Nalerigu Day 21, 22 and 23

Gaffula Pom Pom (Very Very Sorry)!!

I am so sorry for the lack of blogging I have done over the last few days!! It has been VERY busy! I'll try chronological order of the events today.

Thursday:

Morning rounds were great. The children were doing very well! We did several procedures (I even got to do a dilation and curettage) and then headed back to the house. Thursday was the last day for the West Virginia students so there were many events planned. We ran to the "gas station" for some soda to bring back to the house at which time we had invited some of our favorite translators Adam and Oluu for our favorite dessert, mango cobbler. We had great fellowship and enjoyed learning more about their schooling. The both hope to go to medical school at some point in time. Unfortunately, if you don't have money to pay your way in, you have to go through MANY years of school and jump through many hoops to show you have the capabilities. They are hopeful that they will one day go and then plan to return to the Northern Region of Ghana to provide their services which would be well needed. After mango cobbler, we all got washed up and ready for dinner. I guess you could say it was a progressive dinner. Since it was the WV group's last day, we had a special dinner of groundnut soup and fufu. Definitely a favorite Ghanian dish. The fufu is made from pounded yams and is fairly tasteless, but still delicious. The only problem is that it seems to expand quickly after you eat it as you can only eat a small amount before you are STUFFED. After dinner we had our weekly station meeting. Station meeting is really just a devotional time for the volunteers. This time our meeting was at the teacher's home. We sang songs, listened to guitar playing and just enjoyed each other's company. One of the favorite events of the evening is when Stephanie (one of the WV students) asked Dr. Hewitt if he would speak in his three different languages for us to keep on video. It was truly awesome! Unfortunately, the Internet is not fast enough here to download, but someday I will try to post the video. Dr. Hewitt started out in his Mississippi accent, then transition to his excellent African English accent and then he began speaking Mampule!!! Incredible. The people here tell us that Dr. Hewitt speaks perfect Mampule. After station meeting, we spent a little more time with our friends that would be leaving the next day. We exchanged photos and helped them pack. Soon it was past our bedtime.

Friday:

Friday morning, around 4:00am, I awoke to Stephanie jumping on my bed saying goodbye. Their van was about to leave. We really enjoyed having them all around. I went back to sleep for a short time and then was up a couple hours later to start rounds. Round went well again yesterday. As usual, when we came in the morning to ask "how are the children", the response was "the children are doing well". The difference was that over the previous two days, they really were doing well. We did a couple procedures after rounds including a repeat incision and drainage on my little girl with a neck abscess who I sent home later that day. Around 10am clinic started and we began seeing patients. Clinic was quite busy on Friday as, although there weren't the mass of crowds that you may see during the high malaria season, there were very sick children. I personally admitted 7 sick children that day, two of which I ran to the ward myself to get LPs (lumbar puncture) done, IVs placed and antibiotics started. I am very thankful as all of the children that had been admitted are now doing very well. We saw patients until around 6pm and then headed back to our house for dinner. Dinner was quiet without the other students there, but still nice. After dinner, Dr. Dickens family (one of the staff physicians) came to visit and invite us to their house for an outdoor game of hide-and-go-seek. Unfortunately, we had all already committed to a gathering at the Wichita resident's house, so headed over their for some treats and a couple episodes of "The Office". It's hard to turn down "The Office" in Ghana. The party didn't last long as we were all completely exhausted, so we headed back to our beds for some shuteye.

Today:
Today was another good day. We've remained without any pediatric deaths for three days now, which is a true blessing. Jessie and I decided to round a bit earlier than usual this morning since I had decided to admit the whole city the day prior. :) The good news was that many of the children had significantly improved and we were able to send some home. It's a relief for two reasons to send a child home. The first, of course, is that their medical status has improved. The second, it that the shorter the hospitalization, the less money the family needs to gather to pay. It's a balancing act here. After rounds, we headed over to the theatre where we completed a couple procedures and then went back to the house. Just prior to lunch, Lisa, Jessie and Lisa's Nalerigu Friend Rukaya and I went to the Market. Lisa and I bought a couple bracelets, sandals for our husbands and waist beads as a wedding gift for one of the volunteers here. We then went over to Rukaya's home to meet her family including her daughter. I had not yet been inside one of the homes here and certainly am glad I had the opportunity. See pictures for a better idea of what a rural Northern Ghanian home looks like. After some visiting, we headed back for lunch. After lunch, Jessie and I determined what gifts we wanted to get for our fellow residents at home, so headed back to the market to complete the gift list. I'm going to keep that information a secret for now. It's now time for some blogging after which I'll head to the guest house for dinner and then possibly over to one of the volunteer's homes for some movie watching. I'm on call tomorrow, so hope to get a little sleep tonight.

Again, I apologize for the lack of blogging the last few days and for the inevitable loss of detail in the blog today. I truly hope you are all well and thank you as always for your thoughts and prayers. Today, I am thankful that I have something other than a mat and cement floor to sleep on at night.

What are you thankful for?

Jill

Two side notes:

This is a song that we sing often at church at home. I found out on Thursday that it is actually a Ghanian Folk song written by a missionary who lived not far from Nalerigu. I think the words are quite fitting.


Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love,
show us how to serve
the neighbors we have from you.

Kneels at the feet of his friends,
silently washes their feet,
master who acts as a slave to them. Refrain

Neighbors are rich and poor,
varied in color and race,
neighbors are near and far away. Refrain

These are the ones we should serve,
these are the ones we should love;
all these are neighbors to us and you. Refrain

Loving puts us on our knees,
serving as though we are slaves;
this is the way we should live with you. Refrain

Kneel at the feet of our friends,
silently washing their feet;
this is the way we should live with you. Refrain

The second message today is a big Congratulations to my fellow resident Erica LeClair on the birth of their new baby girl Nadia Rose!!! We can't wait to snuggle her when we get back!