Just wanted to give you all a quick update. On Sunday I will be
getting picked up by Dr. Paul. We will be taveling to Buea and Limbe
for a little bit of "sightseeing" and then I get on a plane Monday
night to travel home, arriving back Tuesday night. It has definitely
been an experience and I have learned a ton, but I am ready to see all
of you again :)
Unitl I see you!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Wounds, Graduation, & Snails
This week, I worked in the theater, or the OR. For the most part, we
dressed wounds and stitched up a couple of small things. Normally
Tuesdays and Thursdays are operation days, and tend to be very busy.
However, the doctor was gone this week so there wasn’t really much we
could do. Besides the student nurses, there are two men who work in
the theater, Amos and Ray. However, they can only assist with the
surgeries, not actually perform them. Anyway, on Wednesday a doctor
from another hospital came here and will be here for a month. We ended
up doing two operations on Thursday, a C-section and an appendectomy,
both of which I had seen before. However, I got to take some awesome
pictures, so those of you who can handle it, be ready!
On Friday, I headed to Kumba (a town about 30 minutes away) with the
visiting doctor to another medical center. We did some consultations
and then headed back, which let me tell you was very tight! Imagine a
tiny tiny Toyota, then imagine me and three men who were at least 6
feet tall, probably more, and were very big men in general. Lets just
say that space does not exist when you are traveling in Africa.
On Saturday (today), I had the privilege of witnessing 24 2nd year
nursing students graduate! Originally, the ceremony was to start at
11, but it is Africa so African time rules, which means that it didn’t
start until a little after 1. It lasted about 3.5 hours and was very
different from what we see. I will explain more to you when I come
home. The guesthouse, where I am staying, was used as a “reception”
area for the staff and higher ups after the graduation, so I actually
had people in my house! There was tons of food, most of which I didn’t
recognize. However, I did have the opportunity to try snails, which
they cook over a fire and eat on a stick. It was interesting, but not
something that I would like to eat again :)
In just over a week I will be home again. I have enjoyed my time here,
but am definitely looking forward to seeing my family and friends
again. Hopefully I should be able to send out a couple more updates
before I leave.
For now, God Bless and goodnight!
dressed wounds and stitched up a couple of small things. Normally
Tuesdays and Thursdays are operation days, and tend to be very busy.
However, the doctor was gone this week so there wasn’t really much we
could do. Besides the student nurses, there are two men who work in
the theater, Amos and Ray. However, they can only assist with the
surgeries, not actually perform them. Anyway, on Wednesday a doctor
from another hospital came here and will be here for a month. We ended
up doing two operations on Thursday, a C-section and an appendectomy,
both of which I had seen before. However, I got to take some awesome
pictures, so those of you who can handle it, be ready!
On Friday, I headed to Kumba (a town about 30 minutes away) with the
visiting doctor to another medical center. We did some consultations
and then headed back, which let me tell you was very tight! Imagine a
tiny tiny Toyota, then imagine me and three men who were at least 6
feet tall, probably more, and were very big men in general. Lets just
say that space does not exist when you are traveling in Africa.
On Saturday (today), I had the privilege of witnessing 24 2nd year
nursing students graduate! Originally, the ceremony was to start at
11, but it is Africa so African time rules, which means that it didn’t
start until a little after 1. It lasted about 3.5 hours and was very
different from what we see. I will explain more to you when I come
home. The guesthouse, where I am staying, was used as a “reception”
area for the staff and higher ups after the graduation, so I actually
had people in my house! There was tons of food, most of which I didn’t
recognize. However, I did have the opportunity to try snails, which
they cook over a fire and eat on a stick. It was interesting, but not
something that I would like to eat again :)
In just over a week I will be home again. I have enjoyed my time here,
but am definitely looking forward to seeing my family and friends
again. Hopefully I should be able to send out a couple more updates
before I leave.
For now, God Bless and goodnight!
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