Another day at the hospital. I love being there but its extremely tiring and frustrating. The day started off with my normal breakfast of white bread and jam, fruit, and juice. I was running a little behind, found myself on Africa time, so I took a boda to my internship. I arrived at the hospital a little late but was still the first one there. (they have no concept of time here) The ward was slow and stayed that way most of the day. The little girl that was very sick from the day before had been transferred to the other pediatric ward so she could be placed on oxygen. (They only have two oxygen machines for the whole entire hospital) The child’s state was decaying by the minute. Once she was moved to the other ward, the ward became empty. After a few hours in an empty ward, two men came in carrying a young boy. The little boy was extremely weak and was not able to walk or keep his head up. Stella, the med student, began asking what the problem was in the local language. After speaking for a few minutes, the men picked up the boy and started to leave the ward. I asked Stella what the problem was and she informed me that the boy had been bitten by a dog and needed anti-rabies shots. The acute pediatric ward did not have the medicine to give and was not able to obtain any either. The little boy was turned away because of a shortage in medicine.
The next child that was admitted into the ward was a three year old boy whom weighed about 40 pounds. The child was extremely swollen (I think fat) and was diagnosed by a non-trained doctor with extreme malnutrition. I was in a disagreement with that diagnosis because the child seemed to be more fat than swollen making me believe it was more along the lines of a thyroid problem. The boy had a younger brother that I was holding while the mother of the two held down the three year old while getting an IV. The little boy was precious but while I was playing with him I noticed that both of his middle fingers could not extend all the way without someone’s help. I pointed it out to the doctor and the reply was, without him looking at the child, “He is deformed so there is nothing we can do.” It was so sad to know that this was a problem that could probably be fixed or made better and the doctor was not even willing to look at the child.
When I returned back to the hotel, I showered and got ready to have dinner with a gentleman from Washington DC. It was incredible to hear someone who works with congress to form bills and agendas for ways of improving the lives of the people in this area. After dinner a group of us went to BJZ for trivia night. We did awful but had so much fun! We left around midnight and took bodas back to the hotel. On the way back I was looking up at the stars and I wish everyone could see the sight I saw. This is one the things I am going to miss about this amazing place. The stars at night are one of the most beautiful and amazing sites. They look like they are close enough to reach up and grab. That along with being able to see the Milky Way is unbelievable.
I hope everyone takes a look around and realizes how incredible this world is.
Quote
“That’s what love is - forgiveness”
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