So I just logged on to my blog only to find out my post from yesterday didn't post....OOPS!
Today was our 1st day of screening & I jotted down some notes cause it gets so busy I don't want to forget things but my notes are in my room & I had to jump on the computer when I could so I will do this from memory... which means I may leave things out & have to circle back tomorrow :)
Wake up time was 5:30 - I slept well so that was great...breakfast at 6, team mtg at 6:30 & on the bus at 7. When we arrived there were maybe 50 people there for screening that started at 9. It took a bit to get set up & since I was gatekeeper I had another 30 min before I would see my 1st patient so I got to go out & play with the kids & enjoy the people. I missed that last time I was here I flew in later & want there for screening & forgot how much I liked that cause that's when you see the patients and families & hear their stories....
The first family that caught my eye was an 11 year old girl who did not have a cleft but she was taking care of her 2 year old brother who did...she had come with their dad - they traveled 2 days by bus & foot & the mom stayed in their village. It all came back to me that in this area we see alot of dads with patients as it isnt safe for women to travel distances alone with their children. The "big sister" was totally a mini mom & it was so cute to watch her with her little brother. I got some cute pictures of them. Another patient was a 30 year old man who had never had a repair ..he live in a far away village on the boarder of Sudan & came...all his life he has had a Cleft Lip - something that in the USA & many other countries would have been corrected as a child & he has had to live with this his entire life....he came all by himself because someone told him he "might" be able to get help....that always amazes me when I realize all they do to just go & HOPE FOR HELP. One sad case were 6 month old twins...one is fine & thriving & the other was very malnourished (7 lbs at 6 months) and the mom said people in her village told her she should "get rid of that cursed baby" since she had a healthy one???? I personally wanted to visit her village & have a conversation with some people (good thing I don't speak the language!!!). Unfortunately the baby was too small for us to do surgery but the therapists worked with the mom to help her learn to feed the baby with some special bottles etc & they were able to get some formula for them (no one here has formula they all breast feed) & we are hoping the baby will gain some weight & can have surgery on the next mission in 6 months. It was really sad I just wanted to bring her home make sure she gained weight & bring her back in 6 months!!!. We actually had about 3 other babies brought today that were all less than a month old...in a way that is good cause they can get some feeding help & at 6 months they will be ready for surgery hopefully.
SO about the gatekeeper role...I forgot how busy it was...the first 2 hours were just steady & I had only seen 18 patients by noon - it takes awhile for them to go thru all the stations & then they come to my & usually it is either utter chaos or a steady madness. By 5 pm I had seen all 90 patients we screened today - so another 70 patients in about 6 hours - it was crazy...making sure all the paperwork was done, labs were done, priority identified, returns flagged, special cases addressed etc etc. I had my hand made "excel spread sheet" that I was tracking everyone on & am proud to say that at the end of the night I had every patient accounted for, with their dx, status & priority & any unusual details - pretty proud of myself I "trained" another nurse to do this & I am pretty sure at times she thought I was a little OCD but in the end "she saw the light". it really is a challenging job!!! We ended up with 66 of those who will get surgery next week & tomorrow we will be screening all day again -and I am supposed to train 2 other people...
Everything really is going well...last night when I was "on line" Kelli & Sarah were off getting Sarah's Sr Pics done & they send me some sneak peeks so I felt like I want missing out on that, I heard all the CHOC Nurses week went well & as much as I wish I was there I cant think of a better way to celebrate Nurses Week than to be here using my "Nurse Talents" to help the people here. I even got wifi on my phone at the hospital...things are getting better here in Mekele!!! Had a brief panic attack when I couldn't find the battery charger for my camera but the Bio med guys think they have a charger & if not they will take me to get one in the morning - cameras, Ethipoia & I have bad Karma!!!
This team is WONDEFUL and I am so grateful that I have a chance to be a part of it & change lives...one SMILE at a time!!!! GOOD NIGHT
Today was our 1st day of screening & I jotted down some notes cause it gets so busy I don't want to forget things but my notes are in my room & I had to jump on the computer when I could so I will do this from memory... which means I may leave things out & have to circle back tomorrow :)
Wake up time was 5:30 - I slept well so that was great...breakfast at 6, team mtg at 6:30 & on the bus at 7. When we arrived there were maybe 50 people there for screening that started at 9. It took a bit to get set up & since I was gatekeeper I had another 30 min before I would see my 1st patient so I got to go out & play with the kids & enjoy the people. I missed that last time I was here I flew in later & want there for screening & forgot how much I liked that cause that's when you see the patients and families & hear their stories....
The first family that caught my eye was an 11 year old girl who did not have a cleft but she was taking care of her 2 year old brother who did...she had come with their dad - they traveled 2 days by bus & foot & the mom stayed in their village. It all came back to me that in this area we see alot of dads with patients as it isnt safe for women to travel distances alone with their children. The "big sister" was totally a mini mom & it was so cute to watch her with her little brother. I got some cute pictures of them. Another patient was a 30 year old man who had never had a repair ..he live in a far away village on the boarder of Sudan & came...all his life he has had a Cleft Lip - something that in the USA & many other countries would have been corrected as a child & he has had to live with this his entire life....he came all by himself because someone told him he "might" be able to get help....that always amazes me when I realize all they do to just go & HOPE FOR HELP. One sad case were 6 month old twins...one is fine & thriving & the other was very malnourished (7 lbs at 6 months) and the mom said people in her village told her she should "get rid of that cursed baby" since she had a healthy one???? I personally wanted to visit her village & have a conversation with some people (good thing I don't speak the language!!!). Unfortunately the baby was too small for us to do surgery but the therapists worked with the mom to help her learn to feed the baby with some special bottles etc & they were able to get some formula for them (no one here has formula they all breast feed) & we are hoping the baby will gain some weight & can have surgery on the next mission in 6 months. It was really sad I just wanted to bring her home make sure she gained weight & bring her back in 6 months!!!. We actually had about 3 other babies brought today that were all less than a month old...in a way that is good cause they can get some feeding help & at 6 months they will be ready for surgery hopefully.
SO about the gatekeeper role...I forgot how busy it was...the first 2 hours were just steady & I had only seen 18 patients by noon - it takes awhile for them to go thru all the stations & then they come to my & usually it is either utter chaos or a steady madness. By 5 pm I had seen all 90 patients we screened today - so another 70 patients in about 6 hours - it was crazy...making sure all the paperwork was done, labs were done, priority identified, returns flagged, special cases addressed etc etc. I had my hand made "excel spread sheet" that I was tracking everyone on & am proud to say that at the end of the night I had every patient accounted for, with their dx, status & priority & any unusual details - pretty proud of myself I "trained" another nurse to do this & I am pretty sure at times she thought I was a little OCD but in the end "she saw the light". it really is a challenging job!!! We ended up with 66 of those who will get surgery next week & tomorrow we will be screening all day again -and I am supposed to train 2 other people...
Everything really is going well...last night when I was "on line" Kelli & Sarah were off getting Sarah's Sr Pics done & they send me some sneak peeks so I felt like I want missing out on that, I heard all the CHOC Nurses week went well & as much as I wish I was there I cant think of a better way to celebrate Nurses Week than to be here using my "Nurse Talents" to help the people here. I even got wifi on my phone at the hospital...things are getting better here in Mekele!!! Had a brief panic attack when I couldn't find the battery charger for my camera but the Bio med guys think they have a charger & if not they will take me to get one in the morning - cameras, Ethipoia & I have bad Karma!!!
This team is WONDEFUL and I am so grateful that I have a chance to be a part of it & change lives...one SMILE at a time!!!! GOOD NIGHT
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