This weekend was full of contrasts. I was on call for ER Friday night – shifts are 8.00pm to 8.00am. Fortunately as a volunteer I always have back up . The ER was busy with malnourished kids, typhoid patients and a little one with asthma. After 11.00pm it was quieter. The nurses deal with a lot of cases. However at 6.30am I was called to the pediatric ward as a baby had a cardiac arrest due to neonatal sepsis. When I arrived the baby had stopped breathing and already had fixed dilated pupils and had died. Unfortunately there is no neonatal care unit and babies who are very young with fevers do not do well. I found it so hard though unfortunately it is a common occurrence here.
Then on Saturday we went to the market to get some fruits and veggies. We were able to get peanuts (raw in their shells) and lots of bananas and pineapple. In the afternoon Ric played volleyball whilst I socialized. It was nice to be able to relax after a stressful night and morning. I made some rolls in the evening .
Sunday was a highlight day so far. We went off base to the highlands to go to a church. It was a very pretty (if somewhat bumpy) drive about 20mins north of the hospital. The scenery was lovely and it was interesting seeing how the people live. Then we hiked 20 minutes -across a few “bridges” (- tree trunks with a few boards across them ) to a little highland church. The people had been told we were coming so waited to start the service until we arrived. There are lots of churches in PNG as most people don’t have cars so things need to be within walking distance.
We were able to see the different types of houses – Kunia houses (grass roof houses with a fire in the middle) or copper houses – those with a tin roof with a cook house separate. These people lead very hard lives – quite remote from life as we know it. They are so friendly to us ( as they know most foreigners around here work at the hospital).
After the service we drove to Banz a town close to Kudjip. There is a restaurant with a pool. It was so nice to relax and watch the kids play and have a lovely meal. What a day. We felt seeing the countryside and the way the people live was a real privilege.