Week 1...no Malaria yet!

It's hard to believe that I've been at Kalene for nearly a week. It's been a busy week, at that. I began work a the hospital last Thursday, orientating on the Female ward. It's been more of an adjustment than I imagined as I came here from spending the last 7 months on a rediculously heavy unit in Ottawa.  Though the patients are very sick here, we are so limited in resources that patients don't make it to the point of needing the invasive nursing care provided back home. It's so hard to watch them go through pain of even a dressing change, knowing that at home we would be using conscious sedation or that even the multiple blood sample draws would be eliminated with a PICC line insertion.
This week started off badly with two patients passing away...as if its not hard enough to see a patient die...the grieving families wailing that follows for the next 24h is excrutiating to hear.
We had a pretty intense case, a patient whose bowel had twisted on itself. He underwent a 3 hour surgery then returned to the ward. Emma and I set up a mini "PACU", complete with a heart monitor circa 1985 and a curtain rod for an IV pole. The patient came around from the anasthetic just in time to see a nurse standing one foot on a chair, one foot on the head of his bed, hanging a new bag of normal saline! It's times like these that I truly wish I knew how to speak Lunda!
There have been some very good times so far, as well. I spent Friday night/Saturday morning with Mamisa, an 18 year old girl from the village. Her family welcomed me into their home, teaching me to cook nshima, a paste-like dough from the cassava plant, the staple food here. Though, they spoke next to no English, we spent the evening at her uncle's house watching a cheesey Spanish soap-opera, dubbed into English. I doubt that they had any idea of the plot, but they really enjoyed the luxury of watching TV. Much to my horror, Mamisa insisted that I sit in the only household chair, and sleep in her bed, while all the sisters shared the other. I felt bad, but knew it would be embarrasing for them if I refused. I slept in her bed...in the village, and no malaria yet! (It takes at least 10 days to hit....but this is no place for the hypercondriac, lol!)

I spent yesterday afternoon at the Girl's Club, singing and listening to Becs's Bible Lesson. There was a good attendance of nearly 30 girls. There is so much potential in these young girls! I'm really excited to see them grow in the Lord!
This afternoon  we played a game of ultimate frizbee with 15 local children...I was pleasantly surprised at how well they could throw...clearly Becs' lessons have done good!

Well, it's been busy, but good, or Chachiwahi, as they say in Lunda!
R