April 23rd, 2019 by Galit Rudelson

It has been a couple of days, so I will just tell a couple of stories from the days. I am currently writing during a storm. The thunder is constantly, quietly rolling in the background, and with each flash of lightning the lights dim for a second. There are a lot of power outages here. Today the outage lasted about 5 hours. It started while in the hospital. I did not realize how much of a difference the fans make. I never even feel them blowing, but when the power goes off, it instantly becomes significantly hotter. I find it interesting that despite the fact that this has happened all but one day that I have been here, the local Ghanians all complain about the heat. I would have thought that this is normal, but they all said that there has lately been a drastic increase in blackouts. For me, I think it is part of the experience, and vaguely enjoy them. Makes it seem like a bit of comradery.
We had a patient who needed a D&C (for miscarriage). The entire procedure was done in a room with no fan on and two windows open for the heat. It is an interesting experience to be doing a procedure, and hearing a rooster outside. For the procedure we wore aprons that kind of look like thick cooking aprons. We took our shoes off and put on rain boots. The bed the patient lays on is covered by a plastic sheet, which the patient is responsible for buying herself at the market across the street, and placing onto the bed herself. The entire procedure is done without anesthesia! Our patient was yelling (in Twi) “Im dying, Im dying” and the doctor asked her “How old are you, you are embarrassing yourself.”
This links with my point in last post, about how different patients are treated here. In the US I am used to us guiding patients through experiences with a soft hand and shoulder to cry on. Here everything is spoken plainly, as if encouraging an athlete to be tough. One patient had bleeding at 39 weeks pregnant, and did not come to the hospital, and her baby died. The doctor informed her that it is her fault her baby died. That she was counseled on when to come to the hospital, and she did not listen, and the outcome is a dead baby. I was surprised to hear this! And what was more surprising, the patient nodded solemnly, that she understood. This is just a natural interaction between doctors and patients.
I have made 3 new friends! They are Ghanian Medical Students, from nearby town of Kumasi. They are on their 5th of 6 years of training, doing their community research projects. I went over to their house today. They were just as curious about life as an American medical student, as I was about Ghanian medical school. I will probably write more about them as I get to now them better.
I should head to sleep, as it is 9:30pm, and the roosters start calling at 5:00am. Tomorrow is Friday, so I will get to sleep in soon! This weekend I am going to a wedding, funeral, and party all in one day. Dorcas and Rachael helped me pick out outfits for each. Then the next day we are going to church (also picked out an outfit). Very excited, although a little nervous for the party.