Zimba

This woman is a nurse that works at Zimba Mission Hospital in the Maternal Child Health Clinic - She is extremely passionate about Jesus and caring for her patients.

Praise the Lord for a great ending experience at Zimba Mission Hospital.

On Monday, Janna and I were in the Maternal Child Health Clinic for the morning. We listened to the instructors teach about safe motherhood (all in Tonga). Then we assisted in doing a pre-natal assessment. The morning was very good.

During the afternoon, we went to lab to see what kind of work we could do. We did a lot of finger sticks for rapid malaria testing and unfortunately did not get the chance to do a blood draw. Since there was not much going on in the front of the lab, I decided to see the kind of tests that Watson was working on. I enjoyed this part of the lab because we were working with samples and getting results. The two main tests that we ran were CD4 counts and Creatinine.

Overall, Monday was a great experience and

I learned a lot. Praise the Lord for an uplifting experience.

Tuesday -

We were planning on going out into the village and doing a immunization clinic with the Maternal Child Health Clinic, but after waiting an hour, we found out that there was not enough funding for the fuel to get to the villag

e and back. Janna and I were a little disappointed at first because we really wanted to go out and help with the immunizations.

The next thing we tried was the Dental Clinic.

We got to see the Dentist pull one tooth. Then he asked us to clean his supplies while he went to go get more lidocaine. After about 15 minutes he came back and said that they were out of lidocaine and that he was not going to be doing any more procedures the rest of the day. So dental clinic was out...

We talked with our Clinical Instructor Lisa, and while we were trying to figure out what to do next, the thought came to mind that I am not here for myself. I am here to serve, so I wanted to know where we could best serve the people at Zi

mba. After brainstorming a little longer, we decided to go back to lab to see if we could draw a few labs. Unfortunately, there were no labs to be drawn. Then we went to the Male/Female Wards to see if there was anything that we could do to help. The nurse said that she needed two IVs started. So I did the first one and then Janna did the second one. Once we completed those two, the nurse told us that another patient being admitted needed one also. This happened a few times. So, Janna and I both got the chance to do 3 IV starts each. What a great experience, and encouraging (especially since we didn't blow any of the veins) YAY!

After lunch we thought that the place that needed the most help was in the Pharmacy. Janna and I have spent two other afternoons in the pharmacy, so we knew pretty much what had to be done. We enjoy this time of counting the pills and labeling the bags because we can help serve in such a simple way. Sometimes it gets boring counting to a certain number 50 times and packing all of the bags, but again, I know that I am not here for my comfort, but to serve.

This is a picture of Janna and I counting pills :)

Unfortunately, this was the last time that we will be at Zimba Mission Hospital. Looking back on this experience, I do not think that I would trade any of it, even though some of the days were extremely rough. I got to see God work in so many ways and I experienced his strength and love in new ways.

Thanks again for all your prayers.

I am not sure what the next few days hold, but I look forward to what God is going to be doing!

Weeks 6/7

This is a picture of me signing with one of the kids last week at St. Malumba

At St. Malumba School

Me in my African Outfit for Independence Day (10/24)

Monday - I spent a good amount of time at Dr. Jain's office observing him and learning so much from him. He is so willing to share information with us and wants us to ask him anything. He showed us his book that he writes every single surgery down. In the first 2 1/2 years he did 1,713 surgeries (about 2 a day) wow!! The other thing he taught us was all about Appendicitis. Then we learned how to do an appendectomy, because he is getting ready to do one in the next few weeks. Hopefully, we will get to go and observe.

Tuesday - I went to Martin Hospice. I don't know if I have said this before, but Hospice here is different than in the states. People who are chronically ill go there when they have an exacerbation of their illness. The staff work hard together to get the best outcome of the patients. For the most part, people go home after a week of staying and getting better.

Behind Martin Hospice, there is a daycare for vulnerable children. I spent about 3 hours sitting, reading and interacting with the kids. That was so much fun being with the kids. They are such a blessing.

Today was also the day that I got my computer :) Thanks mom and dad

Wednesday - Class

Thursday - Chikuni - We went there and met with a Traditional Healer. Interesting, needless to say. He shared a lot of things with us and I learned a lot about what some people here in Zambia believe in. We then took a tour of Chikuni Mission Hospital. After the tour, we went to Monze School of Nursing. It was neat to see another nursing school here in Zambia.

Thursday was a very long and tiring day...we were gone for about 10 hours and sat on the bus for about 6 of the 10.

Friday - Class and Town, then we went out for the first time at night.

We went to 'Miss Rotary Independence 2009,' a beauty pageant. The winner would go on to the Miss Zambia pageant. It was really neat to see all of the different outfits. This lasted over three hours, and when we left at midnight, it was still going on! (unfortunately, we did not get to see who won the contest... :(

Saturday - Zambian Independence Day

Today we went to town and took part in the celebration ceremony. There was a lot of dancing, music, and a few speeches. I am so glad that we were here to celebrate Independence day. It was neat to see the passion of the Zambians for their country. They were celebrating 45 years of Independence. In celebration of Independence, we had a Turkey for lunch. (A few weeks ago, we witnessed the butchering of this turkey here on the compound, ha ha) As usual, lunch was delicious.

On Saturday evenings, we have activity night. This week, it was my job along with Lauren and Janna to plan it. We had the Zammy Awards, and gave everyone an award. We made home-made apple crisp and then played Shout About Movies. I think the night was a success. We all had fun and laughed a lot.

Sunday - Today the plan is going to church and doing a lot of homework (now that I have my computer, I can write all of my papers. I am praying for motivation and no distractions. So that I can get a lot of work done.

The plan for Monday and Tuesday is to go to Zimba Mission Hospital for the final time. I would appreciate all your prayers as the last two times working there have been emotionally draining. I know that with God's help, I will be able to see Him through all the hard times. I need His strength.

Half-Way Marker

Wow! I can't believe that my adventure is halfway through!

This week I went back to Zimba Mission Hospital. We worked on the mens/womens (med-surg) wards. We helped pass meds, my partner got to start an IV, and many other things happened. One thing that sticks out in my mind is a cultural difference in the idea of urgency. Unfortunately, we had a patient go into pulmonary edema most likely due to an allergic reaction to the medication the nurse gave. This was very difficult to deal with, because the nurses waited 2 hours to call the doctor after his side effects started. It is still hard to understand why they waited that long, but my only thinking is that maybe they thought that he wouldn't make it anyways...(the closest ventilator is 5 hours away). As I look back at this situation, I see it as a learning experience and hope to grow from it.
On Tuesday, we were in the OR for two minor surgeries on a couple of kids. That was interesting :)
Then we spent the afternoon in the outpatient clinic, which is like an Emergency Room/Urgent Care type of setting. We saw so many different diseases, such as respiratory infections, hypertension, and Gastrointestinal problems, so that was a great learning experience.

When I got home on Tuesday evening, I got an email from mom telling me that they had taken my computer to our Global Studies Supervisor, who is coming early next week! I am really looking forward to not having to ask others to borrow their computer :)

Wednesday and Thursday consisted of a lot of class (I have to remind myself that I am STUDYING abroad...)

Today, Friday, we went to St. Malumbu School. This is a boarding school for the mentally handicapped, blind and deaf children. It was such a beautiful campus. The best part about the whole experience was the fact that I was able to use the sign language that I learned while in high school. (for those of you who don't know, I went to Carribean School for the Deaf in Jamaica three different times while in High School - and I learned a good amount of sign language) I was a little worried at first, because something I learned from Miss Snook was that Sign Language is NOT universal. Fortunately, the 'official' language of Zambia is English, therefore they use a mixture of American, British, and Zambian. I did not have much time to communicate with the kids, but for the few minutes I did, I was able to understand them and I think they understood me :) It sure is amazing how God has prepared me in so many ways for this trip, and I didn't even think about needing to know sign language for a trip to Zambia.
I believe I will have the opportunity to work at this school in the next five weeks of our trip. I am really looking forward to learning from the deaf culture of Zambia.

I will hopefully be able to post a few pictures starting next week.

I'm sorry that I have been unable to update my blog in a while. My computer was not fixed with the disks, so I am on a friends computer before she gets up :)

I am not really sure where to begin with what has been going on here.

We have been doing a lot of work in various towns/villages over the last few weeks.
I worked at Zimba mission Hospital for a few days, which was an eye opening experience. It was hard because I saw death all around me. From working in the ART clinic to watching a woman trying to give birth to a stillborn baby, it was extremely upsetting.

Thankfully, God has given me other experiences to outweigh the sadness.
The Thursday after Zimba, we worked at an antenatal clinic. We had the opportunity to do antenatal assessments. God knew that I needed this for one particular reason, I got to hear the fetal heart beat. Going from witnessing a stillbirth, to hearing a fetal heartbeat. Wow - God truly does provide.

Another example, last week we went to the Choma Hospital ART clinic. I met some amazing people who are HIV positive who have been treated/and are still being treated, but they are volunteers at the clinic. They want to help people receive the hope that they have received. What an encouraging site to see, they are in the eyes of a stranger, comletely healthy.

The last few days were spent at the Salvation Army in Chikankata. I was able to interact with some of the nursing students there and compare our programs. It is amazing how friendly the Zambians are. They are so welcoming and willing to share anything with us.

I know that this is very general, but I do not have a lot of time on this computer.
I will attempt to post a little more often, but that is only when I have access to a computer and the time to do it.

Please know that I am absolutely loving it here. I am learning so much and growing not only emotionally, but spiritually. God is so amazing and He ALWAYS provides. What an amazing God we serve!

Sorry about the lack of posting.

My computer died the evening of my last post, therefore I have been unable to post anything new. Right now, I have been using a friend's computer, so my blog won't be long.

My startup disks should be coming here next week sometime.
When my computer starts to work again (hopefully), I will post about what has been happening.

One update: we were able to get all the Mealie Meal delivered to the villages on Tuesday and Wednesday! It was really neat to be able to take food to the people of Zambia.

I will write later with more info!