FULL!
Trip Start
Jun 29, 2009
1
9
18
Trip End
Aug 10, 2009
Cape Town,
Western Cape,
South Africa
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
I began at the clinic yesterday! I could write a book... but I'll just share a few things:
1. The patients are so beautiful.
2. They are very poor people, completely uneducated about their bodies and their children's health. Whenever they are sick, they say, "I have the flu." That can mean anything from a stomachache or headache, to a runny nose, to the real flu. At times they don't understand the severity of their conditions (such as those with extremely high fevers or who are probably living with TB), and at other times they don't have much wrong but are coming anyway because they are helpless on their own.
2. I'm working in triage, and so far I am taking down information, filling out charts, doing height, weight, bp, temp, urine tests, and pregnancy tests
To the head of the Lion!
. Jane, my supervisor in triage, let me watch her handle one patient (with one specific reason for being there, I might add), and then said, "okay, you try the next one." By the end of the day, she wanted to leave before me, so she said to me, "You'll be fine without me, eh?" and she was on her way, while I struggled to call in the patients with names like Ngjesheminami Yasothuzgm. No lie, that's what they look like to me... and somehow when they pronounce them, they sound so much more normal!!3. The accent of not only the "sisters" or the nurses, but also the patients, is very draining on my mind. It's hard to believe at times that they are speaking English, but then again, they must feel the same way about me.
4. We get a tea break and a lunch break, both of which I believe are way too long (an hour!). There are patients just waiting in the clinic the entire time... many of them have been there for 4 hours already. Welcome to gov't subsidized medicine, where the doctors are not compensated based on how many patients they see in a day. The motivation to work quickly and take minimal breaks is gone.
5. A "P.A." here is not the same as a "P.A." in the states, and the ladies are having a very hard time understanding what my career plans are; I'm having a hard time explaining it to them, since they are so set on what a PA does in Cape Town
On the way up...
.6. I should be able to spend a week in each section of the clinic, seeing what the different nurses do, as well as the PA's and the one doctor. I'm excited!
7. We have so much privacy in the U.S. When we are being medically questioned by a nurse, we are in our own room with the door closed. These people are being given pregnancy tests and told that they are or are not pregnant with quite a few others, male or female, in the room. Yesterday I was doing one and it came up positive, so I had to let the woman know. Another mother was in the room for a baby's checkup, and she looked at her and said, "You gonna tell your boyfriend, eh?" The pregnant 18-year old said, "He just went back to his country... he is from Zimbabwe." Then Jane and this other patient began counselling the girl on what to say and how to tell him, etc. It was really interesting.
8. Today I saw a woman dying of HIV/AIDS for the first time. The way the disease has attacked her body is so dark and horrible. She was so frail, she could barely even speak... it's just a matter of time before the foreign, invasive cells will win.
9. I love Imizamo Yethu's children. One little boy in the waiting room had a plastic bottle yesterday. He was probably about 5 years old, cross-eyed, so adorable, and had been at the clinic since the morning--it was now around 3:30 pm
and another angle
. The bottle flew out of his hands and headed toward me. I picked it up, and he looked terrified. Then I sat down on the floor where I was and slid it back to him. He caught it, looked at me, and I held out my hands as to tell him to send it back. His face lit up, and we slid, spun, and flicked the bottle back and forth for about 10 minutes before I had to go home. It definitely made my day, and I hope his too. His mother and the other women sitting with her gave me approving smiles as I left the room. I hope they understand why I traveled across the world to be with them.After work yesterday, some of us went to get Mexican food for dinner. The restaurants here are so cheap! I ordered the "Mexican portion" (smaller size), still had half to take home with me for tonight's dinner, and my meal was about $6.00. So Marisa and I decided it would be okay to split dessert. mmmmmm...
Today after work the interns arranged a hike up Lion's Head mountain because of the full moon. It is apparently tradition here in Cape Town. The trail wraps around the whole mountain, beginning as gravel/clay paths, and ending with large boulders you must climb with ladders, chains, and just your bare hands and feet (with shoes, of course). It was a challenging but REALLY fun hike, and the view from the top was my favorite thing I've seen yet!!!
The sun was captivating
! I hope I can upload the video I took as well... there was a group of South Africans singing at the top--it was an incredible experience. We just sat, talked, and watched the sun set and the full moon come up, while eating some bread and cheese, and some brought wine. To be sitting at the edge by myself, thousands of feet above the city, legs dangling, and watching the golden/orange ball sink under the horizon of the ocean was probably a highlight of my life so far--a moment I will never forget. The beauty of God displayed in his creation tonight honestly left me speechless. I wish I could wallpaper my room with that 360 degree view.I just set the alarm. Can't wait to see what tomorrow holds.
