The Power Won't Stop Flicking Off While I Am Trying To Post This

Throughout my days I always think, I should blog about that, then I never remember what it was I was going to share.

I am settling into the routine here. Figuring out more day by day what my role is and how things work. I am training up Sia, a national nurse, to be the ward supervisor which I thought would be more challenging that it is turning out to be. She is fabulous. From day one she has been taking initiative and making sure things are getting done. I have been rearranging the wards to make things easier to get to and to have less clutter around and she has been giving ideas and jumping in to help. Last week I was teaching her how to enter patients into the database. She told me she took a computer class not too long ago but after we got past how to use the mouse, things picked up a little. She is a fast learner and I think this will be a great position for her to be in.

I am awful at learning names. I was asking someone the other day if they knew where a certain nurse was and she said she was the black woman sitting outside. I could only laugh and walk away considering the long row of patients sitting outside and I was the only white person around.

The patients are beautiful. They will stay here for close to twenty days so the opportunity to get to know them on a deeper level is something I am really looking forward to. Dr Lewis is the VVF surgeon here and she is wonderful. We have enough bed space that if a woman comes and and is malnourished, even if she is not a candidate for surgery, we will keep them on the ward to “build them up”. We will work on getting their nutrition in line and get some meat on their bones before sending them home.

This past weekend I went to another beach. It was amazing. Not only was the beach absolutely beautiful, I had my first full lobster. This beach was incredible. The restaurant we were at was inside this small bay. There was a sandbar that came out which left a small area for the ocean to come in. We would swim out to this bar and jump in the ocean and let it push us in. I felt like I was floating down the Clark Fork after being dumped in my canoe, without the fear of hitting rocks.

So far through this experience I have really been learning so much about God’s grace and goodness. At times I still wonder if this is the right place for me, if I have enough talent and leadership ability to not only do this job, but to do it well. True, I had a slight breakdown last week but who hasn’t when they start a new job. The people that are here at this clinic couldn’t be more supportive though. There is a substantial expat community in Aberdeen and Freetown. It’s been great meeting people from different NGOs and getting to know people outside of this place as well. And there are people living here from all over the spectrum but somehow it all works. Somehow in the almost two weeks of me living here I am feeling a part of this. I can’t wait to see what happens and what comes of this year here.

Papaya

A patient gave me a papaya as a gift today! It's big and smells good and I can't wait to cut into it!

A little makeup...A little screaming...

I walked onto the ward tonight at about 8pm and I could only laugh. There were two women sitting on the first bed as I walked in. One had just finished putting makeup on the other one. Her eyes were blue and her lips...outlined in thick black and colored in with a silver-type of color. She looked at me as I walked in, tilted her head back and rolled her eyes in a look-at-me type way. When she stood up she grabbed her catheter bag in one hand and held her other hand up in a sophisticated type manner. As she walked, she strutted her stuff, laughing at the same time as she paraded through all the wards. I needed that tonight.

The slight complaining I did yesterday about the house next to my window that plays the loud music, I take it back. I take it all back. About an hour ago I went to take a shower. The bathroom is on the other side of the hallway, facing the maternity clinic. As soon as I opened my door to cross the hall I could hear the screaming. It wasn't just screaming though. It was gut wrenching, horror filled agony. There is a momma in labor. Every once in a while someone will ask if I can hear the mothers from my room. No, because my room faces the other direction. I have to admit, that is something I am thankful for at the moment.

First Sunny Weekend

Outside my window, on the other side of the cement wall, is a home. I don’t know who lives there but I know they like to listen to music loud all through the night and right now they are watching a horror movie. The suspense music part is playing right now. I’m just waiting for the scream...there it is.

This weekend I have been able to get out and see a bit more of my new home and surroundings. Yesterday I went to Lakka, a beach about a thirty minute drive away, with Pete and Sonia who work in finance, and Mikey, the pediatric physician who works in the outpatient clinic. Things here aren’t very far away but with the roads in the condition they are in it takes much longer to get places. If a truck or car breaks down, it stays there until it’s fixed. The road is also being widened so a great part of the hassle comes from the construction. It’s impossible not to notice the shops along the road. It looked as though the front of the shops had all been torn off and that is exactly what happened. When they had come through to widen the road any shop which was in the way was bulldozed and for many shops that just meant the front wall of the shop was torn off, keeping the inside exposed. I was told though, that the owners were compensated for this.

One thing Sierra Leone does well are their white sandy beaches. Lakka is a large crescent cove where the beach is lined with many small places to get chop, food, and they all have wooden lounge chairs and huts to lay under. The water is pretty clean and the swimming is perfect. The shrimps I had for lunch were massive and the chips, fries, weren’t too bad either. I laid on a chair and read most of the day and watched the fishing boats come and go. It was a perfect day to breathe and take in the new sights and sounds of Sierra Leone.

The main modes of transportation here are the poda podas, large vans which you shove as many people into that you can, taxis and motorcycles. Poda podas are pretty standard throughout most places I have been in West Africa, every place just has a different name for them. The nice thing about here though, is that the rates are pretty standard and easy to figure out so you don’t have to haggle for a better price. I had thought of getting a drivers license since I’ll be here for a bit but I think I’ll be able to figure out public transport just fine. I found the supermarket but we were in a hurry to get back so I’ll save that excitement for another day.

We all just said goodbye to Anna, who I am taking over from. It was bittersweet for everyone here. I have only worked with her for the last few days but she has done a fabulous job bringing the VVF part of this clinic up to where it is. Saying goodbye to her also means here I am. The adventure of this next year is just beginning.

Sierra Leone or Bust

I’m back...to the land of VVF, heat and humidity, being tsk-ed at as I walk down the street, cockroaches, long hand shakes, sweat, urine, the unknown, dust, bars on my windows, barbed wire, ants, white sandy beaches, crowded taxis, dirty feet...I am back to the continent of Africa but to Sierra Leone for the first time. I arrived three days ago without much hassle. My luggage was underweight and it all made it! The pastor who was to meet me in the airport met me. He just walked up and said my name and we found each other easily. He helped me exchange money and get me on to the water taxi. When you land in Sierra Leone, the airport is on the other side of a bay so you have a few options: drive the five or six hours down a dangerous road to get to the city, take a helicopter, or take a water taxi. I opted for the water taxi. I had to laugh when I got in it. It was a pimped out water taxi. It was lighted on the inside with christmas lights and in the corner was a hispanic soap opera playing. There were many other expats on the taxi and we were all laughing by the time we go to the other side...a very amusing experience.

I’m here for a year. This is the longest I have been anywhere longer than seven months in the past seven years. I have my own room and if I look out to the left I can see the city of Freetown otherwise I just see rooftops. There is a beach about a ten minute walk away. That’s as far as I’ve made it beyond these walls so far. I don’t think I would swim there but it’s a nice place to walk to. The clinic is separated from the team house by a wall so I have a really short commute.

My first three days I have spent with Anna getting handover. I will be taking over her job and she leaves this weekend so Monday will be a big day. It has been, to say the least, very overwhelming, as any job seems to be when you first start. The Aberdeen Women’s Center (AWC) is where I am working. There are basically three areas to this clinic. There is the VVF side, which I will be working in, the maternity clinic where babies are delivered daily, and the outpatient pediatric clinic. Everyone I have met here has been extremely welcoming and supportive. The past three days have been trying to fill my head with every part of this place. I’m tired now. I'll have the weekend off and start fresh on Monday!

Danja 2.0 Pictures

Me, Ginger, Jolene and Jacqui prepare to leave Maradi for Danja.

This is the incense they burn and swing around the ward for the smell.

Lots of bugs!

Meet Madje. Madje is a sock monkey made by my grandma.

Madje had many adventures in Danja.

The women loved her.

I told you that stone was big!

Jolene tames the donkey.

Hindou on the day of the dress ceremony.

Group shot.

The new hospital in progress.

Me standing inside the soon to be finished 40 bed ward.

(Check out that scaffolding!)

Two Weeks After Danja...

I have been home from Danja now for a little over two weeks. Internet was touch and go while I was there so I’ll try and touch on the exciting points I haven’t written about yet.

Early in the week of surgeries we came across a slight issue. A woman who had surgery was bleeding more than expected. Even though we quickly took her back to the OR and stopped the bleeding and she was doing ok, her blood level was still too low. She was going to need a blood transfusion. Two units of blood. When we found out her blood type we realized there were three people in our group with the same blood. Like blood transfusions on the ship, we were again, the walking blood bank. There were many differences between the lab on the ship and the lab at the hospital. They don’t do many blood transfusions in Danja and we quickly learned that. Someone had to go to Maradi first to get the blood bags. The lab then drew a unit of blood from two people in our group who matched the patient’s blood type. Then I drew blood from the patient so it could be tested against the donors blood for compatibility. The whole experience of obtaining the blood and checking it for compatibility all seemed a little backward to me. Drawing a whole unit of blood from the donor before even knowing if it was ok to be used. Here in the states if I give a blood transfusion there are so many checks and double checks to go through. Jolene and I were a little cautious, to say the least, about giving this transfusion. When I went to pick up the blood in the blood bank the people in the lab just pointed to the fridge. I walked over and opened it and there were two bags of blood sitting on the top shelf with A+ written on them. There was our blood. When I took it back to the ward, Jolene and I did our double checks… We checked the A+ on the blood bag against the A+ scribbled on a scratch of paper clipped on the clipboard on the patient’s bed. Jolene and I looked at each other, spiked the blood with tubing we weren’t quite sure of, but knowing it was all we had and knowing she needed this blood, looked at each other again and I’m sure she was saying a prayer along with me in her heart, we started the transfusion. The patient became a little itchy at the end of the first unit, but besides that there were not any problems! Phew! She went on to have a great recovery!

One of my favorite things about these trips to Danja is the tree. The women sleep in small cement type huts at night but during the day they all congregate under “the tree”. They sit there all day and talk, do each others hair, eat... Although on the previous trip we told the women who were coming back just for a check up to come a week later, many were already there. I think they come so early because they are so excited. Abou was a woman we did surgery on during the previous trip. She came early as well. The first few days there we were discussing how to teach the women about what they would be experiencing. It would be scary for anyone having these foreign people who can’t even speak their language want to cut them and touch them and put tubes in them. We decided the best way to teach would be to have a woman who has gone through this before tell them. Abou was our woman. She has this attitude about her. Not in a bad way, but just a confidence you don’t see too often in VVF women. I knew she would be great. I sat down with her and Houa and Hannatou to translate and when we asked her to tell us what she would tell the women I knew we had picked the right woman. We didn’t have to remind her about too many things. She talked about the sitz baths, the shower (and how to shower), not eating or drinking before surgery, about the IV and how they “give you water in your skin”, the surgery and how even though you can’t feel your legs, they will come back to you. She went on about the catheter, pain, bedrest… When she presented this to the women under the tree she did a fabulous job! She put on a gown. Put on a blood pressure cuff. Demonstrated a sitz bath. There is nothing better for teaching than having someone who has been there before teach. After her teaching she went on to sing. Abou was the one on the previous trip who sang the “Urine in the Oppressor” song. She sang that song but then continued on. She kept singing and then sang some song that had all our names in it. It was beautiful.

On Sunday night we joined the other missionaries from SIM for their time of worship. We were asked to do the speaking that night. We brought Abou and asked her questions and she spoke to the group. Again, she did a wonderful job. Dr Steve spoke then I was asked to share a bit. I shared about Aicha and the story I wrote about on the previous post then spoke about how the women care so much for each other. I think this is one thing I’m really going to take away from this trip. When a woman would leave the ward to go to the operating room, a woman who had gone through this before would come in, get her dirty, wet clothes and wash them. They would be clean and brought back before she was out of the OR. As I spoke, tears filled my eyes. These women show such love and compassion for one another. Only they can fully understand the extent of the pain and rejection each of them feels.

There was one event that happened that completely blew my mind. The day we examined the women from the previous trip there were also some other women there who we had not met before who needed to be seen. Dr Steve was examining a woman who had been leaking for 30 years. During the exam he looked at us and asked if we wanted to feel something. I put on a pair of gloves and felt it. It felt like a rock not too far inside. Dr Steve looked at us and he went to work to get it out. It was like birthing this rock. By the time he got it out I had to check my facial expression. I was cringing at this stone coming out. It ended up being an 8x5cm stone! It was huge. I know there have been larger ones in the history of VVF but this was gigantic in my eyes! We gave her antibiotics and a date to come back for her fistula surgery.

On Tuesday morning we had the dress ceremony. Eleven women danced. All left dry and I pray that continues.