Mrs. Dr. Lifesaver

Since there wasn’t a specific medical intern for the summer, in May, I started filling in for  what is designed for a nursing student and/or someone who is interested in the field of nursing and health care.  I am interested in the field, but I wouldn’t have considered myself close to qualified to take on this role. But that’s another interesting thing about Africa. You can convince yourself and anyone else that you are in fact knowledgeable enough to make certain decisions. Which is why I have gotten to where I am right now.

Aunt Sarah is one of our house moms. She helps with the cooking and keeps the house amazing and clean. She came to me last month because she heard I was running the medical outreaches. Her brother was in a pretty awful boda-boda (motorcycle) accident almost 3 months ago. He went to the hospital and got surgery, but the break still hadn’t healed. She asked if I could come look at it. Not wanting to bite off more than I could chew, I asked our school nurse, Gladys, if she would come with me. I had no idea what to expect and I didn’t think it would be too bad since the accident was a few months before. I was wrong. His entire lower left leg was badly infected and you could still see the broken bone through the skin. He couldn’t walk and the wrapping hadn’t been changed in weeks. Gladys looked at me with hopelessness. This man needed to get to a hospital. There was nothing she could do to help him. So we re-dressed the wounds and mobilized the leg with wraps and a leg brace. We prayed over him and urged him to visit the hospital again. A few days later, Aunt Sarah told me that Henry was feeling somehow better, and asked if we could please come back. So we did. We went back to a man in high spirits with a huge smile. We continued going back once or twice a week for the last month and we continue to stop by every Tuesday night to check on him.  I don’t know how, but he is healing. He can now walk with his crutches and the pain is less each time we see him.   

My friend Celestine (one of Simon’s brothers) came over the other day to ask my medical advice. He was feeling sick for a few days and had been at the public hospital all morning. They treated him for malaria and sent him home. By the time he got to our house, he was in so much pain. He described it as sharp pains in his forehead that connected to pain in his mouth. I’m not a nurse, and I have merely common sense when it comes to most issues. But it sounded to me like he had a really bad migraine and/or  a toothache. I got him some Advil and a big glass of water, told him to take it easy, and he left. He came by the house the next day to meet Simon for lunch, which was when I was dubbed “Mrs. Dr. Lifesaver.” He was feeling so much better and very convinced I had the talent to cure. 

 Every Saturday, we do a medical outreach at different locations in Kampala. The last one we did was in a small village called Nkowe about 5 km off the road from our school. I’ve already told you the stations we have, and we see anywhere from 100-300 people each Saturday. Following the outreach, Gladys (school nurse) does a Health Awareness Day at the school medical clinic. She covers different topics each Saturday, i.e. nutrition, boiling water, HIV, malaria. A lot of the people who come have never been to a clinic or hospital and don’t know much about keeping themselves and their families healthy. Last weekend she talked about family planning. She tried to stress that in the long run, having more children is more expensive than spending 5,000 shillings/month ($2) on birth control. One woman told Gladys that she heard that the intense back pains she gets are from not having enough sex. Gladys had to explain to her that the back pains weren’t from lack of sex, but probably caused by the 30kg geri-cans of water they carry on their heads, or being bent over cleaning the house and cooking.

Toothbrushing station at one of our medical outreaches

These are just a few examples of the many medical experiences that have been on my path. It seems so simple. But sometimes all these people need is some TLC and someone who cares enough to listen to their problem. My lack of medical background hasn’t prevented me from treating (within reason) or caring for anyone. Whether it’s putting a band-aid on a small child who claims to have pain on his leg, or cleaning and wrapping 3^rd degree burns on a baby, they just need love, and anyone is capable of love.