My Hospital!

This is Levolosi Hospital! :)

Hot Springs!

My roommate had to wear earplugs last night as I talked constantly. I blame it on my malaria pills.

A group of us went to the hot springs for a swim. It was a two hour drive, and I seriously have no idea how they found this place. We drove for hours through a poor, poor village that was dry, dusty and barren. Then all of a sudden we see a green, lush area, we have arrived! The area we drove though consisted of houses that were unfinished, or falling apart. Fences were pieces of scrap plastic. The roads were dirt and very uneven. However, they had an absolutely amazing view of Mount Kilimanjaro.

The hot springs were beautiful. The water was so clear, and surrounded by trees. However, they should rename it, “lukewarm springs”.

For lunch we had chips mayai, which is basically French fries baked into an egg omelette. We eat it at the house a few times a week, and it is not a favourite. However, when it was given to us freshly made, and covered in chili sauce, it was actually quite good! While we were eating we saw monkeys in the tree above us. Emily got pooped on. That’s good luck, right?

On the way home we got some unbelievable picture with Mount Kilimanjaro in the background. The poorest people, with the most rundown homes, had the most incredible view.

Mount Kilimanjaro: If you can't climb it, drink it.

Woke up at 5:45 for our hiking trip to Kilimanjaro. My throat was raw, and my voice was hoarse. Noooo! I knew I was bound to get sick eventually, as everyone on the Dala Dala likes to cough in my face. Thank you momma for making me put zinc tablets in my suitcase!

It was a two hour drive to the mountain, and when we got there it was a foggy haze. It was almost magical. Cassi and I did a stretch before we started the hike.

The hike was way harder than I was expecting. However, we were climbing a mountain, what did I expect? We ended up walking a total of 18km, up to 3000m altitude. It was amazing how the higher you got, the more difficult it was to breathe. It didn’t help that I was sick.

We walked through rainforest, and it was amazing! So gorgeous! I took many pictures, but like most things, it was impossible to capture its beauty on camera. The sun came out, and it got quite hot! It was gorgeous. At the beginning we were all chatting and talking pictures, but soon enough we were too busy concentrating on our feet to talk. The path was steep and uneven at times. I am going to be sore tomorrow. I can’t complain, there are porters who carry up supplies and luggage for the hikers who are climbing to the top. Worst job ever!

At 3000m we got to Maundi Crater. We walked around the rim and saw a fantastic view! You could see the clouds rolling in below you. Super pretty!

The hike down took two hours. There were a few times I almost slipped. A monkey almost peed on Molly’s head. She jumped out the way just in time. By the time the bottom came, I was exhausted. We all were! I was grateful with my decision not to climb to the top (which takes 5-8 days). No thanks! Some celebrated with a Kilimanjaro Beer. It was well deserved. You know what they say, if you can’t climb it, drink it!   

Shelby? Siri?

I got to placement by myself today! Only got lost for a moment. I was very proud of myself! Especially since Tamara had to take FOUR dala dalas, and still couldn’t find her way. Milan saw her walking in the wrong direction, so jumped out of his dala dala to save her. Haha.

The hospital has a little outdoor restaurant, and every day I get Chai (tea). She knows me by now, and says “Chai?” when I sit down. It tastes like Chai at home, but stronger spices. It is sooo good! And only 400tsh (26 cents)

I met some of the other volunteers and we went downtown. I booked tickets to Zanzibar!! Woo!! A big group of us are going together. Google Zanzibar, it’s a gorgeous place on the coast.

Me, Cassi, Katie, and Emily in front of the market, and Mount Meru.

We then went to the second hand market. Oh my! I would give anything for Shelby and Siri to be here with me!!! I can’t even explain it. It was giant building, after building of clothes piled up. There were baby clothes, adult clothes, shoes, back packs, sports uniforms, suitcases, dresses, everything you could think of! It was so overwhelming, that we just walked and browsed. There were literally tens of thousands of shoes. They are second hand, but many look very good. I was wondering where these articles come from, and one of the other volunteers has a theory that when people donate clothes to Africa, they end up here, instead of in orphanages or wherever else was promised. Emily bought jeans for $3. I bought Converse shoes for $9. I need to go back, but I am glad the first time was just to browse. 

Via Via!

Thursday nights are “social nights” with all the IVHQ volunteers in Arusha. All 3 volunteer houses, and people in homestays get together for a big meal and a few drinks. We all went to Simba House which is the name of one of the other volunteer houses. The roads up to the house are hooorendous! I feel bad for the vehicles here. The road is so uneven, that the vehicle constantly bottoms out. We stopped at a tiny kiosk/convenience store to buy a few beers. There, local kids jumped up and wanted to play with us. We had a huge meal, including goat (which was delicious!). I didn’t eat the chicken. One of the girls staying at the house got Malaria. She arrived in Tanzania the same day I did! What bad luck! So she was put on antibiotics. The rest of us decided to be more diligent with mosquito repellent!

We went out to a local bar called Via Via which was an outside bar with karaoke and a firepit. IVHQ has special drivers which we take everywhere, so they picked us up at home, then waited at the bar until we were ready to leave. 20+ volunteers went together, so it was a good time! Maasai men were having jumping contests, and dancing with the local ladies was insane! They were fabulous dancers. Made us Muzungu’s (white people) look pathetic. 

Safety First.

On Wednesday Tamara and I had to ask a few local people, but we found the hospital on our own! The Dala Dala was very packed in the morning. I had to stand, but there were so many people that the door wouldn’t close. Safety first, obviously.

Dala Dalas

Full Dala Dala

We got lost, so were a bit stressed about being late for morning report. People always say, “relax, we are on Tanzanian Time!” so, even though we were late for report, it didn’t start for another half an hour after we got there. All staff members meet first thing in the morning where they update on patients (in English…kinda), then other matters in Swahili. We spoke about preparing for Ebola, and the importance of taking a detailed history from patients flown in from other countries if they present with similar symptoms. Although there are no cases of Ebola in Tanzania at present, isolation precautions and preparations are being done.

The lady from yesterday’s c-section is doing well, and so is her little boy. So that was a relief. We “dusted” the labour and delivery patient rooms which consisted of cleaning bedside tables and windows with bleach water. Everything was so disgusting, it looked like cleaning was never done. There was splatter of who-knows-what all over the walls and tables. I was just overwhelmed. How is this healthy?

We spent the remainder of the day cutting gauze as there were no babies being born, and no scheduled surgeries. Gauze comes in a giant roll, and it is the staff’s responsibility to cut it, then it goes in the autoclave for sterilization. I really don’t mind doing duties like this, as I am here to help the hospital out as much as possible. 

I have used so much of my personal hand sanitizer as I haven’t seen any, or any soap anywhere on the units. Even the bathrooms have no soap (or toilet paper). So….yeah.

Thursday I spent the day helping in the HIV screening area. People would come in, give me their card, and I would locate their file. Then when the patient’s CD4 count results came back, I filed them. So, it was a day of filing, but it was interesting to see how things were organized and completed. The people who came in ranged from babies to old ladies. It was a busy day.

After placement, Hugh, Milan, Tamara and I explored nearby markets.  Everything is so bright and colourful. I loved the small, busy pathways filled with people and clothes.  Unfortunately we stood out, so people would come and “help” us and “show” us to other places, ultimately wanting a tip at the end for showing us around. We went to “Muzungu Market” which means white person market…a place popular for tourists. By the time we left, we had SEVEN guys following us around, it was irritating. There were plastic buckets of raw chickens sitting in the sun, covered in flies. I haven’t eaten chicken here since. I bought a stick from a Maasai medical man (a local tribe) which apparently helps headaches when you smell its smoke. If it works, I will fill my suitcase with them!  This place is so fun to explore! You never know what you will find!

On a side note: for those at home who are scared of me getting sick from Ebola or whatever else, I am more worried about crossing the street. I pray a prayer of thanks every time I cross successfully without getting hit. Traffic here is atrocious.

First day at the hospital!

Today is our first day at placement! So excited!

We are placed at Lovolosi hospital. We took a dala dala with one of the placement managers, then walked for about 20 minutes through shops, and stations, and back roads. We are expected to find this place ourselves, so we tried to remember landmarks. The problem was, everything was so colorful, and crazy, that everything looked the same. Tomorrow will be interesting.

I am placed with Hugh (a retired MD), Milan (a pharmacist), and Tamara (a neuroscience researcher). We were given a tour of the hospital. It’s hard to explain what it was like…basically there is a big courtyard, with rooms facing the center. They have a dental clinic, and HIV testing area, laboratory, pharmacy, injections and wound dressings area, 3 doctor offices, and a labour and delivery ward. Each doctor’s office was about the size of my bathroom, with a small desk and examination bed. Each room had 2 doctors, each taking on a different patient at the same time. So 6 patients were seen at a time, in 3 rooms each the size of my bathroom. I can’t explain what the departments are like. In particular, the dressing room had a small bed, no linens or anything. There was one little table with unsterilized tools, big containers that said "soap water", "clean water" and a “jar” with gauze. I want to work here to see what it is like!

Hugh, Tamara, and I were assigned to the Labour and Delivery unit. I wore scrubs from back home, and the nurses came and grabbed at me and put their hands in my pockets, gabbing to eachother in Swahili, grabbing at my ear piercings. I was thinking my scrubs were inappropriate or something, but then they were like, “very nice!! You so nice!” So, I guess they approved.

We were told to change and scrub in for surgery. Tamara and I came out wearing XXL scrubs, and rubber boots. We “scrubbed in” using soap that smelt like straight vodka. We went into the “theatre” and were given cloth masks and hats that had been sterilized. We mostly just observed the c-section, but we didn’t get any gloves. The anesthetist and surgeon wore sterile gloves. The set up for the anesthetist was very basic, not quite what I am used to.  He performed a spinal, and things got started. I am glad I had on rubber boots.

So the young lady who was getting a c-section apparently had pre-eclampsia. I am not sure the history, and what was known, but she did begin to seize during the operation. She was then given a muscle relaxant that knocked her right out.  Baby was removed, suctioned, and smacked around a bit so he would cry. Super cute! I left for a bit, and assisted other nurses on the ward while they sewed her back up. I came back later to see her in recovery (the recovery room: an open room with a stretcher which is beside the OR). She had a Spo2 monitor on her finger, and when I came in, it was at 63%.  It appeared like her tongue was obstructing her airway. Her Spo2 was now 48%.  The anesthetist went into the OR and brought back an airway which he put in, then bagged her. He slapped her around a bit and told her to wake up. Her Spo2 slowly came up, and her heart rate slowly started to come down. When her Spo2 and heart rate were close to normal and she was able to follow commands by squeezing the doctor’s hand, she was taken to the ward. They only have one Spo2 monitor, and it was needed for the upcoming surgery.

Everyone was so calm, and relaxed. Things were done, but chaos wasn’t involved. I thought about how stressful situations like this are back home. Is it necessary?

I took her vital signs (manual BP, resps, and HR actually) once she got to the ward. The “ward” had 9 beds in a room smaller than a 4-bed room at RUH, with only a few feet between beds. There was an attached bathroom, but the sink was clogged and filled with flies. The nurse took me by the hand and told me to document. She would just point in a direction and talk to me in Swahili, so I was very lost. She told me she loved me though and kept touching my hair and earrings, so I knew I was in good hands.

 Supper that night was chapati (like naan bread, or lefse), lentils, and papaya fruit. Such a good meal! I am going to be seriously fat when I get home.

Then the power went out. We played cards by candlelight.