March 4th, 2012 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Greetings from Africa! I wanted to share a few of the things I have seen and expierenced so far. I by no means can write about everything, but I will share some of my observations and highlights.
The people of Ghana are much more diverse than I realized. I am in a rural area of the country. Because our hospital is the only one in the area, we see patients from all sorts of tribes. There are so many different dialects/languages spoken here. Sometimes its hard to find an interpreter that knows the language of the patient. The offical language of Ghana is English, but out here the only people that speak it are the nurses at the hospital. Because I work in a rural area, the people wear very traditional African clothing. Bright colors, women in dresses and skirts of bold patterns. The people here are absoultely the toughest people I have ever met. Literally, I think any American would be shocked at what these people endure. In the hospital pain medication and anesthetics are very limited. We often have to do major procedures with no or limited medicine, and they barely even flinch. Even the children…..its amazing the pain tolerance here. A couple of weeks before I came an emergency C-section was performed with only local anesthetic to the incision site……can you imagine what that woman went through? I have seen so many children walking around with painful bone infections and they are taking nothing for the pain. These people endure so much physical pain and suffering. I have seen so many malnurished patients. There is a malnutrition center here where mothers can take thier children to help get them what they need…..but it is still very prevalent. Babies with swollen bellies and men and women that are literally skin and bones is common place, and it breaks my heart.
The trees and plant life here is amazing. All sorts of different kinds, with twisting roots that come out of the ground. There is a neat tree with awesome pink flowers outside my window. Exotic plants grow here, so the landscape is beautiful. Oh and the dirt……….the red dirt of Africa. Its everywhere. Caked into everything. I wash my feet twice a day and they are still red. There is just no getting around it. Huts are the typical structure seen here, outside of the hospital compound where I stay and work.
I did get the chance to attend my first market day already. It was packed with people, items, noise, and sounds. Bright bold colorful fabrics are everywhere. There were other goods for sell too that I didn’t expect shoes simalar to crocs, baby powder, and even a suitecase stand! It was a great time, and I hope to get the chance to go at least one more time. I did get some fabric and I meet a local lady that may be able to sew me a skirt.
The animals here in Ghana are not excatly what I expected. Goats goats and more goats! They roam all around the village and even by the hospital grounds. Chickens and roosters are around to. The skinniest cattle I have ever seen in my life. I have a lizard friend in my house. …….So I was going to the bathroom the other day and out runs this huge lizard from behind the toliet!!!!!! It scared me half to death. I used my stealthy moves to get it to run into the room nobody sleeps in and I stuffed a sheet under the door, so hopefully he stays there and I don’t find him in my bed one night! I also have a gecko roaming my house, but I like him. My shower (which I am so thankful for) does have an ant infestation so needless to say I keep my shoes on. Oh and of course don’t forget the bats. Yes bats, everywhere each night. We walk back in the dark from night rounds with them flying all around in the trees above us. I am told they are fruit bats, but still bats freak me out. And the most abundant animal in this country…..the mosquito! I have my fair share of bites, but it is not nearly as bad as it is during the rainy season which starts the month after I leave here. I saw 2 camels the other day. Oh and another post coming soon about my run in with a CROCODILE!!!
The weather is HOT. For example…..I just looked at the temp in my house I am staying in…..97 degrees and that’s inside in the shade. I sweat constantly. Night is really no better. Thank goodness for the 1 fan in my room though, for circulating hot air is better than no circulation at all.
Medicine is so different here. Rarley do I know for sure what I am treating. Lab tests are limited to the very basics, and only avaliable at times. The disease I am seeing here is a mixture of things I see at home and things that I have no idea about. I am getting good at treating malaria. Yesterday, I took care of a poor little boy with a poisionous snakebite…..which is all too common here. On the typical outpatient clinic day about 500 patients come through to be seen. Needless to say its crazy. The hospital is also full of very sick patients, which we see twice a day usually. The heat and stench of sickness in the hospital is very hard to get used to, I am still trying. There is a tuberculosis village here on the hospital grounds. I have not had any chance to visit there, however I am told about 80 patients are getting treatment there.
