Today was a holiday in Liberia, Flag Day. The hospital is running on a holiday schedule, which means We rounded in the morning, but no clinic in the afternoon.
It is funny how patients seem to come in with illnesses in themes- one day it seems to be all malaria, one day it is malnutrition, another day bronchiolitis. Today all our malaria patients decided they wanted to get better, collectively. We discharged a whole crew of happy kids. I am trying to attach some pictures to this blog of some of them, but the internet makes it SO slow. I think it might be quicker to print the pictures and send them in a corked bottle across the Atlantic for everyone to see.
I have done a lot of teaching about bronchiolitis in the past 2 days. There are no isolation rooms or blue gowns and masks to be had here, but we do encourage good hand washing. I have also been showing the mothers the benfits of normal saline and blue bulb suction. Even though I am in Africa, I can't escape RSV.
We have a few diagnostic puzzles on the floor. We have been limited because the xray machine has been down since we arrived, although we can do an ultrasound. We also have limited access to labs, and they don't have any labs on weekends or holidays, so we are trying to do our best with our brains, stethoscopes, and intermittent internet access.
Hey girl!!
ReplyDeleteyour making me homesick for Liberia! It sounds like you are doing SO MUCH, and really making a difference. It must be great to be there for a second time. Tell everyone I say hello! Especially the pedi residents, the nurses, and the housekeepers at the dorm! We miss you at UMass