August 26th, 2017 by jenniferolmstead

Started my day as usual. Woke up early and stayed in bed until others were up and moving, then dressed ad breakfast. Breakfast was great today mashed potatoes and millet noodles with coconut and sugar on top. We discovered last night while talking that I share a birthday with Dr Ann, this mean I have to continue to eat with my fingers, no matter is served, every year on my birthday. She was hoping I could stay so we could celebrate together as she has never shared her birthday before. I cannot stay, but eating with my fingers to remember her on her special day I can do. She asked if my husband would object, I said no. I would simply explain this was in her honor and he would not argue, he probably would not participate but he would not deny me this simple pleasure. Something about eating mashed potatoes with your fingers is just fun. I made plans to go to market with my roommates from Ireland, so far, I have not adopted their accent. We decided to leave at 2 to ensure we were back before dark.
I took time to join the bible study at the hospital before reporting to the ward, it was in Hindi but I do enjoy listening to it. I was late and missed the singing. I was impressed with how many patients waiting to be seen came and sat down to listen. It was quite encouraging that the message of Jesus is getting through to them.
My time on the floor was fun today. There are only five patients, which rare as they are usually quite full. This meant time to relax and chat. We talked a little about my home. I took time to read the patients charts again, I am getting better and understanding them. The nurse in charge of the nursing school came through today for rounds, I found this very interesting. I could talk with her afterwards. She asked what I thought. I told her that things are quite different and I am learning from them. I also told her about not positioning a patient flat while feeding through an NG tube. She agreed this was a good idea and ordered this to be done and the information forwarded to all shifts. She also asked about verifying position before feeding, we discussed that it is not financially feasible to verify position with x-ray.
We have a little girl on the floor that cries every time we get ear her bed. She came from the high dependency ward and just knows we are going to hurt her. The nurse student that gave her a bath had quite a time. I took my last tic-tac-toe game today and after she had settled I took it to her bed. I had played it multiple times with the nurses earlier. I did not try to explain the pattern we just took turns placing the beads and then starting over. She smiled and seem to enjoy the game. I let her keep it which made her happy. When I tried to play with her again after assisting while her IV was changed she was not so willing to play but I did get a smile out of her when I dropped some of the beads down her shirt and pretended to put them in her ears.
I left a little early today to go to market, I was a bit disappointed. I have been told that locals make some wonderful stuff and fabrics, but I saw a lot of dollar store type things. Many of the markets were not open though. I did pick up some juices to help my tummy. My body is missing fruit and vegetables as both are eaten only minimally here, so sugary fruits juices is the best I can do for now. It was fun to explore a little and the ride in the motor rickshaw was fun. I’ll have to get a good picture of one before I come home.
My phone does not work here we have decided, I need a code I do not have. So, I am using the hotspot of one of the Irish girls staying here with me, she is really very nice and was happy to help.