Day Two: Treatment Day and ABCs 7/2

We spent our second morning again in the pediatric ward. We saw 2 of our nursing student friends. They took us around the hospital again and gave us a few more introductions. I think they will be really helpful. Each ally we can earn, the more likely we are to gain the trust of the other nurses and physicians, not to mention the patients.

Yesterday we went home for lunch around noon, but today we were talked into staying for treatment. We weren't exactly sure what we would be doing or what exactly treatment was but we agreed. The first thing the nurses had us do was call out the patient names and pass out charts. You can only imagine how funny it must have been to hear us butcher these names. Next, we watched as everyone lined up. The nurses had a tray full of medicines that were to be mixed in certain amounts and given to the patients. From my perspective, it seemed chaotic and unorganized but everyone else seemed to handle it just fine. I just have to keep telling myself there is more than one way to do things.

After lunch we headed back to the hospital and visited the small operating theater. There we talked to a local medical student who explained the ideas behind circumcision as a way to combat the high HIV rates. He said that most of the time, circumcisions aren't performed on men until they are approaching adulthood. We also learned about the ABCs for reducing HIV risk...Abstinence, Be faithful, and Condom use.

Then we headed over to the female ward, which houses patients 5 and older. A few of the students we met the day before introduced us to that ward. They took time to explain some of the patient charts and even took us to see patients. I even got to see a femur fracture patient and attempted to intelligently look at a few x-rays. 

At the end of the day, we headed home just in time to miss the downpour. When we got there, Biti even taught us how to make chapati. It is a local dish which reminds me of a fried tortilla. Since it was raining, the entire family was huddled in the living room talking and spending time together. Definitely gave me a moment of homesickness but all in all, it was a pretty good day.

Another new development was Cari and her new boo Ivan. She gave him her number and he seems to be pursing her pretty hard. He seems nice and romantic but like we told her, it's probably partially a game he runs on all the volunteers.