Needless to say, I had toured around
the village – meeting and speaking to students, teachers and
villagers. I'd met a man who told me all he knew about the eagle (it
was actually incredible), and another who told me of a well-known
place on the mountain to pray and fast. Kristi, a teenage girl, had
given me a tour of the tailoring classroom. Young girls sat at a row
of sewing machine – brightly colored fabrics behind them, and a
gorgeous aray of clothing hanging on the racks to the left. Jon and I
had gone to a buffet that the catering school had put on, and then
walked into the community to visit one of Watoto Suubi's cleaners.
 |
| Products from sewing class |
Today, I was ready to get to work. On
arrival, I toured the pharmacy, getting used to where all their
medications were, and the brand names they used. Sheryl, a nurse
volunteer from Australia, arrived soon after, and together we rolled
out a number of cotton balls for the morning. She had brought a large
roll from home and we tried only to put together what we would be
using during our shift.
“What about alcohol swabs?” I
asked.
“They have some, but few. They use
them very sparingly.”
To inject someone, or put in an IV,
they dip the homemade cotton swabs into Normal Saline or an
antiseptic available, and rub it on their skin.
“And I pray.” She added.
The resources are so few from what I
was used to. The scissors and forceps had been sterilized in boiling
water so many times, that Sheryl had been tossing the rusty ones. The
dressing kits were none, so the bandages for wounds were makeshift
from the assortment available. However, they do very well with what
they had available, keeping accessories organized and labelled checking expiry dates on supplies and medications, and keeping
surfaces clean.
Upon drawing up an IV medication, I
noticed a plastic piece underneath the plunger, had broken off, and
the medication wasn't pulling into the syringe anymore. I learned,
this was because I had already pushed the needle all the way down (in
removing air), and therefore, it breaks the seal so that medical professionelles will not re-use their needles.
“A Ugandan needle” Sheryl told me.
I remembered reading about the spread
of Ebola Zaire. How a man infected by antelope bushmeat, had
gone to the nuns for his vaccinations, and received his needle. The
nuns, re-using the same five needles for everyone, proceeded to
inject the rest of the community with Ebola, unknowingly I was glad
for needles which, on using, broke the vacuum seal.
Upon preparing for a 13-year-old boy to receive 500mL of Normal Saline, I noticed a teenage girl convulsing
in the admission room. The young boy with me had wide eyes as he
looked over at her, and there was no curtain or divider in a space
with eight beds. I sat him and his mother down, and reassured them.
Sheryl entered the room, in no time – a needle in hand.
“It's okay Abi” She soothed. “You
will be alright.” She injected the needle into the IV cannula in
her right arm. The girl stopped, almost immediately.
“What did you give her?” I later
asked Sheryl.
“Normal Saline.”
A lot of the children in the village
have come from traumatic or abusive backgrounds. Therefore, the
doctor was explaining to us that it wasn't uncommon for some to come
in often, and act in this way, when really what they needed were
counsel and attention.
“We went through so so much
medication before we realized what it really was.” she had told us.
I felt very badly for the girl. They
had gotten psychologists since, to come see some of the children.
However, when they still arrive in distress, the waiting room is
full, staff is low and there is unresolved shaking...an injection of
water seems to soothe.
Dr. Irene, Sheryl and I, worked
together until after 5pm. There are two other nurses that work at
Suubi clinic – one is off studying for her medical exams to be a
doctor, the other has a child sick at home. Dr. Irene was more than
grateful for the help, as she often prescribes medications, then runs
off to the treatment room to do IV's and dressings on her own, and
then goes back to her office to see more patients. At twenty-six, she
always has a smile and an encouraging word. She is the first one
there in the morning, has been the only doctor in for 3 weeks, and is
on call 24 hours. She is 28 weeks pregnant. Irene is truly a light
for Christ in Watoto's Suubi Clinic.
 |
| The Pharmacy |
No comments:
Post a Comment