This week has been a mixture of emotions. We are settling into life at the hospital. One of the missionaries from the USA brings over teams. This week she had a big group – 17 people. There were lots of them building a house for a very poor patient of the hospital. In their group there was also a paediatrician and radiologist. I took the Paediatrician ( Janine) to the paediatric ward round which was interesting seeing her perspective on the patients. Some of the kids in the ward are really sick (there is a little kid with heart failure +/- TB) .
I also had her husband Chuck (radiologist) on speed dial and sent him a few pictures of x-rays – they don’t get read by a radiologist here ( well they can be if you request it but it takes 2 weeks). Was so useful having a second opinion. He ultrasounded this baby’s head as the child had developmental delay.
Clinic monday and wednesday wasn’t as busy but I found the patients expected more. Patients have to pay to see me – but the cost is 3-4 times the cost of seeing a clinical officer. Most of the patients have chronic illness such as arthritis, gastritis, diabetes and hypertension and I saw two children – one kid had been deaf and couldnt talk since birth (sweet little boy) and another with global development delay. However wednesday I treated a lady with a new diagnosis of diabetes and a lady with a threatened miscarriage so I felt i could be of some help.
Ric is still helping Eric with a big project to change over the electricity in the hospital. They had a Zoom call with the engineers from the USA. I think Ric is trying hard to work at the Kenyan’s pace and not his usual go go go.
I too find it hard when I am not busy and sometimes feel a little guilty. Our flatmate Thu Ha wants to start to run a marathon so has dragged me out running. We run in the hospital compound – in a field next to the nurses teaching rooms.
Thursday is my quietist day. Today there was the dedication of the house the team had built so we went along for the experience (Thu Ha and I went – Ric was busy on his Zoom call.) These people have very very little but were very grateful for the house. (The family lived in a 10×10 shack and now have a 12 x 24 sturdy house.) They were also given a kitchen garden – barrell to grow food. The house on the right – the children of the village sang welcome songs for us.
