I am so super excited to be able to tell you this!
Emma and I were told when we first arrived that one of the missionaries who lives out in the village was open to us coming and spending alternating months with her for three months - so one month I go, one month Emma goes. A HUGE decision on her part, but an AMAZING experience for Emma and I!
I met Margie Gould the first time I came to visit in Zambia and totally appreciated and respected her work and her decision to live in the village and not on a mission station. So, for many reasons this visit has been tremendously anticipated on my part- not just for the cultural and language immersion but also for the opportunity to get to know Margie and hear her stories and how she ended up where she did.
Last week we heard that Margie was ready to start taking us, and there was a vehicle coming from Loloma to Chit with Orthopaedic patients that one of us could return with. So after a flurry of discussions and decisions, it was decided that I would be the first to go while Emma focuses on hospital and her independent Lunda studies here.
So, this Thursday I will be leaving Chitokoloki to travel over to Loloma for a few days (which I am also looking forward to visiting with a nurse there from NFL, Rebekah Flynn as we have been in contact with each other for more than a year) and then either Saturday night or Sunday morning driving out to Katombi with Margie. And for more adventures!
Will try to keep you all updated on here! Apparently there is good wifi there, but really want to focus on learning as much as I can, so if you don't hear from me personally until November... that's why.
Sunday 22 September 2013
All in a Day's Work
So I've had some interesting adventures this past week that I thought you all might enjoy reading about. I am loving how doing something once or twice qualifies one as an expert, it was a bit disconcerting at first, but the experiences are great... and especially great stories to share :)
Breech Baby
I was kinda excited last Wednesday, as many of you saw from FB, to have delivered my first breech baby by myself... Emma was told by the ward staff there was a lady delivering breech. Usually JR would come for those sorts of deliveries because they are high risk and need to be prepared for C-section. But JR was busy in another specialized procedure... so guess who was sent in her place.
After a quick refresher on how to set up, Emma and I traipsed off to deliver this baby! I was super glad to have Emma there with me, especially when she started reading the text book on how to deliver breech babies ... oh the things that wouldn't happen at home!!! We were very careful to listen to our instructions and had the lady up in stirrups immediately... but the ward nurse reminded us it may be a bit of time yet and we probably wouldn't want to exhaust the lady just yet... Thankfully, we had just enough time to read through that portion of the text book about the different parts of the delivery when the mom communicated she felt like it was time to push....
yeah... did I mention I was excited before? Of course I was bathed once again in fluid. But the first part of the delivery went well. The body came out nicely, I didn't have to do too much.... everything was cool ... until I remembered that I couldn't remember how to get the arms out. PANIC .... there are only three minutes from the time the cord is out to the time the mouth comes out before the baby starts to go into distress. And the arms need to come out before the mouth can come. Yet again I was super glad that Emma was nearby and ran as soon as I said "I need JR". Just as she left the room tho I remembered how to pull the arms out over the baby's chest and was working on turning the baby to get the second arm out by the time JR came. Once the second arm was out, the head was the easy part that I remembered well what to do and definitely within our 3 minute time allotment we had delivered a beautiful baby girl :)
It was also especially exciting to be there when the nkaka came in to see her new granddaughter as the baby before had also been breech and was delivered in the village and didn't make it.
We discharged mom and baby girl Sunday morning and both were doing wonderful!
Weekend On Call
I learned how to do a lumbar puncture Friday (put a needle into the lower spine and draw out some spinal fluid). Unfortunately, the reason for this was a small baby about 7 mos was brought to us seizing. The baby seized for 40 minutes, which is a terribly long time, despite many doses of valium and a dose of phenobarb. But the hardest part was not fighting for the baby but watching the mom slowly give up hope. She brought the baby to us crying, and at first she was standing nearby watching everything. Maybe the nurses asked her to move back but not too long later she was sitting on a stool on the other side of the room looking completely hopeless. Even after we settled the baby and he was sleeping (drugged up on the valium) when I brought the mom over to sit with her baby she seemed completely detached.
It was special to go in the next day and be greeted with ecstatic smiles and thanks by mom holding her living baby. We're still not sure what caused the seizure... and we can only pray that there are no long term effects from the length of the seizure, but am very grateful to see both mom and baby doing well.
Saturday, I delivered my first 'normal' delivery. Up till now, all the deliveries have been high risk ones- twins, breech, prems. So it was cool to work with the ward nurses and deliver a healthy baby boy.
Saturday evening I received a call to come up to assess a referred patient who had dove into the Zambezi, hit his head and had a possible neck fracture. Rebekah, the ultra sonographer, and I went up and assessed the patient and did x-rays and then called Tanis and Dr. David to come take a look. It was determined that he had a c3 and c5 fracture and definite paralysis from the waist down, so into a neck collar and brought to the ICU for monitoring.
On ward rounds Sunday, Tanis decided that he was thrashing his head about way too much and he would benefit from skull traction. Especially as he was not listening when we explained he need to keep his neck still so as not to do any more damage.
So, after church Tanis and I with the help of Rebekah and then Emma returned to hospital to put our patient into head traction. What an involved process! The set up alone took about an hour and just when we thought we were ready to go we realized there was more to be sterilized which added another about 20 minutes to the whole process :S Considering the amount of time to set up, the actual procedure was relatively straightforward... oh, until we realized we needed pliers for the screws :) Tanis and Emma stayed with the patient, while I slipped out to Shawn n Rhonda's - the nearest house that would have the tools we needed ... again thinking... oh the things that would never happen back home :)
We set the traction up and settled the patient and then left. I received a call a few hours later. "Sister, the patient is gasping" I made it up there to see the patient was in fact cheyne stoking (irregular breathing pattern preceding death). It wasn't too much longer after that, that the patient did pass away. It is hard to try so hard to help only to watch a patient slip away and know there is nothing that can be done about it. But there were so many things against him- the location of the fracture, the crazy high fevers, a history of alcohol abuse and the signs of withdrawal. In one sense it is a blessing, he'll not be pinned to a chair or a bed all his life (he was only 34) but where is his soul now? Did he have a relationship with God? Did he know Christ as Saviour? Right now, only God knows, but how much more reason to share with people how much God loves them and that He wants them to come to Him and accept His Son as their Saviour!
When the Doctor is Away
This same night I was called up to hospital once again for a patient emergency. We had a lady with placenta previa who has been monitored in hospital for about a month. We've been hoping to get her baby as close to full term as possible before she delivered. Things were taken out of our hands when she started bleeding. So thankful to have Rebekah here as she came up and scanned our lady and determined that the bleeding was coming from where the placenta had begun to separate from the wall. Of course, the doctor was away for all this fun otherwise it would have been an emergency c section without question. After much discussion- all via txt (aren't we technologically advanced), and after an emergency call to the doctor, it was decided this lady needed immediate attention and required an emergency transfer to the nearest hospital with a doctor.
Since it was 730 at night, it was decided that it would be more efficient if Tanis and I went with the patient to Chavuma MH, 2 hrs away; Tanis driving and myself in the back of the truck with the patient. It was quite an experience! About 10 minutes in I realized the blood transfusion we had started wasn't transfusing any more, so for the next 1/2 hr on a very bumpy dirt road and in the dark I struggled to figure out what was wrong with the IV and how to get the transfusion working again. There was a valve inside that the cannula was resting against and after some repositioning it was working again but I had taken all the tape off the IV so for the remainder od the two hr trip I had to hold the IV in place while monitoring the transfusion and the patient.
We made it there in good time and the patient received her section, but we found out the next day that baby didn't make it. :( Its too bad, but she was only at 29 weeks and that's a struggle back home never mind here.
It was quite an interesting experience tho and a great learning opportunity. I am learning to be prepared for ANYTHING! All in a day's work!
Breech Baby
I was kinda excited last Wednesday, as many of you saw from FB, to have delivered my first breech baby by myself... Emma was told by the ward staff there was a lady delivering breech. Usually JR would come for those sorts of deliveries because they are high risk and need to be prepared for C-section. But JR was busy in another specialized procedure... so guess who was sent in her place.
After a quick refresher on how to set up, Emma and I traipsed off to deliver this baby! I was super glad to have Emma there with me, especially when she started reading the text book on how to deliver breech babies ... oh the things that wouldn't happen at home!!! We were very careful to listen to our instructions and had the lady up in stirrups immediately... but the ward nurse reminded us it may be a bit of time yet and we probably wouldn't want to exhaust the lady just yet... Thankfully, we had just enough time to read through that portion of the text book about the different parts of the delivery when the mom communicated she felt like it was time to push....
yeah... did I mention I was excited before? Of course I was bathed once again in fluid. But the first part of the delivery went well. The body came out nicely, I didn't have to do too much.... everything was cool ... until I remembered that I couldn't remember how to get the arms out. PANIC .... there are only three minutes from the time the cord is out to the time the mouth comes out before the baby starts to go into distress. And the arms need to come out before the mouth can come. Yet again I was super glad that Emma was nearby and ran as soon as I said "I need JR". Just as she left the room tho I remembered how to pull the arms out over the baby's chest and was working on turning the baby to get the second arm out by the time JR came. Once the second arm was out, the head was the easy part that I remembered well what to do and definitely within our 3 minute time allotment we had delivered a beautiful baby girl :)
It was also especially exciting to be there when the nkaka came in to see her new granddaughter as the baby before had also been breech and was delivered in the village and didn't make it.
We discharged mom and baby girl Sunday morning and both were doing wonderful!
Weekend On Call
I learned how to do a lumbar puncture Friday (put a needle into the lower spine and draw out some spinal fluid). Unfortunately, the reason for this was a small baby about 7 mos was brought to us seizing. The baby seized for 40 minutes, which is a terribly long time, despite many doses of valium and a dose of phenobarb. But the hardest part was not fighting for the baby but watching the mom slowly give up hope. She brought the baby to us crying, and at first she was standing nearby watching everything. Maybe the nurses asked her to move back but not too long later she was sitting on a stool on the other side of the room looking completely hopeless. Even after we settled the baby and he was sleeping (drugged up on the valium) when I brought the mom over to sit with her baby she seemed completely detached.
It was special to go in the next day and be greeted with ecstatic smiles and thanks by mom holding her living baby. We're still not sure what caused the seizure... and we can only pray that there are no long term effects from the length of the seizure, but am very grateful to see both mom and baby doing well.
Saturday, I delivered my first 'normal' delivery. Up till now, all the deliveries have been high risk ones- twins, breech, prems. So it was cool to work with the ward nurses and deliver a healthy baby boy.
Saturday evening I received a call to come up to assess a referred patient who had dove into the Zambezi, hit his head and had a possible neck fracture. Rebekah, the ultra sonographer, and I went up and assessed the patient and did x-rays and then called Tanis and Dr. David to come take a look. It was determined that he had a c3 and c5 fracture and definite paralysis from the waist down, so into a neck collar and brought to the ICU for monitoring.
On ward rounds Sunday, Tanis decided that he was thrashing his head about way too much and he would benefit from skull traction. Especially as he was not listening when we explained he need to keep his neck still so as not to do any more damage.
So, after church Tanis and I with the help of Rebekah and then Emma returned to hospital to put our patient into head traction. What an involved process! The set up alone took about an hour and just when we thought we were ready to go we realized there was more to be sterilized which added another about 20 minutes to the whole process :S Considering the amount of time to set up, the actual procedure was relatively straightforward... oh, until we realized we needed pliers for the screws :) Tanis and Emma stayed with the patient, while I slipped out to Shawn n Rhonda's - the nearest house that would have the tools we needed ... again thinking... oh the things that would never happen back home :)
We set the traction up and settled the patient and then left. I received a call a few hours later. "Sister, the patient is gasping" I made it up there to see the patient was in fact cheyne stoking (irregular breathing pattern preceding death). It wasn't too much longer after that, that the patient did pass away. It is hard to try so hard to help only to watch a patient slip away and know there is nothing that can be done about it. But there were so many things against him- the location of the fracture, the crazy high fevers, a history of alcohol abuse and the signs of withdrawal. In one sense it is a blessing, he'll not be pinned to a chair or a bed all his life (he was only 34) but where is his soul now? Did he have a relationship with God? Did he know Christ as Saviour? Right now, only God knows, but how much more reason to share with people how much God loves them and that He wants them to come to Him and accept His Son as their Saviour!
When the Doctor is Away
This same night I was called up to hospital once again for a patient emergency. We had a lady with placenta previa who has been monitored in hospital for about a month. We've been hoping to get her baby as close to full term as possible before she delivered. Things were taken out of our hands when she started bleeding. So thankful to have Rebekah here as she came up and scanned our lady and determined that the bleeding was coming from where the placenta had begun to separate from the wall. Of course, the doctor was away for all this fun otherwise it would have been an emergency c section without question. After much discussion- all via txt (aren't we technologically advanced), and after an emergency call to the doctor, it was decided this lady needed immediate attention and required an emergency transfer to the nearest hospital with a doctor.
Since it was 730 at night, it was decided that it would be more efficient if Tanis and I went with the patient to Chavuma MH, 2 hrs away; Tanis driving and myself in the back of the truck with the patient. It was quite an experience! About 10 minutes in I realized the blood transfusion we had started wasn't transfusing any more, so for the next 1/2 hr on a very bumpy dirt road and in the dark I struggled to figure out what was wrong with the IV and how to get the transfusion working again. There was a valve inside that the cannula was resting against and after some repositioning it was working again but I had taken all the tape off the IV so for the remainder od the two hr trip I had to hold the IV in place while monitoring the transfusion and the patient.
We made it there in good time and the patient received her section, but we found out the next day that baby didn't make it. :( Its too bad, but she was only at 29 weeks and that's a struggle back home never mind here.
It was quite an interesting experience tho and a great learning opportunity. I am learning to be prepared for ANYTHING! All in a day's work!
Saturday 14 September 2013
Home - part 2
You are the Home I could never deserve
In the Lord I take refuge. He is my Steadfast Love and my Fortress, my Stronghold and my Deliverer, my Shield and He in whom I take refuge.
I wrote that last post the night before I left but decided not to post it, it seemed too scarily honest :S. But then came across it yesterday while looking for a list of Lunda words. After some debating (and encouragement, thanks G) I decided that maybe now was the time to post it. Now when things look much different than they did two months ago. Much different from what I expected and much different from what I feared.
I have never managed a good relationship with Change. And this experience has been no different. So many thoughts have raced through my head as I planned and travelled and eventually arrived here in Chitokoloki Zambia, my new home. At the time, even up until recently maybe, I seriously doubted whether I would ever be able to call this place home.
not having my roommates at a text away (sometimes even from in the house)
not having the conversations with those colleagues that always ended with "He gives more grace"
not having my Sunday school kiddos that were really just some of my youngest friends
or the practiced reality "He is able to accomplish what concerns me today"
or having my nephew close by to squeeeeeze
But I've been learning something that is so cool! (And I am still just learning it, I have not even come close to mastering it or even really being good at it) But as I have let go of the things that worried me to reach for the things my Father is handing me, those things that I have been longing for became added blessings. And home is just one of these blessings.
This place in many ways has now become my home. Its not been easy, its not even necessarily a trade I would have wanted to make for any other reason, but it has happened, even despite all my doubts and fears. But I think it is so cool that as I have learned the importance of and begun to practice making my home in God, I have found that this place has become more and more my home.
What are the things my Father has been handing me?
There have been 4 specific moments during these last two months that I can specifically recall and say: "I let go". It wasn't the easiest thing, there is something that seems unfair about letting go what one has been grasping for. I have had to remind myself on many occasions: and never murmur or repine (complain or mourn) But in the end, what a cool thing to see that as dependence on my Father increases my ability to feel at home also increases. Not in the way I expected to see but in a way that I know comes only from making one's home in Him
He is the home I could never deserve. He is the home I am looking for. He is home. And where I find Him I find Home. He is the foundation, my foundation that can never be moved.
When you hide in the secret place where the Most High is
You will live under the shadow of the Almighty
It wasn't an easy trade, and sometimes I wonder if it is worth it (I think, at only 2 1/2 mos in this is still ok). But I know, I know, this is the road home. Not so much to an earthly place, but to the home my Father has prepared for me in Him, a place where He is all and in all to me, a place where I can say with honesty (because I couldn't say this honestly right now) : All that thrills my soul is Jesus.
Psalm 27:4-5 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCV7sQ06b-4
I wrote that last post the night before I left but decided not to post it, it seemed too scarily honest :S. But then came across it yesterday while looking for a list of Lunda words. After some debating (and encouragement, thanks G) I decided that maybe now was the time to post it. Now when things look much different than they did two months ago. Much different from what I expected and much different from what I feared.
I have never managed a good relationship with Change. And this experience has been no different. So many thoughts have raced through my head as I planned and travelled and eventually arrived here in Chitokoloki Zambia, my new home. At the time, even up until recently maybe, I seriously doubted whether I would ever be able to call this place home.
not having my roommates at a text away (sometimes even from in the house)
not having the conversations with those colleagues that always ended with "He gives more grace"
not having my Sunday school kiddos that were really just some of my youngest friends
or the practiced reality "He is able to accomplish what concerns me today"
or having my nephew close by to squeeeeeze
When the winds come hard against us
You are steadfast, You are true
When the ground beneath us trembles
Your foundation never moves
But I've been learning something that is so cool! (And I am still just learning it, I have not even come close to mastering it or even really being good at it) But as I have let go of the things that worried me to reach for the things my Father is handing me, those things that I have been longing for became added blessings. And home is just one of these blessings.
This place in many ways has now become my home. Its not been easy, its not even necessarily a trade I would have wanted to make for any other reason, but it has happened, even despite all my doubts and fears. But I think it is so cool that as I have learned the importance of and begun to practice making my home in God, I have found that this place has become more and more my home.
What are the things my Father has been handing me?
Himself
In learning dependence on Him I am learning to trust Him
to trust that each event of the day whatever it is has come from Him
to trust that each event of the day whatever it is has come from Him
Each patient interaction has been given by Him
Whether things go the way I planned or not, He has allowed it
The constant awareness that He truly is with me every moment of my day
There have been 4 specific moments during these last two months that I can specifically recall and say: "I let go". It wasn't the easiest thing, there is something that seems unfair about letting go what one has been grasping for. I have had to remind myself on many occasions: and never murmur or repine (complain or mourn) But in the end, what a cool thing to see that as dependence on my Father increases my ability to feel at home also increases. Not in the way I expected to see but in a way that I know comes only from making one's home in Him
He is the home I could never deserve. He is the home I am looking for. He is home. And where I find Him I find Home. He is the foundation, my foundation that can never be moved.
When you hide in the secret place where the Most High is
You will live under the shadow of the Almighty
It wasn't an easy trade, and sometimes I wonder if it is worth it (I think, at only 2 1/2 mos in this is still ok). But I know, I know, this is the road home. Not so much to an earthly place, but to the home my Father has prepared for me in Him, a place where He is all and in all to me, a place where I can say with honesty (because I couldn't say this honestly right now) : All that thrills my soul is Jesus.
You are my Shelter, my Shield
You are the home I could never deserve
Here I will stay ever under Your gaze
Here I will serve ever singing Your praise
Psalm 27:4-5 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCV7sQ06b-4
Home- part 1
I have a bad case of the 'what if' worms running around in my head tonight :) only this time they're not just worms, they're Roald Dahl type slugs slinging taunts and jeers "what if you fail?" "what if this..." "what if that..." What if?
I can't help but ask myself again 'why am I doing this?'. I liked my life, I liked the happy busy - ness of running between work and teen night and Sunday school. I liked my colleagues, most of whom became friends, some so dear to my heart that it almost hurts to think of not going in and laughing and griping and praising God together through the craziness of the unit. I liked the patients, the people and their needs and being able to help them. I liked the challenge of teaching pertinent and challenging lessons to Sunday school kids too bright for their own good. I liked trying to answer the questions of the teens searching out what this life means and who God is and who they are. I liked being surrounding by the people who mean the most to me (and who doesn't!) I liked knowing what God expected from me during my day, it was straightforward, it was familiar, it was practiced. To you these might sound like grumblings, but they're not. These are the things I counted when I counted the cost and determined that knowing Christ far outweighed having these things that are so dear to my heart.
But, still I wonder and I worry without this safe and familiar and comfortable world that I have enjoyed these past 5 years what if I can't survive?
I can't help but ask myself again 'why am I doing this?'. I liked my life, I liked the happy busy - ness of running between work and teen night and Sunday school. I liked my colleagues, most of whom became friends, some so dear to my heart that it almost hurts to think of not going in and laughing and griping and praising God together through the craziness of the unit. I liked the patients, the people and their needs and being able to help them. I liked the challenge of teaching pertinent and challenging lessons to Sunday school kids too bright for their own good. I liked trying to answer the questions of the teens searching out what this life means and who God is and who they are. I liked being surrounding by the people who mean the most to me (and who doesn't!) I liked knowing what God expected from me during my day, it was straightforward, it was familiar, it was practiced. To you these might sound like grumblings, but they're not. These are the things I counted when I counted the cost and determined that knowing Christ far outweighed having these things that are so dear to my heart.
But, still I wonder and I worry without this safe and familiar and comfortable world that I have enjoyed these past 5 years what if I can't survive?
But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
the Voice of Truth says do not be afraid
and the Voice of Truth says this is for my glory
out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth.
Over the last few months I've had a lot of people comment on how brave I must be to go out and do this, so many say I always wanted to but I couldn't imagine leaving .... (insert something here). But here's the thing: I'm not really brave at all! I'm a chicken heart and I want to be surrounded by those people and the thought of them not being there and the thought of having to start all over and the thought that I may never enjoy such close community and happy craziness again terrifies me. Can you see my monster slugs yet? When I left work that night for the last time two months ago can I explain the emptiness that swallowed me up. The unit has been the most solid part of my life, definitely taking up the biggest part of it. Something I have prayed over and for since starting there and a place that has become a home. I was glad for the comforting words of that hymn: Lord I would clasp my hand in Thine
Be strong and of a good courage and do not be afraid... I want to laugh at those words there is no way those word could ever describe me, until I read the next... For The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
The Lord your God is with you wherever you go
The Lord your God is with you wherever you go
This is why I can do this, this is why I will get on that plane tomorrow that will take me out of Dublin. Away from the last of the family this far east and head toward a land of people I barely know and a life so different from the safe and comfortable craziness I have loved here in TO. Because its in these hard and uncomfortable places that I see who God is. I am like those Greeks who came to the temple asking 'sirs, we would see Jesus.' I want to see Him! I want to know Him! I want to be found in Him! I am going because The Lord my God is with me even there. And because somehow something of this is for His glory. And because for me that makes it all worthwhile.
Lord I would clasp my hand in Thine
And never murmur or repine
Content whatever lot I see
Since 'tis Thy hand that leadeth me
Friday 6 September 2013
a typical week
So I thought it may be fun to give you a run down of a typical week here now that there is a bit of a routine.
My time is primarily spent up at hospital but I try to get out to visit the people around as much as I can. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are Ward round days, they also tend to be my busiest days in hospital. So JR, Emma and I accompany Dr. David and review each patient's condition and progress. While rounds can seem long at times, this is when the best learning occurs. I have seen some of the most interesting patient cases here! There are 5 wards here in hospital: ICU, Men's, Women's, Children's and Maternity. There is also Old Hospital, or Kabwita, and Colony but ward rounds are done collectively only on the hospital wards. After ward rounds we all head down to the Theatre and the sometimes daunting number of patients to be seen for dressing changes, examinations, ultra sound scans, XR's, the doctor's clinic and any number of other tests and procedures that need to be done. We are very fortunate to have with us right now Rebekah Stickford who is an ultra sonographer and Rodney Staughan who is a radiologist to do our scans for us. We start in hospital Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 0730 and go until the work is done aside from tea around 10 and lunch around 13. So some days like today we are pretty much done by 13 but many days it can be 16 or 17 hrs before we finish depending on what big procedures need to be done- taps, draining, large dressing changes (we have a boy right now with an ox cart injury who needs his dressing change done under anesthetic... don't worry, I won't share pictures of that one) and so forth. After we get through all of that mess of patients, on Mondays there are a few small girls who come over to play. We actually can't communicate much but we still manage to have a fun time when they come. In the evenings, I have Lunda lessons over at JR's. Right now we are working through questions on the ante natal card which is really good for my comprehension and for a good laugh. I am starting to be able to work out questions and requests on the spot, but understanding what people are saying to me in response is still a struggle... but chovu chovu :) Its actually kinda fun right now when I get in the middle of a sentence and can't think of the English word and its starting to happen more often. it actually feels really weird right now to carry on a conversation completely in English.
On Wednesday I have been going to visit the Colony patients with JR. I think I talked about Colony before, but the Colony is where our long term patients say like the TB patients, our two chemo patients, leprosy patients, and also people who need a place to live and extra help with resources and food etc. So mostly when there, we are just checking up on these patients making sure they are getting healthier or maintaining their standard of health, getting the extra nutrition they need while at hospital. So many come from so far away. We had a lady today anxious to go home but was a three day walk to her village :S Wednesday's if we finish before 16hrs there is the Bible Study at the church. Wednesday evenings I try to do some studying (there is always something more to study- maternity, tropical medicine, HIV, pharmacology, Lunda, etc) but also try either to have some of the kiddies over or to visit some of the people around. And the same on Fridays after the work is done at hospital. However, some Friday's I try either have a bit of quiet time myself or slip up to Shawn n Rhonda's to visit with them.
Tuesday and Thursday are a bit different. These are theatre days (surgery). So the doctor is in theatre ALL day. But another great learning opportunity! Tuesday is Emma's theatre day and Thursday is mine. So on Tuesday's I do the ward rounds independently (still working at this :S this is probably this part of the job I am least sure about) but great for understanding better what is happening with each patient and there is freedom to go at my own pace and get to know the patients a bit better myself. Its also great for practicing my Lunda and for trying to understand what is being said. The staff I work with are really great for the most part if I have questions and a lot of their input is really helpful! Especially at this point when I am still trying to figure out the drugs and dosages :)
I usually finish around 13 hrs on Tuesday and run home for lunch and then out to the Colony sewing club with Rhonda. The ladies from the colony and also from some of the surrounding villages come and its almost like a Sunday school. They say their verse, they get a new craft and then there is a Bible lesson. Its a great opportunity to get to know some of the local ladies and to work with them. And in the evening is the English Bible study; as much as I am enjoying my Lunda studies, it is nice to have a meeting where I can actually understand what is being said. :)
Thursdays are my theatre days. Being a medicine nurse this is a completely new area of nursing/ medical care. But I am enjoying the challenge of learning in this area. This past week I scrubbed in for all the surgeries on Thursday which was a fabulous experience. The morning surgery was a great learning curve as they threw in a few dental instruments which are new to me (comparatively lol) but it made for an especially fun learning experience trying to figure out what the doctor wanted when he asked for the 'funny dental thing' and then the 'pokey one' ... :)
Every third weekend I am on call with Tanis which means ward rounds again up at the hospital on Saturday mornings and Sunday mornings before church. I have been learning to appreciate Saturday as a chance to sleep in past 0630 and to use Saturdays as an opportunity for doing something other than work. Although most Saturdays there are Lunda lessons up at Shawn n Rhonda's with JR and Emma and a local Zambian, Boston, who is also the social worker for the hospital and helps out quite a bit with other mission related things. Because JR and Shawn and Rhonda have been here for much longer these lessons are quite a bit deeper, but I still find it helpful to go and challenge myself and share in some of the discussions from their questions.
And then Sundays.... wow... writing all this down makes me feel tired ;) Sundays is church of course. After which I try to catch up on sleep! And then either I go with Shawn and Rhonda into one of the villages that Shawn preaches in or else I head up to the Colony Sunday school to help out there. I've learned to have a message prepared because whenever I go up there they ask me to speak :S its great fun tho- so many hearts that need His light and His love! There is also a lady that I try to visit on Sundays; she speaks English very well and we have a great time chatting, she shares her stories and teaches me more Lunda. Its cool to get a different perspective on Lunda as she would speak more old Lunda that what I learn either in my lessons, with the kids or up at the hospital. Its also just good to have another teacher ;) And then to finish Sunday evenings off there is the English Gospel Meeting and then the Missionary meeting. And by that point I am so ready for bed!
I hope this gives you all an idea of what my life is like here. Its hard to believe sometimes that I have only been here two months... at other times I can hardly believe it has been two months :) There is so much that I am learning and experiencing and so many ways that I am being challenged. But as always God's grace is vibrant and real and life giving- I personally will go with you and I will give you rest!
The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar
They are planted in the house of the Lord
They still bear fruit in old age
They are ever full of sap and green
To declare that the Lord is upright
He is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him
My time is primarily spent up at hospital but I try to get out to visit the people around as much as I can. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are Ward round days, they also tend to be my busiest days in hospital. So JR, Emma and I accompany Dr. David and review each patient's condition and progress. While rounds can seem long at times, this is when the best learning occurs. I have seen some of the most interesting patient cases here! There are 5 wards here in hospital: ICU, Men's, Women's, Children's and Maternity. There is also Old Hospital, or Kabwita, and Colony but ward rounds are done collectively only on the hospital wards. After ward rounds we all head down to the Theatre and the sometimes daunting number of patients to be seen for dressing changes, examinations, ultra sound scans, XR's, the doctor's clinic and any number of other tests and procedures that need to be done. We are very fortunate to have with us right now Rebekah Stickford who is an ultra sonographer and Rodney Staughan who is a radiologist to do our scans for us. We start in hospital Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 0730 and go until the work is done aside from tea around 10 and lunch around 13. So some days like today we are pretty much done by 13 but many days it can be 16 or 17 hrs before we finish depending on what big procedures need to be done- taps, draining, large dressing changes (we have a boy right now with an ox cart injury who needs his dressing change done under anesthetic... don't worry, I won't share pictures of that one) and so forth. After we get through all of that mess of patients, on Mondays there are a few small girls who come over to play. We actually can't communicate much but we still manage to have a fun time when they come. In the evenings, I have Lunda lessons over at JR's. Right now we are working through questions on the ante natal card which is really good for my comprehension and for a good laugh. I am starting to be able to work out questions and requests on the spot, but understanding what people are saying to me in response is still a struggle... but chovu chovu :) Its actually kinda fun right now when I get in the middle of a sentence and can't think of the English word and its starting to happen more often. it actually feels really weird right now to carry on a conversation completely in English.
On Wednesday I have been going to visit the Colony patients with JR. I think I talked about Colony before, but the Colony is where our long term patients say like the TB patients, our two chemo patients, leprosy patients, and also people who need a place to live and extra help with resources and food etc. So mostly when there, we are just checking up on these patients making sure they are getting healthier or maintaining their standard of health, getting the extra nutrition they need while at hospital. So many come from so far away. We had a lady today anxious to go home but was a three day walk to her village :S Wednesday's if we finish before 16hrs there is the Bible Study at the church. Wednesday evenings I try to do some studying (there is always something more to study- maternity, tropical medicine, HIV, pharmacology, Lunda, etc) but also try either to have some of the kiddies over or to visit some of the people around. And the same on Fridays after the work is done at hospital. However, some Friday's I try either have a bit of quiet time myself or slip up to Shawn n Rhonda's to visit with them.
Tuesday and Thursday are a bit different. These are theatre days (surgery). So the doctor is in theatre ALL day. But another great learning opportunity! Tuesday is Emma's theatre day and Thursday is mine. So on Tuesday's I do the ward rounds independently (still working at this :S this is probably this part of the job I am least sure about) but great for understanding better what is happening with each patient and there is freedom to go at my own pace and get to know the patients a bit better myself. Its also great for practicing my Lunda and for trying to understand what is being said. The staff I work with are really great for the most part if I have questions and a lot of their input is really helpful! Especially at this point when I am still trying to figure out the drugs and dosages :)
I usually finish around 13 hrs on Tuesday and run home for lunch and then out to the Colony sewing club with Rhonda. The ladies from the colony and also from some of the surrounding villages come and its almost like a Sunday school. They say their verse, they get a new craft and then there is a Bible lesson. Its a great opportunity to get to know some of the local ladies and to work with them. And in the evening is the English Bible study; as much as I am enjoying my Lunda studies, it is nice to have a meeting where I can actually understand what is being said. :)
Thursdays are my theatre days. Being a medicine nurse this is a completely new area of nursing/ medical care. But I am enjoying the challenge of learning in this area. This past week I scrubbed in for all the surgeries on Thursday which was a fabulous experience. The morning surgery was a great learning curve as they threw in a few dental instruments which are new to me (comparatively lol) but it made for an especially fun learning experience trying to figure out what the doctor wanted when he asked for the 'funny dental thing' and then the 'pokey one' ... :)
Every third weekend I am on call with Tanis which means ward rounds again up at the hospital on Saturday mornings and Sunday mornings before church. I have been learning to appreciate Saturday as a chance to sleep in past 0630 and to use Saturdays as an opportunity for doing something other than work. Although most Saturdays there are Lunda lessons up at Shawn n Rhonda's with JR and Emma and a local Zambian, Boston, who is also the social worker for the hospital and helps out quite a bit with other mission related things. Because JR and Shawn and Rhonda have been here for much longer these lessons are quite a bit deeper, but I still find it helpful to go and challenge myself and share in some of the discussions from their questions.
And then Sundays.... wow... writing all this down makes me feel tired ;) Sundays is church of course. After which I try to catch up on sleep! And then either I go with Shawn and Rhonda into one of the villages that Shawn preaches in or else I head up to the Colony Sunday school to help out there. I've learned to have a message prepared because whenever I go up there they ask me to speak :S its great fun tho- so many hearts that need His light and His love! There is also a lady that I try to visit on Sundays; she speaks English very well and we have a great time chatting, she shares her stories and teaches me more Lunda. Its cool to get a different perspective on Lunda as she would speak more old Lunda that what I learn either in my lessons, with the kids or up at the hospital. Its also just good to have another teacher ;) And then to finish Sunday evenings off there is the English Gospel Meeting and then the Missionary meeting. And by that point I am so ready for bed!
I hope this gives you all an idea of what my life is like here. Its hard to believe sometimes that I have only been here two months... at other times I can hardly believe it has been two months :) There is so much that I am learning and experiencing and so many ways that I am being challenged. But as always God's grace is vibrant and real and life giving- I personally will go with you and I will give you rest!
The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar
They are planted in the house of the Lord
They still bear fruit in old age
They are ever full of sap and green
To declare that the Lord is upright
He is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him
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