent some time just lying in bed and thinking and praying. I really felt I needed to focus. Then I got up and read my bible. I got coffee while I was at the table writing a card. Today was the last day of class and I wanted to give a card to the students. They will probably need to have in translated.
When the others woke up we had a chat session before going to the kitchen. We discussed a patient from yesterday that we are all following and learning about. I reminded them that sassy does not start breakfast until we are all at the table. She doesn’t know how to ask when we want to eat so she waits for the signal which is us all at the table. It was rice pancakes thing with peanut sauce again. I’m planning on making breakfast tomorrow and I’m quite looking forward to it.
I got to the hospital a little late, due to waiting for breakfast. I went to the women ward for a while, as I have only sent one day there. I was there in time for rounds. I left shortly after as no one would speak to me. They were all busy and felt like I was just in the way. So, I went back to the peds floor. I did stop in at HDU to check on a patient from yesterday. It’s an interesting case and I’m enjoying watching as it unfolds. The peds floor was really slow as the doctor had not rounded yet at 11;30. So I went to NICU for a while. That turned out to be a good plan as they were very busy and I was able to feed one baby and hold a few others. They feed some through NG and then never pick them up to be burped or just held. That seemed like a bad plan so I picked them up. Some I only cradled in my hands in the beds as they are very fragile. Then we all went to lunch. Helen took the day off and the others all left after lunch. Holly wanted to prepare for addressing the class today. I was going to follow after I got my stuff from peds but when I got there it was quite busy. The doctor had just finished rounding and they were frantically trying to get the 12 and 2pm meds given as it was after 1pm. They also had patients to discharge and some lined up waiting to be admitted. There were no beds until some could be discharged. When it all got caught up three had to be taken to another ward as there were no more beds. We even put siblings in the same bed as they had the same problem, infection following chicken pox. I tried to get some pictures but I’m not sure how well they turned out. The lighting is not the best.
As it neared 3pm and I was getting ready to go to class a call was received that someone was coming to photograph the ward and it needed to be cleaned up. So, I stayed and help straighten up. It was quite messy considering how quickly so many things had been done. It was fun thought to pass meds and write notes. I even asked a couple questions in Bengali and got answers I understood. That was my shining moment for the week I think.
I made it to class before any of the students arrived and got some paperwork done. Holly was there waiting to get in. I assured her the students were always late as they did not leave the floor until they are relieved. A great habit. Holly was very prepared and gave them a good talk about some basic nursing values. Then we played a game. I had brought two buckets and two balls. We had two teams and they had to get the ball into the bucket from across the room 10 times. It was great fun to watch as they changed their approach and found creative ways to get the ball in. Afterwards I talked about how when we set goals in life we often have to change our tactics to reach them and may need to get help from others. I used some of the things I notice them doing as examples. They really enjoyed it I think. They all wanted photos so after the game we went outside, between rain showers for photo session. They are all such amazing girls, I guess the are young women not girls. I was hanging around outside while Holly went to speak to a nurse in charge about some paper work she needs for school. I ended up kinda walking with two of the students as we attempted to talk when I was told to get into a car. It turned out to be her family come to pick her up so I got a ride to the turn off anyway. I still had to walk up the stairs. It’s quite a climb to get to the house.
When I got home the girls were baking a cake as tomorrow is Helens birthday. We all had tea and played a game of Yahtzee. I haven’t played in years and was surprised I remembered how. I had fun. Now we are all waiting for maam and sir to get home. They called that they were close but we have seen them yet. I’m guessing dinner will not be served till they’re safely home. The girls are really eager to see their parents. It’s so neat to watch them as they really are a close family. With both parents being doctors for the hospital they hired two ladies to help care for the girls when they were little. Now they are part of the family and stay with them when maam and sir are away. The girls do not leave for school with taking a moment for their mother to pray for them. It’s just so awesome to watch. I feel so privileged to have been able to spend time in their home.