We worked hard today, that’s to say the least! We started this morning around 7:30 and rounded at the hospital. I started in the pediatrics ward by observing the other students to get familiar with the system here and to figure out how they handle certain issues. There are 3 other US med students here. Two of them, Bryn and Martin will leave this weekend but Jake has another two weeks left. Rich is the attending physician here and he has been here for about 5-6 months. We also got 13 new volunteers today which includes a pediatrician, dentist, optometrist and an few of other docs and their wives.
I did get to assist on a breech delivery early this morning also. Rich was preparing to do a C-section on her but we stepped away for just a few minutes to get ready and the midwives came running to tell us that a foot was sticking out as the woman had started pushing. We quickly returned and I assisted Rich with the delivery. No such thing as epidurals here by the way, these ladies are tough! It took a little while but a tiny little girl was born. I was on the receiving end for the baby and handled the recusitation as she needed a little assistance with breathing and stimulation. Luckily she did fine so I will check on her again tomorrow to see how she is doing.
We had clinic today and saw patients until about 8pm. We saw a lot of patient with malaria, typhoid, GI parasites, and pregnancy complications. The patients just keep coming and some have to return Wednesday to be seen. We had to force the nurse to give us a little break around 2:30 for lunch and by that time I was starving. The food here has been really good so far and Wendy (missionary’s wife) made cupcakes to celebrate Valentine’s day which was really nice. Her son Carter also distributed little gifts to everyone.
Since Sheila and I missed the Chiefs’ Celebration last night we decided to go tonight after work at 10. We walked to town following the beat of the drums and observed the women as they were dancing and singing. It was really interesting and worth seeing but it probably wasn’t too smart of us to be walking around by ourselves that late at night.
Tomorrow is procedure day so hopefully I will see some interesting things… I will try to keep you posted.