Alright, folks, things have been crazy since I landed in Kijabe. Let me tell you about my first three days – it’s been a wild ride of learning, hills, high altitude, and eye-opening medicine! My introduction to Kijabe Hospital started with a fantastic meet-up with Gladys, the Graduate Medical Education Director. She gave me the grand tour, and wow, this place is massive! We hit the rooftop of the education building, and the view was unreal. Gladys pointed out all the departments: the busy Outpatient Department (OPD), Maternal and Child Health (MCH), and specialties like ENT, Ophthalmology, and Oncology. We also checked out the Chronic Care Center (CCC), doing awesome work with HIV, TB, diabetes, and soon hypertension. Oh, and there were baboons just hanging out on the chapel roof – talk about a photo op!
To the west, you could see CURE, the pediatric sister hospital. It’s a whole medical community.
After the tour, I got to meet one of my attendings, Dr. Yulu. We clicked right away, and she helped me sort out my schedule. I’m pumped for the learning opportunities here. Day one ended with an interesting surprise. I got back to my place and found I had a new housemate, Oh no! Turns out, it was an amazing Intensivist from Maryland. What a blessing! In 30 minutes, this individual schooled me on ventilators – something I was still fuzzy on even after my ICU rotation. Definitely a humbling (and super helpful) way to end the day.
The next couple of days were all about getting into the flow with the local residents. These doctors are incredibly dedicated, acting as consultants to the medical officers, and they’re serious about research and evidence-based practice. It’s really inspiring to see. Working in the OPD was like diving into a crazy-busy urgent care or ER. The cases were quite diverse. I observed a male in his 20s with Eisenmenger syndrome – an uncommon presentation. Another unforgettable case was a male with anasarca, significant joint deformities, and tophi, who’d had a total hip replacement in his 30s due to complete destruction of his hip likely secondary to an autoimmune process, chronic alcoholism, or gout. Just mind-blowing stuff. Then, over in MCH, I’ve been seeing children with congenital abnormalities, malnutrition, and prenatal mothers. It’s a mix of heartwarming and challenging, but I feel grateful to be here.
Of course, even with all the craziness, I’m keeping up with my awesome family. My daily calls with Michael and Alicia are the best part of my day. And guess what? I got to see Michael crawl for the first time on the video call! Talk about a proud dad moment, even from miles away. As much as I’m loving it here in Kijabe, I’m definitely looking forward to heading home and sharing all this with my family in person. But for now, I’m making the most of every second!
