Today was a really great day with a few unusual events….the
first was that we in the Recovery Room were ready to leave at the same time as
the rest of the team & got to the hotel by 8 pm. That has NEVER happened to
me on a mission & it was a very pleasant mid week surprise. That meant we
could get back, shower, eat dinner in the hotel & now I have had time to
check some emails & blog before it is midnight!!!
When we got to the hospital I went to post op & saw a few
of the patients from yesterday – they were looking great! Op Smile has a policy
that in order to protect the patients privacy we agree not to post on social media surgical photos or ones where
they are still in the midst of healing but I do have some truly amazing before
& after pics I will happily share with any who are interested.
So about 25-30% of the team are not feeling well – some typical
travelers diarrhea from eating bad food & others with respiratory
infections. AnnaMeikie our team dr is handing out Antibiotics like candy!!! I
am feeling just fine thankfully but I rarely eat the food in any country – I will
eat some breakfast at the hotel & then its the food I bring - tuna, pnut butter or protein
bars and I have only ever gotten a tiny bit sick one day in Bolivia. Truly I
have been careful & also blessed. I always think I didn’t travel 10,000
miles to get sick so I am very cautious. I am sure the long days & lack of
sleep & weird hotel ventilation without AC etc also plays into everyones
health too. As for me I am grateful to be healthy!
Usually my mornings are calm but today was a little busy – I
did the schedule board but was missing some patient weights so tried to get
those but fidning a scale in a hospital in Ethiopia seemed like I was asking
for a million dollars – there wasn’t one to be found here so for one patient we
guessetimated until we could retrieve the Op Smile scale from the screening
cargo. Also Abdi the little 5 month old from yesterday who had a lip repair but
lots of IV access problems got sick overnight so they brought him to us &
we gave him a respiratory treatment & started antibiotics. He is really a
cutie - so being a pharmacist, repsiratory therapist, admissions clerk & nurse all in one made for a busier than normal morning
Our first case came back & was another little 5 month
old boy with a Cleft Lip. Usually once they are settled we have a volunteer go
get one parent to come back & see the baby – this time the dad came in
& he was SO HAPPY when he saw his son he literally had the biggest beaming
smile & turned around & RAN out to get his wife…then they came back in
together & the dad could not stop
smiling – I got a photo of him I posted
- but I’m not sure it captured the pure JOY he was radiating – They were
such a cute little family, this was their first baby. I gave them some shorts
& socks & took several photos of them. Such a reminder of whay I am here & that parents are parents in any country....
We did quite a few older school age kids today, 8-14 year
olds & a few had severe bilateral clefts so both sides of their lip were
involved & deformed & those repairs really are miraculous – quite a few
were boys so I gave them some of the CHOC T-Shirts I brought & also took
some before & after pics. We also had a 6 year old girl Deme & her mom
was so sweet – I pulled out a dress for her & thru a translator told her my
friend and some girls who are 11 years old made these dresses & she couldn’t
believe it – she had the greatest smile & when she left the recovery room
said to me” love them for me and tell them thank you!” I have a great picture
of her & Deme too!
THere was a HUGE thunderstorm in the afternoon that lasted about 30 min...with so many people living outside on the streets or in litle huts made of mud I wondered how that impacted them...day to day challenges we never even think about - or at least I dont.
Since Monday there has been a boy I have seen every day who
I guessed was about 14 years old and a hospital patient on the same floor we
are on. He obviously had some severe burns & right now his left leg was
wrapped in gauze from his ankle to his thigh &he was some days using a cane
to help himself walk. I could see thru the gauze where the drainage had dried
or was oozing. Each day I saw him & his leg I thought of how awful &
painful it would be to remove or change the bandage because the gauze was
basically attached on to the burn wounds. I smiled & waved at him each day but in the mornngs I would busy myself with "my stuff to do:" & when I saw him throughout the day he was walking the hallways & I was usually taking a patient to the post op ward. It was really pretty easy to "see him" but not "really see his need". Quite honestly
too after getting involved with the little boy on Saturday I was a little “gun shy”
to move beyond my planned “mission activities” even though clearly this boys
situation was totally different. It is hard to be in this environment where
there are so many needs & you know you can’t take care of even a small
percentage – it can become overwhelming if you think about it too much or
really look at all the poverty, hunger & basic needs that are unmet in so
many lives here. But this kid had caught my attention & I knew I needed to
do something…so I talked aloud about it with one of the translators cause I wasn’t
sure what to do – I honestly didn’t want to volunteer to change the dressing
but I knew it needed some attention. The volunteer explained to me that the
people have to bring in most of their own medical supplies, food & even
bedding when they are in the hospital???? The hospital has limited supplies
& if you need them you have to pay for them before you get them. I really don’t
understand it? You only get pain medicine if you pay for it with each dose??? I am not sure about otehr medicines or care. I knew what this boy needed was clean water to soak off the old
gauze, antibiotic ointment to put on the wounds followed by non adhesive gauze
to cover them & then the rolled gauze that he was now using over all of that.
I found out there was a “pharmacy store” right by the hospital where I could get all of that & so when it
was slow in the recovery room I went over there with a interpreter, bought all
the stuff then pulled the boy into a side room (& his mom followed – I didn’t know he had
a mom there) and explained I had seen him all week smiling & noticed his
leg & thought he needed more care. He actually seemed to understand some English
but I had the interpreter explain what I thought the process was & what I
had gotten him to help his leg heal. It was about $30 US for a large supply
that he could probably use for a 3 weeks…he asked some questions about the
healing & was so grateful – the mom gave me a huge hug & at the end of
the day “Mohammed my new friend” & I
took a picture together that I did post. I was reminded that the small &
simple things we do can make a tremendous difference and that when you see a
need & then feel prompted to do something about it you should do just that…it
only took me 3 days to figure that out!!! I am hoping I will see my friend
again tomorrow & Friday as I have the past 3 days & I can be sure he
has what he needs to help his leg heal….
I am told the schedule is “packed tomorrow” so we will have
a LONG day…so I better get to bed. I am so grateful to be here - I am not sure if Ethiopia will be in my future anytime again soon so I am trying to "take it all in" and give 200% to do whatever I can do this week to make a difference. If I am going to be away from family & friends I want to be sure this time is used wisely. I continue to learn more about the world & myself each & every day here....
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