Small Treasures
Ghana is beautiful. Yesterday, we traveled to Koforidua, the capital of the Eastern Region, to renew our visas. While we were there, we traveled to see Boti Falls, a beautiful waterfall just outside of town. The water falls over a tall cliff into a shallow pool at the bottom, then flows into a river. A local boy acted as our guide for a modest fee of $1.50, but other than the cement stairs leading to the falls, this was an undisturbed place of nature. And last weekend, we visited Lake Volta, a huge lake in the Eastern Region. We took a ferry, which they had loaded full of cargo trucks and passenger vans, to cross the lake. We hopped into a wooden boat with a motor, which took us back across the lake in about 15 minutes. It was fun to be on the water, to see the fishermen at work.
This week at work, we had another premature baby boy, probably about 30 weeks gestation. He was so beautiful, so small, so fragile. He lived for more than 24 hours, which really surprised us because there was nothing that we could have done for him at this hospital. Premature babies, if transferred quickly to a teaching hospital in the city, can often survive, but their mothers are often unable or unwilling to pay for the care. His mother came to see him a couple of times while he was in the incubator, but she refused to touch or hold him. This baby boy was a fighter, and it's hard for me to accept that we were unable to help him, and I can't help but wonder why the doctors don't try harder to get these babies the care they deserve. And unfortunately, Ghana's healthcare is on a cash and carry system, so people must be able to pay up front for their care. Most often, this is out of the question for the people on the mountain, because they can not afford intensive care. The case may be similar for another newborn we saw this week - this baby had a serious cleft lip and palate, which needs to be surgically repaired at a teaching hospital. It hurts to know that these babies would have so much more had they been born in the United States. It hurts to know that we will be going back there and leaving all of these people behind. I still can't understand how things can be so unfair.
We spent a day in a small clinic in the remote village of Entomem this week. We assisted the community health nurse with Norplant implants for seven women. Norplant consists of six small tubes inserted under the skin of the upper arm to prevent pregnancy. For the equivalent of $2, these women will have worry-free birth control for five years. A couple of these women are 20 years old and already have two children, so Norplant is a good option for them. In a culture in which birth control is not necessarily accepted, I am proud of these women for trying to be responsible. I think they enjoyed having the white girls there - it makes them feel special and supported. They laughed in excitement when Anne took a picture of them and their children. It was a good experience for us. We also distributed some of the donated vitamins and medicines to the clinic, and the nurses were so grateful. Thank you to everyone who donated - we brought a total of 95 pounds of medicine with us to Ghana, and we will finish distributing it these next couple of weeks.
After weekly practice, Anne and I have become professional laundry washers. Give us three buckets of water and some laundry soap and we can go to town, with nothing but our bare hands. And our clothes actually get relatively clean! And, even better, I can now boast that I am capable of taking a full bath, including hair washing, with less than one bucket of rainwater. I wonder how much water we use in our showers at home? I am picking up some new skills here, of which I am very proud!
The weather has gotten much warmer over the past few weeks, and we see the sun more often, but it is still raining for short periods almost every day. I think this hot weather is more what I expected of Africa... sometimes Anne and I just lay around praying for a breeze to cool us off. Not that I'm concerned with beauty, and I don't have a mirror anyway, but I look like crap here every day - sweat is not the new look for fall is it?
I think the sky here is huge. Sometimes at night, if we are lucky, the sky opens up and we see a million stars. The best nights are Thursdays, when the electricity is shut off, so the moon and stars shine bright to compensate. I think we're seeing different constellations than we see at home too. BEAUTIFUL!
Okay, for my NC friends... The official count so far is one Duke t-shirt and three UNC t-shirts. Since much of the clothing here is second-hand, I am actually seeing these on the streets. Of course, these people don't know Duke or UNC, but that doesn't stop me from yelling, "Hey, I live there!" To even things out a bit, I have given away three Duke t-shirts, just a small effort to promote my hospital.
This weekend we will be traveling to Cape Coast and Elmina, where we will see the slave castles and spend some time on the coast. We're looking forward to it... more details after!
This week at work, we had another premature baby boy, probably about 30 weeks gestation. He was so beautiful, so small, so fragile. He lived for more than 24 hours, which really surprised us because there was nothing that we could have done for him at this hospital. Premature babies, if transferred quickly to a teaching hospital in the city, can often survive, but their mothers are often unable or unwilling to pay for the care. His mother came to see him a couple of times while he was in the incubator, but she refused to touch or hold him. This baby boy was a fighter, and it's hard for me to accept that we were unable to help him, and I can't help but wonder why the doctors don't try harder to get these babies the care they deserve. And unfortunately, Ghana's healthcare is on a cash and carry system, so people must be able to pay up front for their care. Most often, this is out of the question for the people on the mountain, because they can not afford intensive care. The case may be similar for another newborn we saw this week - this baby had a serious cleft lip and palate, which needs to be surgically repaired at a teaching hospital. It hurts to know that these babies would have so much more had they been born in the United States. It hurts to know that we will be going back there and leaving all of these people behind. I still can't understand how things can be so unfair.
We spent a day in a small clinic in the remote village of Entomem this week. We assisted the community health nurse with Norplant implants for seven women. Norplant consists of six small tubes inserted under the skin of the upper arm to prevent pregnancy. For the equivalent of $2, these women will have worry-free birth control for five years. A couple of these women are 20 years old and already have two children, so Norplant is a good option for them. In a culture in which birth control is not necessarily accepted, I am proud of these women for trying to be responsible. I think they enjoyed having the white girls there - it makes them feel special and supported. They laughed in excitement when Anne took a picture of them and their children. It was a good experience for us. We also distributed some of the donated vitamins and medicines to the clinic, and the nurses were so grateful. Thank you to everyone who donated - we brought a total of 95 pounds of medicine with us to Ghana, and we will finish distributing it these next couple of weeks.
After weekly practice, Anne and I have become professional laundry washers. Give us three buckets of water and some laundry soap and we can go to town, with nothing but our bare hands. And our clothes actually get relatively clean! And, even better, I can now boast that I am capable of taking a full bath, including hair washing, with less than one bucket of rainwater. I wonder how much water we use in our showers at home? I am picking up some new skills here, of which I am very proud!
The weather has gotten much warmer over the past few weeks, and we see the sun more often, but it is still raining for short periods almost every day. I think this hot weather is more what I expected of Africa... sometimes Anne and I just lay around praying for a breeze to cool us off. Not that I'm concerned with beauty, and I don't have a mirror anyway, but I look like crap here every day - sweat is not the new look for fall is it?
I think the sky here is huge. Sometimes at night, if we are lucky, the sky opens up and we see a million stars. The best nights are Thursdays, when the electricity is shut off, so the moon and stars shine bright to compensate. I think we're seeing different constellations than we see at home too. BEAUTIFUL!
Okay, for my NC friends... The official count so far is one Duke t-shirt and three UNC t-shirts. Since much of the clothing here is second-hand, I am actually seeing these on the streets. Of course, these people don't know Duke or UNC, but that doesn't stop me from yelling, "Hey, I live there!" To even things out a bit, I have given away three Duke t-shirts, just a small effort to promote my hospital.
This weekend we will be traveling to Cape Coast and Elmina, where we will see the slave castles and spend some time on the coast. We're looking forward to it... more details after!
posted by Sarah @ 5:35 AM
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