Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Wednesday and our work begins

Our transportation this year is a dala dala, which is a van similar to a VW bus that seats 18 passengers in 4 and a half rows. Our driver, John, has driven for us for the past two years and we made arrangements months ago that he and his excellent skills will be with us again this year. John picked us up at 8 and took us straight to Airtel. Thirty minutes later, with only half of our tech issues solved, we arrived at Mazimbu.

Word has not yet spread about our visit so there were only about fifteen patients waiting to be seen. Because Doug is our only doctor this year, we will be focusing on surgical patients. However, Mazimbu has a resident gynecologist, Dr. Swai, who will be consulting with the team on any gynecological problems.

Over the past several days we have been recording any items that are needed either at LJS or at the hospital. These are usually something that we Americans might assume are readily available, but Tanzanians may view them differently. For example, for some reason, the LJS has been putting only one salt shaker out for more than three separate dining tables and we wanted our own salt shaker. In addition, yesterday the team identified many simple changes that could be made to improve Ben's comfort--protein bars and Ensure, an egg shell mattress, foam heel protectors, four inch surgical tape and pillows. This led to an unusual shopping list.  So Lance and Eileen, together with one of our translators, made the trek into town to begin their hunt.

One of the hardest items on the list was salt! In Morogoro, every shop is specialized and you must know exactly where to go for every item you are looking to purchase. This means that a list with 10 items on it can very easily mean at least six different shops. And this is if the shop keepers help out by pointing the way to a competing shop instead of just saying "no, pole sana" when asked for an item.

Pati began working in the reception area, registering potential new patients. Cindy then interviewed the patients to get their medical history and vital signs. Nancy worked with Doug as he examined and diagnosed our patients, while Glennis was prepared to fill the pharmacy orders written by Doug.

Three patients have been scheduled for surgery tomorrow, including a beautiful, shy 5 year old girl who will have a hernia repair. Dr. Swai has also been referred several patients and ordered further testing to help him in his diagnosis, but it looks like most of them will be helped with surgery.

Our day ended with dinner under the stars at one of our favorite restaurants, The Oasis. As we enjoyed the chance to relax, the conversation flowed easily from one topic to another. It will be an early night to bed as we look forward to tomorrow, our first day of surgery.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the update and the wonderful photos! Keep up the great work and enjoy every moment!
    -Kelly Giebel

    ReplyDelete