Time is starting to go by very quickly. Its hard to believe I only have about three and a half months left here, but at the same time a 100 days is a long time. A lot can happen in a 100 days back at home and here also. I've really started enjoying taking care of the kids as I've picked up quite a few tips on how to calm a screaming child who thinks we're torturing them.
Yesterday we went to the beach and took a taxi to get there. As we were looking out the window we saw one of our patients who I had just taken care of the previous day on the back of a motorcycle waving and smiling at us. He recognized us and knew who we were and we knew his name. It was the coolest feeling ever knowing that this man just left the ship renewed and was going to go back to his life here in West Africa. He had gotten a tumor removed from his face. We watched him weave in and out of the traffic of cars and motorcycles through the dusty streets and back to his home.
We have weekly meetings with all the nurses called Breathe sessions to discuss how we're feeling about everything and cool stories that people have. One of our older patients has not had a nose for many years due to noma which is a bacteria that eats away at the face. Due to the stigma of deformities here he has lived in social isolation and rejection for many years and became an alcoholic. We were told by one of the African day workers that he does not know how to live in community and be part of a group. He also speaks Ewe which is a very rare language that no one on our wards ever speaks. However, miraculously when he was here there were four other patients who just so happened to speak Ewe. The patient across from him had an uncle who speaks Ewe and took on the role as caregiver and translator for this patient just because he's a nice guy. You would have thought they were family. He even offered to meet up with him after he went home to help debrief. Everyone agrees that God definitely provided a translator for this patient and friends on the ward that spoke his language, otherwise we would have been at a loss on how to communicate with him. It is extremely rare that we have people who speak Ewe.
This evening I went with a few people to get Fufu. It basically is doughy play dough like texture that you dip in meat sauce. The meat I chose was goat, which was the least adventurous of all the options. Our friend Lewis drove us in his van that he's used to truck all the way across Africa in and has used as a place to sleep. As we drive through town I still feel like I'm watching a scene from a movie outside the van window. It still doesn't seem real. Luckily hes a very good driver.
Yesterday we went to the beach and took a taxi to get there. As we were looking out the window we saw one of our patients who I had just taken care of the previous day on the back of a motorcycle waving and smiling at us. He recognized us and knew who we were and we knew his name. It was the coolest feeling ever knowing that this man just left the ship renewed and was going to go back to his life here in West Africa. He had gotten a tumor removed from his face. We watched him weave in and out of the traffic of cars and motorcycles through the dusty streets and back to his home.
We have weekly meetings with all the nurses called Breathe sessions to discuss how we're feeling about everything and cool stories that people have. One of our older patients has not had a nose for many years due to noma which is a bacteria that eats away at the face. Due to the stigma of deformities here he has lived in social isolation and rejection for many years and became an alcoholic. We were told by one of the African day workers that he does not know how to live in community and be part of a group. He also speaks Ewe which is a very rare language that no one on our wards ever speaks. However, miraculously when he was here there were four other patients who just so happened to speak Ewe. The patient across from him had an uncle who speaks Ewe and took on the role as caregiver and translator for this patient just because he's a nice guy. You would have thought they were family. He even offered to meet up with him after he went home to help debrief. Everyone agrees that God definitely provided a translator for this patient and friends on the ward that spoke his language, otherwise we would have been at a loss on how to communicate with him. It is extremely rare that we have people who speak Ewe.
This evening I went with a few people to get Fufu. It basically is doughy play dough like texture that you dip in meat sauce. The meat I chose was goat, which was the least adventurous of all the options. Our friend Lewis drove us in his van that he's used to truck all the way across Africa in and has used as a place to sleep. As we drive through town I still feel like I'm watching a scene from a movie outside the van window. It still doesn't seem real. Luckily hes a very good driver.
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