September 2, 2006
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I don’t know if I told you, but I am unable to resize and e-mail pictures directly. I have been able to put them on the blog site when I go to town, so check it every now and then if you want to see pictures that go along with these updates at www.xanga.com/srm6476. There are pictures from the previous update posted…a scorpion, 2 snakes and the “Dream Team.”
So much happens here that it is hard to get it all down or to know what exactly you would find interesting. I know you medical folk like to hear about the medical cases, but life itself here is also unbelievable at times.
Medical cases first I guess. Sal got to do his first suturing the other night. Agnes, an older woman was using an axe and cut the back of her leg right above the heel…it was laid open with the Achilles tendon visible. Thankfully the tendon was not damaged. After wrapping a dirty rag around it and walking to get to us, it was quite painful and dirty when she got here. I spent at least half an hour cleaning the wound out using a syringe with peroxide before we even started to put local anesthesia in and begin suturing. Sal sutured the wound as Christopher, our driver, held the light and was fascinated by the whole procedure. I was the “get me” person….you know “Get me this and get me that!!!” After a sterile dressing, antibiotics and a tetanus shot were in order. A night’s stay at the clinic and a couple dressing changes in between and then her sutures were removed yesterday. Wound is closed with no sign of infection….Praise God!!
Sal got a call to go to the bush because one of our antenatal patients was in labor. He went out to her village and brought her back to the clinic. Her labor had started supposedly at midnight and it was now three in the afternoon. Her water broke at 3:30pm, but when she was unable to push the baby out by 5:30pm, we decided to take her to the hospital….after a half hour of paperwork and berating us about why we brought her, they suddenly changed shifts. During that half hour the only thing they did for the patient was check for the baby’s heartbeat. The new shift that came on decided to catheterize her to relieve her bladder. I watched as one nurse put on a pair of unsterile gloves and then proceeded to ask us if we had any “surgical gloves.” We gave her a pair of sterile gloves which she proceeded to contaminate as she put them on overtop of the first pair. Then she took a catheter and proceeded to attempt to put it in the urethra without cleaning first and without any lubricant…catheter end dragging on the bed and in an unsterile pan. The attempt failed as she was unable to insert it fully because the baby was right there trying to come out. So they proceeded to start an IV with oxytocin and then a very large nurse came in and with all her weight pushed a forearm into the top of the pregnant woman’s belly downward and….a baby boy popped out pretty forcibly. I am continually reminded where I am and how important it is for us to assess the need to transfer patients out…where will they get better care. Transfers to the local hospitals are not always at a higher level of care. Well, after making sure Judith and the baby were settled, we left only to return the next morning to take them home. When Judith brought the baby to Under Five clinic, we discovered she had named her son Sal! That makes three now. It makes me ponder…how many more?
So much for medical now, let me talk about day to day life here…. Another snake! I don’t know, but this must be the season for snakes….otherwise God is getting me ready for something. The other day Sal spotted a snake up at the Hill outside Howard’s house (one of the teachers). It was a cobra…long, skinny, grey and fast. Howard and Sal did manage to kill it finally after trapping it inside the house where it had run.
After that “hunting episode”, we went into town with Jessie and Jacob. On the way home, a very large bird like a turkey called a guinea fowl lost its radar and smacked right into the Land Rover. We continued to drive home with feathers flying behind us. When we got on property, we stopped and gingerly got out of the vehicle to see. Sure enough, it had broken its neck and was lodged up on the roof rack. We stopped at the first hut we came to, which was Abson’s house…he was very excited to have dinner!!! He said, “You have a good vehicle!”
Coming home from eating a late lunch near Victoria Falls this past weekend, we were driving along pretty much in town when all of a sudden, Sal yelled “Look at that!”
Turning my head to the left I saw a large herd of elephants!!! There must have been about 12 of them with 2 little babies. They were in and around these concrete remains of previous construction…half built walls and such. Sal stopped the vehicle and we continued to watch until one large elephant stared us down and started to move his ears…now I’m not an expert on elephant talk, but that was a warning to me!!! That’s about the time when we decided to slowly drive away. Unfortunately, we didn’t have our camera with us for any of this Africa flavor!! Before you say anything, we have decided to keep the camera with us at all times from now on…..promise.
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