Friday

Friday, September 6

I am truly thankful it is Friday!  I was able to get a good night’s sleep.   

There is not much interesting to share about the morning. Morning report was typical. Hanna, the tropical medicine resident, is leaving next week and today is her last working day. She has done an incredible job and everyone is sad to see her go. She has loved it here but is ready to return home after 6 months.

We were also able to send some kids home on the ward which will help those covering the weekend. There still were not recorded blood sugars and questions about insulin for the diabetic. This makes me CRAZY!!!! But I managed to remain calm and understanding. I just want to send this kid home.

In the NICU, things were okay. The infant with the pustules on his head has more today so I am glad we started the antibiotics last night. 

There were enough helpers this morning such that by 11:30 we were waiting around. It is funny how I can go from feeling overwhelmed and unqualified to bored and unneeded. 

I usually am ready to head back to the guesthouse for lunch but there is tension there. The owner has been nothing but kind and professional with me but doesn’t have great communication skills at times. He and one of the adoptive moms have been at odds. The unsure and increasing timeline of their stay has made reserving a room difficult and while the inn was accommodating at first they are now stuck with guests with established reservations. He also has been at times impatient with the noise and distraction of the children. The biggest issue is that the adopted kids play most of the day with their friends from the orphanage in the shared yard. Staying somewhere else would be hard.  I am praying for a miracle solution selfishly. I have liked my little guesthouse group of friends and want that to continue.

At lunch, I found the moms and kids in the kitchen at lunch with all the other guest around.  Nothing was said initially and we were all just making small talk and giving reports about our mornings.  I made some mushroom pasta and settled in for my meal. Amelia had left to put her kids down for “rest and read”.  Melissa started crying. Bless her-the tension had been miserable all morning and it was the first day of school for her kids back in the states.  The first day of kindergarten for her little boy and she was missing it. I wept with her thinking of how awful it would be if I didn’have the memory of little Brett giving me the hand that signified he was ready for me to stay in the car and he could walk by himself.

Amelia came back in and announced that she had decided that she was moving to a different guesthouse and was leaving tonight.  It is sad and frustrating, but we will all support her in what she feels she needs to do. I will admit that I hate for her kids that this will be another step of transition in an already tumultuous period.

I went back to the hospital after lunch.  All of the local women bundle their washing pan, pots, dishes, food, etc., in a chitenge.  I love the after lunch piles. I think great jigsaw puzzles could be made from these scenes.

We had four additional admissions: croup, two cases of malaria, and one with anemia.  I was able to send one patient home.The nurses seemed happy to ask me questions this afternoon.  I also spent a lot of time hunting down lab. I loved that the admissions took us until after normal “knocking off” time and that the nurses were the ones urging me to go and rest.  

We all had dinner together tonight with Elise cooking.  He makes the most amazing rolls. I may have mentioned that before but the rolls deserve several mentions. Things were very comfortable and familiar with a hint of sad in knowing this would be the last night with this group living together.  I took pictures of it all, realizing that what feels so ordinary is really a spectacular coming together of people from so many places, age groups, and nations. I have found that washing and drying dishes three times a day together is a significant bonding event.

After dinner, Melissa and her girls and I walked Amelia’s little family to their new guesthouse.  I am hopeful this will not be a decision later regretted. The kids loved seeing the moon and stars and carrying the lantern to light our way.

When we got home, I headed to my room, I needed to pack up for an adventure tomorrow!