Last week Mark and I were away in Marienthal for in country training part 2. It’s away down in the south of the country. We drove Edith, Siew Wee, Vikas and Paulina down to Windhoek where we spent the night at Pratap’s, Joon’s and Xavier’s house. (as I write this, I realise, you get used to the international community. We spent the week with Kenyans, Ugandans, Indians, Philipinas, Singaporeans, Namibians, Brits, Candians, Australian and an UnitedStatesian. All VSO volunteers, here for different projects. I think we are an odd sight walking down the street, tho’) I suppose we learnt more about development and lots more about Namibia, but the best part was getting to spend that time with this network of people. We now know people all over the country (free lodging, heh, heh).
On the way back up, we spent another night in Windhoek, in Anne and Andy’s apartment. We had met these Canadians in Ottawa, and are ecstatic they are in Namibia too. Oh, my, though, was I loving their apartment! Unfortunately they were mugged a few weeks ago, in broad daylight in an ordinary part of town. They are absolutely fine, but it does show that there are some benefits to living in the sticks. Khorixas does have minor violence (stab wounds with broken bottles, usually) but very little targeted at white/tourists. Mostly because there are so few!
Back to work on Monday was very difficult. But this week was a 4 day week (Thursday off) as is next week. Some people are enjoying a 5 day weekend, but we’re on call…. Still had Thursday off (went to a low key campground, v. cheap) and will have Monday too, so can’t complain!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Blog seems to be acting up... Can't post.
Hullo! I got a couple of comments that I haven’t posted anything, and it’s true! Just noticed: May 1st was when I put on the pictures.
But then, of course, you’ve not commented on my blog!
Well, you have, some of you, in emails.
But there is something weird about just putting this stuff out there…
I’d love to share more of the medical stuff: but hopefully won’t put the non-medics off their lunch…
Assisted a C-section today, and we’re hoping to transfer skills: that is, our PMO knows surgery, and I and another Nigerian are interested in learning how to do a CS (not 100% sure I want to be able to do them, but it might turn out to be usefull). So I just closed the last few layers today (there are about 6 layers to close after a CS).
M. who had Tb and has HIV went home last week. She is one of our miracles, from just lying there like a stick insect to walking up and down the halls and smiling!! She gained 6 kg (up from 20 to 26… age 18). She actually spoke to me in English 2 weeks ago: I didn’t even know she could speak it. On ward rounds for the first 2 months she would just stare at us. The nurses would speak Damara, and she would nod, sometimes. It barely seemed she was awake. But I guess as she got better, her brain started functioning better. (She had meningitis during this admission, too). Anyway, she was moved into a ward with some other women, and I needed to ask a patient something, and she translated for us! It was really neat.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
No good deed goes unpunished
For some weeks now we've been wanting to see the ocean. It's about 200 km due west from here. With call and other excitements we've been doing other things, but this weekend, we went. Sat morning 8 am (Mark finished call) we went west. Picked up some young chap, dropped him at his farm, and picked up a young kid there, about 11 yrs old, who'd fallen from a donkey cart and scrapped his foot. It looked a bit dirty and so on, but not too bad. His dad wanted to take him to the clinic in Bersig where there was a nurse, about 30 km along our route. So we did. The dad pointed out some elephant droppings and was able to tell us how many had gone by, and in which direction. Really neat (and I was thinking: no good deed goes unrewarded...)
But when we got to Bersig there was no nurse, she'd gone to Khorixas for the weekend! It was really annoying, what were we to do? Drop him, to wait for the nurse (and the wound to get septic?) Take him with us (there is a clinic in Terrace Bay, about 100 km further on) but what if that nurse was away as well? How would he get back? Would he be waiting for us? while we were sightseeing? UUURGH! How did it become our problem! Well, it became our problem when we picked them up... Soooooo we drove them back to Khorixas, at the hospital gates, and started again. 4 hours later...
We spent the night at Springbokwasser gate, at a campsite, for free. This is the Gate for the Skeleton coast national park. It was incredibly remote. A small group of buildings for managing the access to the park, surrounded by nothingness. We explored the river bed, took loads of pictures of Welwitchia (the miracle plant that grows in the desert... About 1 cm per year). Baked potatoes on the fire, slept, woke at sunrise. Wow, what an amazing sunrise. I don't see many sunrises, just not that kind of person, but I've seen more in Namibia than anywhere else. Mark took some amazing pics (we'll upload them later).
The seaside was cool, you could feel the air changing as we approached it. The seasonal campsite (only open Dec and Jan) was eerie with cormorants. Just beautifull. The water was too cold for me. (And I'd been looking forward to swimming in it.) Mark immersed himself, and I paddled.
We stayed for a few hours, and there was an enormous dune just back from the ocean which we climed. Very desert, very Laurence of Arabia.
Who knows? Was our good deed punished? We had a fantastic weekend, no matter if it was because or despite giving a lift to that child...
But when we got to Bersig there was no nurse, she'd gone to Khorixas for the weekend! It was really annoying, what were we to do? Drop him, to wait for the nurse (and the wound to get septic?) Take him with us (there is a clinic in Terrace Bay, about 100 km further on) but what if that nurse was away as well? How would he get back? Would he be waiting for us? while we were sightseeing? UUURGH! How did it become our problem! Well, it became our problem when we picked them up... Soooooo we drove them back to Khorixas, at the hospital gates, and started again. 4 hours later...
We spent the night at Springbokwasser gate, at a campsite, for free. This is the Gate for the Skeleton coast national park. It was incredibly remote. A small group of buildings for managing the access to the park, surrounded by nothingness. We explored the river bed, took loads of pictures of Welwitchia (the miracle plant that grows in the desert... About 1 cm per year). Baked potatoes on the fire, slept, woke at sunrise. Wow, what an amazing sunrise. I don't see many sunrises, just not that kind of person, but I've seen more in Namibia than anywhere else. Mark took some amazing pics (we'll upload them later).
The seaside was cool, you could feel the air changing as we approached it. The seasonal campsite (only open Dec and Jan) was eerie with cormorants. Just beautifull. The water was too cold for me. (And I'd been looking forward to swimming in it.) Mark immersed himself, and I paddled.
We stayed for a few hours, and there was an enormous dune just back from the ocean which we climed. Very desert, very Laurence of Arabia.
Who knows? Was our good deed punished? We had a fantastic weekend, no matter if it was because or despite giving a lift to that child...
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Are the blogs becoming less frequent? I somehow think so. Probably becsuse things are becoming "as they are", rather than quite so strange and different. We are settling, a bit. To be honest it was a difficult week despite that!
On Wednesday I treated 2 girls who had taken their grandmothers' diabetic treatment. They live about 80 km away on a farm. I'm not sure why, but they had to wait till the morning to even start the trek to the hospital. First a donkey cart to the road, then wait for a lift from a passing car (of which there are not many!) So I fear it was just too late for one of them. She has spent too long without sugar for her brain. She was very unwell and unstable in hospital. We were able to stablise her, but transport to Windhoek was very difficult, as both our ambulances and drivers were out, and would be too tired by the time they returned. Mark and I and a nurse and the aunty and the sister who was ok went in our car to the next town where an ambulance took all of them (without me, I was exhausted, Mark went) to Windhoek. She needed oxygen and monitoring. The oxygen ran out half way to Okahanja, and the monitor's battery died...so the hospital in Okanhanja gave them both and she made it to Windhoek in much the same state as she left Khorixas, which is all we could have asked for. The hospitals in Outjo and Okahanja were fantastically helpfull. We don't know how she is doing, yet.
I think the stress of that day took about 3 days to pass.
It's a bit strange what we can and can't offer here. In some ways, if we were more "in the middle of the bush" and couldn't even think of transfering her, we could cope with that. And certaintly patient expectations aren't high, people are quite fatalistic, used to not knowing what caused an illness or a death. I struggle with that. Many doctors do struggle with uncertainty.
On Wednesday I treated 2 girls who had taken their grandmothers' diabetic treatment. They live about 80 km away on a farm. I'm not sure why, but they had to wait till the morning to even start the trek to the hospital. First a donkey cart to the road, then wait for a lift from a passing car (of which there are not many!) So I fear it was just too late for one of them. She has spent too long without sugar for her brain. She was very unwell and unstable in hospital. We were able to stablise her, but transport to Windhoek was very difficult, as both our ambulances and drivers were out, and would be too tired by the time they returned. Mark and I and a nurse and the aunty and the sister who was ok went in our car to the next town where an ambulance took all of them (without me, I was exhausted, Mark went) to Windhoek. She needed oxygen and monitoring. The oxygen ran out half way to Okahanja, and the monitor's battery died...so the hospital in Okanhanja gave them both and she made it to Windhoek in much the same state as she left Khorixas, which is all we could have asked for. The hospitals in Outjo and Okahanja were fantastically helpfull. We don't know how she is doing, yet.
I think the stress of that day took about 3 days to pass.
It's a bit strange what we can and can't offer here. In some ways, if we were more "in the middle of the bush" and couldn't even think of transfering her, we could cope with that. And certaintly patient expectations aren't high, people are quite fatalistic, used to not knowing what caused an illness or a death. I struggle with that. Many doctors do struggle with uncertainty.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Easter
Hullo!
Frustratingly, Easter is a 4 day weekend, and we are working 3 out of 4 days of it. It is the life of a doctor, and we should be used to it, but somehow, being a volunteer, I find it a bit more annoying. But we did have Friday off together, which was nice.
Last week we met a Spaniard who is cycling in Namibia, scouting it to see if it's suitable for guiding a cycling holiday. I ran into him again Friday morning in the shop and he came by for a chat, some water and to use the internet. He's tired of cycling and taking a few days off, to do more typical safari type stuff, so we're storing his bike for him. I showed him Margo and Chris' blog. He cycles about 100km a day, carrying 8 liters of water with him. That's to last 2 days, in case he doesn't get to a campsite that night. It is so hot and dusty here and the roads are so straight, I can't imagine doing what he's doing. I don't think he's planning on taking tourists here either, as he keeps saying that the scenery is so "boring". Daniel, be warned. By the way, for potential visitors, I think the scenery is only boring if you're travelling slowly...
Otherwise we were very quiet. Mark worked very hard on Sunday, tho' we did have time for supper, with another visitor, Pratap. Pratap is also VSO and he travels about 2 weeks every month, helping set up campsites, coordinating conservancies and generally knows everyone. When he visits it's like the outside world is coming in for a while. We had chicken, potatoes, cauliflower cheese, some Indian vegetable Dr Reddy's wife had given us, a green salad. And Chocolate cake. It was reminiscent of any Sunday dinner we've hosted in the past, and completely lovely.
And now I'm on today, and it's been really tough. I'm not sure I can write about it, but it is part of the things I anticipated might be hard, coming here. A few days ago I identified a few things that make the hard things more bearable. It's completely corny, but completely true. There are a couple of young girls who are struggling with HIV and Tb, and both are doing
well. The older one, M, I've been taking care of almost every day for 6 weeks, and she was always just flat, recumbent, apathetic. Our boss, Nkire, got the rehab person to come and see her, and I think he gave her (and the nurses) confidence to use the walking frame! What a difference. Big smiles and applause at her first jaunts up and down the ward, and now big smiles on my ward rounds. She's not out of the woods, maybe never will be. The younger one, E, was picked up by her aunt to be taken home for the long weekend. She usually wanders the hospital, with a serious face, rarely a smile, up and down and around. Her too, I saw today, smiling and waving at me.
These are the things that will sustain us.
Frustratingly, Easter is a 4 day weekend, and we are working 3 out of 4 days of it. It is the life of a doctor, and we should be used to it, but somehow, being a volunteer, I find it a bit more annoying. But we did have Friday off together, which was nice.
Last week we met a Spaniard who is cycling in Namibia, scouting it to see if it's suitable for guiding a cycling holiday. I ran into him again Friday morning in the shop and he came by for a chat, some water and to use the internet. He's tired of cycling and taking a few days off, to do more typical safari type stuff, so we're storing his bike for him. I showed him Margo and Chris' blog. He cycles about 100km a day, carrying 8 liters of water with him. That's to last 2 days, in case he doesn't get to a campsite that night. It is so hot and dusty here and the roads are so straight, I can't imagine doing what he's doing. I don't think he's planning on taking tourists here either, as he keeps saying that the scenery is so "boring". Daniel, be warned. By the way, for potential visitors, I think the scenery is only boring if you're travelling slowly...
Otherwise we were very quiet. Mark worked very hard on Sunday, tho' we did have time for supper, with another visitor, Pratap. Pratap is also VSO and he travels about 2 weeks every month, helping set up campsites, coordinating conservancies and generally knows everyone. When he visits it's like the outside world is coming in for a while. We had chicken, potatoes, cauliflower cheese, some Indian vegetable Dr Reddy's wife had given us, a green salad. And Chocolate cake. It was reminiscent of any Sunday dinner we've hosted in the past, and completely lovely.
And now I'm on today, and it's been really tough. I'm not sure I can write about it, but it is part of the things I anticipated might be hard, coming here. A few days ago I identified a few things that make the hard things more bearable. It's completely corny, but completely true. There are a couple of young girls who are struggling with HIV and Tb, and both are doing
well. The older one, M, I've been taking care of almost every day for 6 weeks, and she was always just flat, recumbent, apathetic. Our boss, Nkire, got the rehab person to come and see her, and I think he gave her (and the nurses) confidence to use the walking frame! What a difference. Big smiles and applause at her first jaunts up and down the ward, and now big smiles on my ward rounds. She's not out of the woods, maybe never will be. The younger one, E, was picked up by her aunt to be taken home for the long weekend. She usually wanders the hospital, with a serious face, rarely a smile, up and down and around. Her too, I saw today, smiling and waving at me.
These are the things that will sustain us.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Some more pics
So this is Mark and Alice with Brandberg in the background. I saw an arial pic of Brandberg, really cool, so if you have Google Earth, I think it would be worthwhile. Then Mark and Alice's Condor stuck in the sand. 4 hot sandy hours later, we were free... Then a pic of the "White Lady of Brandberg". Cave drawings, about 2000 yrs old, probably of a medicine man, surrounded by people, hallucinations and animals. There are more than 20 similar caves in this one valley of the Brandberg, probably by Khoi Khoi (not San, tho' the difference between these tribes still eludes me.) And some pretty rocks at sunset.
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