Day 1 at The Surgery was busy. Walking into my first patient, I was handed a needle and asked to drain the patient’s left knee. Ten minutes, 50 cc’s of yellow fluid, and 40 mg of triamcinalone later, the patient was up and about his day. Patient number two: I was again handed a needle and ask to do a paracentesis for comfort of a man traveling to another country. Thirty minutes and 7.5 liters later, he too was up and on his way.
The rest of the day was sprinkled with a vast range of pathology. There were many patients with histories or active infection of bilharzia, a blood fluke I honestly had never heard of, until I looked it up and realized the name I learned it as was schistosomiasis. This particular parasite lives up to 15 years, some saying even longer, causing primarily non-specific fatigue, but can sometimes be more troublesome in unlucky patients. One couple, who were told they were both infertile, were seen at The Surgery and both treated for bilharzia after positive tests. Three months later, they return, and report they are 2 months pregnant. You have to wonder if bilharzia may have been the culprit to their unsuccessful attempts of pregnancy in the past. I find this parasite incredibly fascinating, and will definitely be researching it extensively this month.
The entire afternoon of my first day was spent doing medical examinations on Ugandans looking to contract with the United States Army. This was a very unique experience for many reasons that I won’t list here – mostly because I’m too lazy to type it out. I’ll discuss it with those who ask. 😉
Overall, my first day was great. The hospital is very nice, having 7 consultation rooms, phlebotomy, nursing consultation, midwives, x-ray, ultrasound, pharmacy, an immunization clinic, and a small emergency department that includes a resuscitation room as well as a critical care room. They use part of the emergency department as a short stay unit, for patients requiring a few days of extended care, such as malaria treatment. Though malaria isn’t common in Kampala, it is in other parts of Uganda, and we did have one patient discharged today with a positive malaria test.
There isn’t air conditioning, but open windows and fans provide for some relief from the heat. It’s been about 70-80 degrees every day with a great amount of humidity.
At the hospital there are Ugandan ladies who make lunch for the hospital every day. This was my first experience having Ugandan food. I already forgot what they called each component, but it consisted of one of their most popular dishes that is made from plantains with a purple peanut sauce covering it. This was served with rice with beef and thin sauce, along with potato. I enjoyed experiencing a traditional meal.
Day 2 at The Surgery was very different than Day 1. The day was much slower, with fewer patients to see. I worked with a pediatrician so most of my patients were children. Thankfully, none were overly ill. Most patients had common illnesses I see commonly back in the States, but there was one particular patient with suspected glucose 6 phosphate deficiency, which I have only read about with books.
We left work around 4:00 and stopped by Acacia mall. The mall is very nice, with multiple stores, restaurants and a Cinemax. This is a higher end mall in Kampala, very different from the area we are staying in, so it was interesting to see the contrasting environments.
Once home, we made dinner and ate together with the other residents at Claire’s. It’s so amazing to be able to spend time with people from all over the world, discussing their reasons for travel, and hearing the stories they have to offer. Dessert was half a mango I bought from Jessica down the road. She is a lovely Ugandan with supposedly the best fruits around. I have been eating her baby bananas every morning for breakfast, and after this mango, I have to agree with the rumors. 🙂