Okay more about the hospital... It is actually a series of buildings connected by outdoor walkways. The buildings are pretty much big rooms filled with patients all in a row. The beds are metal beds with peeling paint. Most patients have a family member with them to take care of them and bring them food...otherwise they dont eat. There is a men's ward, women's ward, TB ward, maternity, and pediatric ward. There are also outpatient clinics including the ART clnic (anti-retroviral therapy). In each ward, there is a large inner room and a outer room that is almost a porch. The patients with TB and are unstable or are coughing are put out on the outer room. There are salemanders or lizards crawling up the walls. The smell is well, like the psychiatry ward at harborview...enough said! There are mosquito nets above each bed. Okay more later...time to shower!
Oh what a way to start off the trip.I will only tell you this story at first, because that will be enough.When I was first getting shown around, at 830, we saw a woman who was fully dilated but having no contractions.Later on in the day, during rounds, at about 11, the nurse came over to saw that even with the pitocin on at full there were no contractions.We went to go see her and decided to do a c-section.The c-section didn’t start for awhile because the doctor couldn’t place the spinal anesthesia.Finally he decided to just give her general anesthesia (ketamine).Then the doctor asks me if I can resuscitate a baby.Yikes! There were a lot of nurses around so I figured they would help….wrong.The incision wasn’t big enough and then the baby slipped back in and they couldn’t get him.The amniotic fluid was yellow rather than clear.When they got him out, he was grey.They flipped him upside down, suctioned his mouth and handed him to me.The nurses was of resuscitating is to hold the baby by their feet upside down and slap the back. Probably works sometimes, but not when you’ve used ketamine and been in stage 2 labor for 5 hours.So I start bagging and telling them to rub vigorously.They pat his head.He has a heartbeat.I had to bag him for 25 minutes before he started breathing.They immediately wanted to take him somewhere else.I said yes because I was hoping it had a warmer since he was still blue and cold.We walked outside for a 5 minute walk to the maternity ward.The nurse put him in the warmer.Then the oxygen with the canula wasn’t working.So I had to bag again. Finally oxygen working.Baby is getting warmer.Now has retractions, nasal flaring, stridor, abdominal breathing.I suction every few minutes getting yellow amniotic fluid out.After an hour, he starts having tone in his legs.After three hours, he has slight tone in his arms.No reflexes.All this time I am on my own, with a nurse popping in and watching and then leaving.I kept asking when the doctor was coming and they kept saying soon.Then they said he was went home for lunch.And they refused to call him.You can probably guess how I feel about that, so I won’t say anymore.At three and a half hours after the baby was born with still no crying or reflexes, I found the doctor, who said “oh well, probably asphyxiation.You can only give him oxygen with a canula”.And that has been my first day.
I finally am done traveling!! Five hours in the back of a car to finish off the journey... Started off in Lusaka with big busy roads full of cars and people. Then the roads were smaller but still paved. Lots of police check points. People walking along the road everywhere....balancing things on their heads and babies strapped to their backs. There were guys selling scratch off cards for cell phone air time and newspapers in the middle of the road. Then the roads were no longer paved...only slightly bumpy and still 2 lanes. Then the pot holes got bigger. Then the road only became one lane. And then the road looked like it had been completely washed out. The last half of the ride was spent gripping onto the handle on the ceiling so not to bounce around. All along the road there were people and kids everywhere, waving. There were tiny little circle huts with grass roofs in circles all along the roads. It was gorgeous though. Beautiful sky...big like in eastern washington or montana. Red red dirt. Got to the hospital right before dinner. Emptied some stuff before heading over for a dinner of mac and cheese. So disappointing. :-/ There are 3 dutch girls doing research here. Not very friendly and would only speak dutch during dinner, despite speaking perfect english. boo. Hopefully that will get better. But I am so happy to be here. And I start work tomorrow at 730 am. Will load photos soon!
I'm here!!! Sitting in a coffee shop with a latte! Flight went really well. I was in the back and right before take-off one of the stewardesses says " Dr. McGarry, Dr. McGarry. There is a problem with your ticket. Please gather your things and come with me." I then got moved to row 1 seat c back in business class!!! Haha! One of the stewardesses came and asked if I was the doctor coming to work in a HIV hospital. He told me about how he is negative but a lot of his friends are positive and how he gives money to an aids orphanage in nairobi. He asked me all sorts of questions about what I was doing. Everyone up in business class heard of course. Once again the seat turned into a bed. I didnt get very good sleep...there was a lot of turbulence. I think it was when we were going over the Sahara desert. Since I was in row one, I was the first one off the plane. I had to walk out onto the tarmac to get to the terminal. There were government officials to greet us and since I was the first one, a lady walked with me chatting the whole way!. She was very friendly. The sun was just rising when we landed. I was second in line for the visa. It went just fine. I told them I was here to visit a friend and to visit the hospital to see the differences....stamped tourist visa. I had to wait almost an hour for my luggage. But most people hadn't even made it through the visa line by that point. While I was waiting, I was standing next to someone apparently very important. Everyone came over to say hello. He was in business class with me and then went through the VIP line. I was earsdropping and he called someone in customs to tell them that there was a doctor from America that would be coming through. I don't know what that got me, but I had no difficulties. I then went and exchanged two hundred dollars. I am now a millionaire!!! ha!! :-) From there you walk right out to the parking lot. I asked security where to get a taxi and immediately got taken to one. It took about 45 minutes to get to the shopping area because traffic was so bad. Rushhour. It smells so good here. Nice and earthy. Everything is very green and the trees look like what you see in the photos. There are people walking along side the road everywhere. Some are carrying things on top of their heads. Some are wearing traditional clothes. The schoolkids have unifroms on. There are also people in very very nice business clothes. there are soldiers driving by in backs of beat-up trucks. The shopping center is huge and modern, complete with a shop-rite and subway. I got here before it was open. But the coffee shop had just opened! So I bought a latte, sausage roll, and internet and am sitting outside, surely getting sunburnt, wasting a few hours. I have my luggage with me so it will be difficult to walk around. I need to go to the bank and find a phone store to by asim card. I also need to find a restroom...but am not thinking about that right now. I am so happy here...I can already tell I'm not going to want to leave....and when I do leave I will want to be back here. :)
Today Phil and I went to Windsor castle to watch the changing of the guard. It was a beautiful warm day out. The guard going out wore the blue uniforms and the new guard wore red uniforms: the irish guard. The queen was not at windsor sadly today....no chance of her spotting me and handing me of to Will or Harry. haha. We walked around the village inbetween the guard change. It was very pretty with lots of great looking shops. Some of the shops are in the old royal train station...you can see a photo of me in front of one of the old trains. We then walked over to Eaton. Also gorgeous. I could really live here. For lunch, Sue, Phil, Charlotte and I went to a pub. The pub used to be King Henry the VIII's hunting house. Inside you can eat in the old stable and barn. It was delicious. Right now I'm sitting in the airport, waiting to board my plane down to Zambia. I had a really amazing time here in England!!
This is a glimpse into my journey to and my life in Zambia. For two months, I will be living in a small village called Macha working in the hospital. I will be going as part of a HIV leadership program through INMED that trains doctors how to setup HIV treatment programs in low-income areas.
My name is Meghan.
I'm a 4th year medical student at UW.
I'm going to be a pediatrician at Case Western's pediatric hospital, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital! As you can tell, I am in Zambia working in a HIV hospital for six weeks.
Oh yay, my alias is Dr. Elliot Reed. ;-)
Okay more about the hospital... It is actually a series of buildings connected by outdoor walkways. The buildings are pretty much big rooms filled with patients all in a row. The beds are metal beds with peeling paint. Most patients have a family member with them to take care of them and bring them food...otherwise they dont eat. There is a men's ward, women's ward, TB ward, maternity, and pediatric ward. There are also outpatient clinics including the ART clnic (anti-retroviral therapy). In each ward, there is a large inner room and a outer room that is almost a porch. The patients with TB and are unstable or are coughing are put out on the outer room. There are salemanders or lizards crawling up the walls. The smell is well, like the psychiatry ward at harborview...enough said! There are mosquito nets above each bed. Okay more later...time to shower!
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