During the past two
weeks I had the opportunity to experience nursing along the river. I went with
a few of the nurses from the hospital here in town. We jumped on one of the
local boats and went house to house checking children’s clinic cards and gave vaccines
when needed. The second house we arrived at had children that had never visited
the hospital for their vaccines. One was six years old! Needless to say I gave
them their first set of shots and emphasized the importance of them coming to
clinic, which is a short distance away by boat and then a 10 min bus ride. By the fifth house a system fell into place
where one nurse would look at the charts and tell me what vaccines to draw up,
I would pass them to the other nurse, and he would give it from the boat. When
there was a new baby that had not gone to clinic yet, we got out and went into
the house, did a well baby check up and filled out the baby’s new chart. I
enjoyed going into the houses, sitting on the floor, and working with the
locals. As we were boating down the
river enjoying the wind cooling us off four wild macaws flew over. Seeing the
Macaws was a friendly reminder that I am living in a rain forest. (A jungle
story blog will be coming soon!) I did the river trip two days in a row;
because the places were nearby we didn’t need to spend the night on the river.
There are a few later on that might require that, I am hoping to tag along! We
gave vaccines to countless children, did new baby assessments on 3 babies, and
“admitted” two pregnant women into the hospital. “Admitting” a patient basically is a chart
with their name, blood pressure, blood sugar, and how far along they are by
measuring their fundal height. Then we attempt to hear the babies heart beat with
a plastic cone instrument and try to encourage them that at the signs of labor
they should begin to make their way to the hospital) I also had the pleasure of
enjoying some local food, a Casava bread and chicken sandwich. Casava is a
root, some people compare is to a potato but I would compare it to taro but
white. The chicken is, well a real
chicken, and it was delicious!
On another day I went to a health post along the river.
There we helped out with clinic day. Women came to visit the nurse practitioner
and have their health questions answered. Again I was assigned to the children,
where I weighed, measured, and gave shots. We had a box of clothes that was
donated from the states that we handed out to the patients. When clinic was
finally over we climbed into our boat and drove to a calm spot where we were
able to relax and enjoy lunch of beans, rice, and fresh avocado. The water
looked so inviting. We drove to the center of the river, to get away from the
edges were we are not sure what is lurking between the mangroves, and jumped in,
scrubs and all. We figured that on the drive back we would become mostly dry.
I am continuing to volunteer at the hospital. Because the
hospital has enough staff, on slow days I go to learn. Not only am I a nurse
but also a student. I am working with
the lady in charge on Malaria for the region and she is slowly teaching me how
to diagnose malaria. I have a test coming up where I must identify objects from
a blood smears in the microscope.
While I am not doing
as much nursing as I originally imagined I am still busy! There are three different villages that I
have visited and simply checked their blood pressure and glucose. I am a
teacher by helping assist teaching a woman how to read. I am a mom, by raising my sheep. Lamb chop is
doing well. She is now integrated into the sheep flock and only comes to me for
food. I am a gardener planting egg plant, tomatoes, bora (long bitter green
beans) and other vegetables. I am a student learning many things, but most of
all I am a friend. I am enjoying getting to know the children and families that
live in my neighborhood. Walking home from the hospital is an enjoyable
experience because I actually recognize people now and can stop and talk to
them.
A little over half way through my stay and I’m so glad I
still have 3 months left! Please continue to keep me in your prayers!
