Friendship

I went back to the hospital today but was able to work in the antenatal ward. I showed up at 8:30, the time which the shift starts, but had to wait for the staff to get there. (around 9:15 they showed up) That is a perfect example of “african time” where you are never late as long as you show up. I started off filling out paper work for the nurses, every person is responsible for carrying around their own records so it can get a bit confusing. After everyone was reregistered and had numbers, I went to the room where “family planning” occurs. There I saw people receive and remove birth control implants, along with the depo shot. I was able to aid in the placement of one implant into a patients arm. (Glad I was not the one receiving it, the needle to place it is huge and the numbing medicine was not that effective.) Its crazy to know that in Uganda women have to have permission to be placed on birth control from their husbands and many men do not want their spouses to be on it so the women would rather have a surgical implantation to hide that fact, than to be on pills. The room in which all this was completed was disgusting. There would be multiple patients waiting in the same room, the doctor’s desk, the examination table, and the cart with the medical supplies. The examination table had plastic on it that was turned over and over every time a new patient would sit on it. The tools were old and were not very clean. To top things off while I was sitting at the desk filling out the record book a mouse/rat ran across my foot. (I was freaked out to say the least) After, I was pretty much over being in that room and was thankful that it was time to go home. Before leaving the hospital, Stella found me and gave me a birthday gift. She had it wrapped in red foil and in a medicine box. It was a handmade bracelet. (One of the best birthday gifts I have ever received) After the hospital I went to eat and to see my friends at the market. I love the relationships I have formed. I really believe that these people were meant to be placed in my life. I am truly blessed.

Quote
“Friendship can make you a rich person”