March 17th, 2018 by nathanieluhl

Week one was spent orienting and becoming more familiar with the services provided at the clinic. My first day at the clinic was Monday, March 12^th. March 12^th is Youth Day in Zambia so the clinic was only open for a half day. In my first week I encountered a baby with spina bifida, a young girl with a right arm fracture, a 4-year old boy with a laceration to the forehead and scalp due to a fall, and lots and lots of malaria. I also helped deliver a baby at the end of my first week. HIV is also very prevalent here. I counted at least eight new cases in one month just at the Mushili clinic. One young woman’s attitude toward the possibility of having HIV surprised me. When asked, “What will you do if it’s positive?” She very casually stated, “I won’t be the only one.” As if to say it doesn’t matter if I have HIV because everyone else does too. Not everyone responded like her. One middle aged man literally jumped up and own and danced a little when his negative status was confirmed.