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!!!