Angela asked me to post for her again. It sounds like she is doing some really interesting and tough stuff. Make sure you are praying for her. - Luke
Today we changed our location once again and are staying at the GO Center which is a fellowship place run by the church here. It is mostly nice but another adjustment. After returning from Livingstone we were staying at the Makeni Guest House which was nice. I shared a room with Maria and it had a bathroom with running how water. Since being here I have now taken three showers with hot water. It is great. During our stay at the guest house we were working with the Circle of Hope Clinic which is an HIV clinic and offers all of its services completely free. This is possible because of the Bush initative(I am embarrasses to admit that I don't know anything about that). So, testing is free, medications, checkups literally everything. I did lots of observations(vital signs) and then followed patients through the cycle, seeing the doctor, going to the lab to have CD4 counts done or other blood work, back to the doctor to go over the labs and make changes to the plan of care and then to the pharmacy. Also, there is a counselor there that goes over the treatment options with each client and answers questions. It is all very organized. During the second part of the afternoon we made home visits to clients that are doing better. There are over 800 of them in the small community of Manda Hill. We were only able to see 5 in two days. I will describe a typical home here. First the roads in the housing areas are mostly dirt with some amazing potholes. It was like being on a roller coaster but not as fun. A house would be made of brick with a tin roof. A sheet would be what covers the door and there are communal taps and latrines. Inside that homes, the floors are made of dirt and it get very hot inside because of the tin roof. Some homes are two rooms with multiple families sharing the space. It is very different from anything I have seen in America though similar to things I have seen in Romania. While visiting the clients, we ask how they are doing and if they are having any problems and then we take vital sigs. We then pray for the families and try our best to encourage them. The last client we saw yesterday, looked like Don Cheadle, was doing much better but has been unable to gain weight because the ARV's make him ill. His wife and 4-year-old son are also taking ARV's(antireto viral medication). It is so different here. Almost every patient/client I met has HIV. There are people who are taking action to help and to educate. Clients from Circle of Hope that are doing better have asked to make home visits and to check on those are still very ill. They have said that because Circle of Hope has done so much for them, they want to give back to those that are in need. It is encouraging to see. Suprisingly, because there are so many people here with HIV, it still carries a stigma and many people choose not to share their status. Though that might hinder more than help.
Today we are going to a local orphange. I am very excited and I think it will be a highlight of my trip. I hope to take lots of pictures. I am not sure if I will be able to blog again before coming home so I will summarize what we will be doing. For the rest of our time here we will be working with the Christian Health Evangelism group. On Friday we are going to a village about an hour from here. We will do two health teachings and one spiritual. I think we will teach about Malaria and then I am not sure what else. On Saturday we have a day off and will be going to an arts and craft festival. It is when vendors from all over Zambia and neighboring countries come to sell their wares. I have become and excellent barterer and so I am exctied to see what things I can purchase. On Sunday we will be going to a different village to attend church which lasts three hours(a very long time for me). Then we will make home visits to the people there. On Monday we will be doing more health teaching and will have a half day so that we can come back and prepare to leave bright and early on Tuesday. We fly to London where will stay the night and arrive back in Seattle on Wednesday.
I have learned a lot while being here and have seen a lot of different things. Some of which I have still not processed through. Though I have moslty enjoyed my time here( it has its moments) I am excited to come home and see my family and friends. And of course Luke!
If I do not post more before coming home I will post after I return so that I can bring closure to my trip and also post my pictures.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Sunday, February 18, 2007
On Safari
Angela asked me to post the following for her:
So, right now we are in Livingston where Victoria Falls is and we are staying in safari tents. The falls were beautiful and so powerful. I felt amazed at God's wonderful creation as I looked at them. Well, when I could actually see because they were so full that we were literally drenched in second and my contacts were blurred. I took some picture but as I do not have a water proof camera I could only do so much.
So, the last two weeks of my trip have been spent at the University Teaching Hospital of Lusaka. We were staying in their student hotels and were doing clinicals on the wards. I worked in the Pediatric wards. I did Malnutrition, Admissions, Hematology and the General Ward. I think that there were probably some of my most difficult clinical experinces. Not because I was actually doing nursing procedures but because of the things I was seeing and the constant confusion I felt. The nursing process is not evident here. In fact the nurses seem to do almost nothing that a nurse in the U.S. would do. I mostly followed the doctors here and learned from them. The malnutrition ward was difficult because I have never really seen children with those conditions, not to mention that the room was 85 degrees and smelled of sweaty bodies. Did I mention cockroaches? Well, there was a lot of those too. It was not a completely horrible experience. I did learn about some disease I was not as farmiliar with but still it was hard to see and also, many of those babies will never leave that ward and that was hard to comprhend. In the admission ward, which is basically triage, I did temperatures and an assessment, but that was for a school assignment because nurses here do not do assessments. That is also where I experienced death for the first time. A little boy died and it was so sad. The family was mourning and the body was just pushed into the backroom. I was very overwhelmed. I did however meet a 12 year old boy that I fell in love with and was able to follow to the Hemetology ward. This was my favorite ward. The children there had sickle cell disease or cancer. I was able to play with the children more and to interact with the families.
The second day there I followed the doctors on their big rounds. The senior doctor was scary and she was tearing apart her students. She asked if we were medical students and then when she found out we weren't she said she would spare us. I was extrememly greatful! The general ward was extremely overwhelming. There were 75 children and their mothers crammed into very close quarters. In the nursery area I could barely walk to take temperatures, or observations and they call it here. When we first arrived a baby died and then we were paired with a very unfriendly nurse. Not to mention that the mothers in this unit were very unfriendly as well. It made for a very long day. There medication administration is very different. We tried to help with gving meds but it was too confusing. There are no five right here, the units for the meds were in the millions and we were giving meds that we had not idea what they were. At one point a needle was thrust at me and I was told to go give an IM injection on a baby. Keep in mind that these babies do not actually have muscles. Kate eventually told us that we should let the nurse finish. It was very relieving.
Not everything is bad at the hosptial. They lack finances and staff and so make do with what they have. Although I do think that they need to look closer at safety issues, like sticking a needle in the matress or using a cardbord box as a sharps container. Sadly, I spent my last hours on that ward holding down children for a femoral blood draw. They were being tested for HIV.
I am thankful for the opportunity to have experienced the hospital but I am also glad to be done. I have seen things that I am sure I will be trying to process for weeks to come. And of course there are the things I am missing from home. My husband and family. Hot water as I have only taken cold showers since being here. I miss feeling clean. No matter what I do, my nails are always dirty! I miss coffee and a bed that does not hurt my back. I know these are small things compared to the big picture but I miss them just the same.
Today we will be going on a safari so that will be wonderful. I will try to write again but I never know when I will have access to a computer. Please keep us in your prayers, especially Kate as she has MALARIA! She is doing much better though. Thanks!!!
So, right now we are in Livingston where Victoria Falls is and we are staying in safari tents. The falls were beautiful and so powerful. I felt amazed at God's wonderful creation as I looked at them. Well, when I could actually see because they were so full that we were literally drenched in second and my contacts were blurred. I took some picture but as I do not have a water proof camera I could only do so much.
So, the last two weeks of my trip have been spent at the University Teaching Hospital of Lusaka. We were staying in their student hotels and were doing clinicals on the wards. I worked in the Pediatric wards. I did Malnutrition, Admissions, Hematology and the General Ward. I think that there were probably some of my most difficult clinical experinces. Not because I was actually doing nursing procedures but because of the things I was seeing and the constant confusion I felt. The nursing process is not evident here. In fact the nurses seem to do almost nothing that a nurse in the U.S. would do. I mostly followed the doctors here and learned from them. The malnutrition ward was difficult because I have never really seen children with those conditions, not to mention that the room was 85 degrees and smelled of sweaty bodies. Did I mention cockroaches? Well, there was a lot of those too. It was not a completely horrible experience. I did learn about some disease I was not as farmiliar with but still it was hard to see and also, many of those babies will never leave that ward and that was hard to comprhend. In the admission ward, which is basically triage, I did temperatures and an assessment, but that was for a school assignment because nurses here do not do assessments. That is also where I experienced death for the first time. A little boy died and it was so sad. The family was mourning and the body was just pushed into the backroom. I was very overwhelmed. I did however meet a 12 year old boy that I fell in love with and was able to follow to the Hemetology ward. This was my favorite ward. The children there had sickle cell disease or cancer. I was able to play with the children more and to interact with the families.
The second day there I followed the doctors on their big rounds. The senior doctor was scary and she was tearing apart her students. She asked if we were medical students and then when she found out we weren't she said she would spare us. I was extrememly greatful! The general ward was extremely overwhelming. There were 75 children and their mothers crammed into very close quarters. In the nursery area I could barely walk to take temperatures, or observations and they call it here. When we first arrived a baby died and then we were paired with a very unfriendly nurse. Not to mention that the mothers in this unit were very unfriendly as well. It made for a very long day. There medication administration is very different. We tried to help with gving meds but it was too confusing. There are no five right here, the units for the meds were in the millions and we were giving meds that we had not idea what they were. At one point a needle was thrust at me and I was told to go give an IM injection on a baby. Keep in mind that these babies do not actually have muscles. Kate eventually told us that we should let the nurse finish. It was very relieving.
Not everything is bad at the hosptial. They lack finances and staff and so make do with what they have. Although I do think that they need to look closer at safety issues, like sticking a needle in the matress or using a cardbord box as a sharps container. Sadly, I spent my last hours on that ward holding down children for a femoral blood draw. They were being tested for HIV.
I am thankful for the opportunity to have experienced the hospital but I am also glad to be done. I have seen things that I am sure I will be trying to process for weeks to come. And of course there are the things I am missing from home. My husband and family. Hot water as I have only taken cold showers since being here. I miss feeling clean. No matter what I do, my nails are always dirty! I miss coffee and a bed that does not hurt my back. I know these are small things compared to the big picture but I miss them just the same.
Today we will be going on a safari so that will be wonderful. I will try to write again but I never know when I will have access to a computer. Please keep us in your prayers, especially Kate as she has MALARIA! She is doing much better though. Thanks!!!
Friday, February 9, 2007
A little about Zambia
Since Angela is having some trouble with the Northwest University sponsored blog at http://www.nu-zambia.blogspot.com/ she asked her beloved husband to set up a new blog for her. Since I am learning a lot about Zambia while she is there (so I can, in a very small way, share in her experience), I thought I would share some of my learnings on her blog.
Here is Angela's team that she is working with in Zambia.
Zambia is located in south Africa:
For the first part of her trip, she is in Lusaka (the capital of Zambia) in the middle of the country. It doesn't sound like there are any language barriers for the team as the predominant language of Zambia is English.
Angela has been taking pictures, but probably won't get a chance to send any back before she returns home, so I am trying to find some pictures online that sound like the things she describes over there. She is going to Victoria Falls next weekend though, and I was looking up pictures of it. It is a gorgeous area, and I told her what the pictures looked like. She asked me to post them here so she could get a glimpse of where they are going. So here are a couple shots of Victoria Falls in Southern Zambia.
Sattelite Image
I'll be adding more about Zambia and see if I can track down pics of where she is at and what she is doing. Angela should be able to add to the blog as well, or I will add her thoughts on her behalf. I found this last picture of a hospital in Lusaka, so I'm wondering if it is the same one that Angela is working at (maybe she will shed some light on this for us).
Here is Angela's team that she is working with in Zambia.
Zambia is located in south Africa:
For the first part of her trip, she is in Lusaka (the capital of Zambia) in the middle of the country. It doesn't sound like there are any language barriers for the team as the predominant language of Zambia is English.
Angela has been taking pictures, but probably won't get a chance to send any back before she returns home, so I am trying to find some pictures online that sound like the things she describes over there. She is going to Victoria Falls next weekend though, and I was looking up pictures of it. It is a gorgeous area, and I told her what the pictures looked like. She asked me to post them here so she could get a glimpse of where they are going. So here are a couple shots of Victoria Falls in Southern Zambia.
Sattelite Image
I'll be adding more about Zambia and see if I can track down pics of where she is at and what she is doing. Angela should be able to add to the blog as well, or I will add her thoughts on her behalf. I found this last picture of a hospital in Lusaka, so I'm wondering if it is the same one that Angela is working at (maybe she will shed some light on this for us).
First Week
Well, it is the end of our first week and it has been quite interesting. The health care system is very different and I have not really seen the nursing process the way we would see it in the US. I have been on the malnutrition ward and the admission ward of the Pediatric unit. I have enjoyed it but it also sad and brings lots of questions to my mind. Today a boy died and it was so hard to just sit and watch. There are not any code procedures here so we just watched as he breathed his last breath and as his family cried for him. It is so hard. But we know that God works even when we cannot see him and we trust him in all things. Please pray for us as we minister and for the people that they would be blessed.
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