Nalerigu Day 14

Niaza Nuri (Good evening to you all)!

Today was another great day here in Ghana! The best part of the day was that it decided to rain nearby so the temperature dropped significantly. It is very nice to have a little break from the severe heat. This morning there were no rodents to alter our am routine! Hooray! We are excited that our am routine has only been mildly altered by the moving in of our friend Stephanie to the third bedroom in the house. We have gotten several more volunteers over the past week and Stephanie was kind enough to give up her room to stay with us. We’re glad to have her here.
Morning rounds were interesting as usual. The babies admitted yesterday seem to be doing better today which is always encouraging. One baby who I had not seen previously had come in with cerebral malaria and had abnormal posturing when I rounded on her this morning. I talked via an interpreter to the family at the time of rounds and made sure they knew that the child was very sick and, although we were doing everything we could, may not make it through the day. The family understood and the child did die later that day despite our best efforts.

After rounds were complete, we headed over to the “theatre” where we had a large list of procedures to complete. Some of the highlights were abscesses, more cyst removals, c-sections, hernia repairs, etc. We had one boy that Jessie had seen in clinic with difficulty passing urine. On exam he had a very stenotic (small) urethra. She scheduled for him to be seen in the theatre today. Unfortunately, Jessie wasn’t available, so I got to use a ureteral catheter (that’s the best we had) to dilate the urethra. It was pretty interesting and went well. We’re planning on seeing him back in a couple weeks to see if repeat dilation will be needed.

The other interesting patient I saw in the theatre today had today’s disease of the day which is Buruli ulcers. A buruli ulcer is a chronic ulcer common in many tropical and subtropical countries, especially common in West Africa. The disease is due to an infection with the bacteria known as Mycobacterium ulcerans which produces a toxin that kills the tissue around it and suppresses our normal immune response. Patients usually have a hard nodule that progressively evolves into an ulcer of which progressively enlarges until something is done. Thankfully, the ulcer is usually pain limited. Buruli ulcers are treated with surgical excision and antibiotics (rifampin and an aminoglycoside). See the picture to learn more! Very interesting! (PS information about Buruli ulcers came from the book “Handbook of Medicine in Developing Countries” by Dennis Palmer and Catherine Wolf.

After the theatre, we headed back to the guest house for lunch. Hamburgers were served by our cooks, Esa and Bower, which again are an item I don’t partake of in America. So, it was buns and beans for me! The beans were delicious! After lunch, I was very tired and there was little going on at the hospital, so I went back to my room for a short nap. At that point, the weather was still hot and sleeping in 110 degree weather without AC when the electricity goes out and the fans aren’t working is not easy. I managed to get 20 minutes in and woke up drenched in sweat. This has become part of the norm for me here. After my nap we all got together and planned to head to the center of the village for market! I love market days!! There is so much excitement and it gives us good reason to go out into the community and embrace more of the culture outside of the hospital. Today’s goal, other than the experience itself, was to buy more fabric. It is really hard to express how beautiful the fabrics are here. It is SO difficult to choose fabrics because they are all so beautiful. Eventually I found what I was looking for in addition to several other pieces I was not exactly looking for. After market, we drove to the little “gas station” on the road where they sell Coca Cola. That is a real treat here!! I may have mentioned this before, but in Africa I have given myself permission to jump off the bandwagon and enjoy some soda (although not readily). This time, I know I’ll be strong enough to cease the habit upon my return. A person only has to think about one person they have met here to quickly get over something so minimal.

After the soda stop, we stopped at Joyce’s store to drop off the fabrics I had bought in order for her to make some skirts. My dear friend Lisa from Wichita (John’s wife, Jude’s mom) liked the idea/fabrics I had for a skirt and since I had some extra fabric Joyce is going to make us matching skirts. We are SO excited. We’re hoping to return to the women who sold us the fabric at market after the skirts are complete. I’ll definitely get a picture of that once they are finished.
After the Joyce’s shop, it was time for dinner. Tonight’s dinner was special since one of the volunteers, Wendy, had a birthday today. This called for a gathering of the entire group of volunteers including all of their children. We had chicken casserole and rolls. For dessert, we had the option of Nestle Tollhouse cake, turtle cheesecake or strawberry NO-Bake cheesecake. I chose the No-Bake which was DELICIOUS!!! I’m very thankful for the dessert cooking talents of the lovely volunteer women here. After dessert we had our weekly “station meeting” which is essentially a devotional time. One of the volunteers, Greg (who happens to be from MN originally and a Twins fan), described their families path to becoming missionaries here in Nalerigu, Ghana. The evening was enjoyed by all. Now, I’m back to blog about the day and plan on heading to bead early tonight. It’s going to be a great evening since there is some slight coolness to the air.

If anyone out there is even remotely thinking about doing some international mission work, please do not hesitate. Not only will you never regret the experience, but you can’t imagine how many people in this world need your help. There are enough of us to help, we just all need to feel compelled to do something.

Please pray for the children of the hospital, the workers that assist us in their care, and the other volunteers that are giving their best effort to do the right thing. As always, please pray for the people of Nalerigu/Northern Ghana.

Today I am thankful for the wonderful people that have supported me and continue to support me through this process, both near and far. The things we have do not define who we are. Instead it is the people we meet that shape our lives, help us through the difficult times and stay with us wherever we go. On that note, I want to send a thank you to my dear friend Ken who is living proof of the power of the human spirit. Thanks for your kind words Ken!

What are you thankful for today?

Jill