The scoop from Mica in South Africa
It’s been a while since my last update but here is what has been happening. On Thursday we went to Sapphire Primary School and visited with the children. I have lots of pictures and some video of them singing their national anthem. They wanted us to sing for them and the only thing we all knew the words to was our national anthem. Surprisingly enough they really loved it. After we left the school we went for a home visit and talked with a man who is HIV positive.
We talked about his circumstances and his living situation and what it has been like for him living with HIV. They have this interesting set up where they pre-pay for electricity via this swipe card box in their house and the government rations out a certain allowance per month to each home that qualifies. Outside of that ration, they pay for what they can afford. It seems to be difficult living conditions and since it is winter here, it gets pretty cold at night.
Then on Friday we went to see a traditional African healer. So here I am thinking of that really old Alvin and the Chipmunks movie where they see the witch doctor and he has cauldrons of potions and herbs brewing and he lives in a hut with shrunken heads hanging around the outside. Well, this guy was nothing like that. He treats people in the privacy of his home and even refers people to the clinics for TB and HIV testing and treatment when necessary. The traditional healers are on a mission to get recognition from the government in the ability to refer patients and have offices, etc. He described their endeavor and talked with us about his work.
On Saturday we traveled to Tsitsikamma Waterfall Park where we stayed for the weekend. And OMG I bungee jumped!!! Off the tallest commercial bridge bungee jump to a crazy 216 meters. For those of you who are conversion challenged that is somewhere between 600-650 feet. It was insane! The scariest thing I have ever done in my life! You know that dream where you are falling and you wake up scared, sweating, and trembling???…well, that’s exactly what it felt like. They had to push me because I could not hurl myself off that bridge…and I have a DVD of it so there is no telling what I was saying before they pushed me off. I guess we’ll find out when we watch it when I get back. After that adrenaline rush we went to Monkeyland and Birds of Eden where I took lots of pictures. Both parks had beautiful animals and the tour guide in Monkeyland was pretty funny with his cheesy jokes. Then we slept at the Tsitsikamma Lodge where we had a South African braii. We cooked 5 pieces of mystery meat over hot coals seasoned with Bar-b-q seasoning. For mystery meat, lukewarm potato salad, and onion and tomato salad, it was not too bad. We slept there over night after warming by the fire…it was sooo cold. Half of the group had a cold after that. Sunday morning we did a zip line tour of the Tsitsikamma waterfall park where I took some really cute pictures of all of us harnessed in with helmets. Then we went to Storm Mouth River which is this really turbulent area where the river drains into the ocean. The waves were huge and the sea spray was nice. The last thing for that day was the elephant sanctuary where we walked with the elephants and fed them. I have never touched an elephant before…they are hairy, rough skin, slimy trunks, and they are sort of timid.
Now for the nursing stuff – On Monday, I had the unique experience of going to Livingstone Hospital. This is a state hospital that stays pretty much at full capacity with patients. They are short staffed of doctors and nurses and the students hate going there. I was on a medical ward with all male patients. Many were HIV positive, many had TB (don’t worry, I’ll get tested 3 weeks after I get back to the states per recommendation from the nurse at student health), and many had psychological issues. This is not really my area considering my psych clinical instructor told me to never go into psych nursing (I’m not so good at it!). I saw some pretty horrible things…this ward was really dirty, they did not give the patients clean linens unless they were overtly soiled, and the patients would just use the bathroom in their bed or one guy got up, squatted as if he was on the toilet and had a bowel movement all over the floor. A nurse took a trash bag and covered it up saying that they did not have time or a mop and would clean it up later if they got to it. Some of the patients had not had their vitals taken in days…not a blood pressure, temperature, nothing. Some of these men were shivering with cold and the nurses are either burnt out or overworked. They must not only provide nursing care but they clean, give out meals, reception, paperwork, diagnose etc. It was a good learning experience and I worked really hard that day but it was really very sad.
So, today (Tuesday), Jessica and I were at Kwazakhele clinic. This is a comprehensive clinic that tests and treats TB, has VCT (voluntary counseling and treatment for HIV), well-baby visits, and adult primary health care. I was able to take a history and do a focused assessment on one patient. She spoke Xhosa so the exam took a lot longer bouncing back and forth between languages and trying to figure out what was wrong with her. I had to present her to the doctor and he said she had bacterial cystitis (bladder infection) but her urine was negative for everything the past two visits. When I told him that observation he got mad, said she needed a vaginal exam, and told me to leave. Oh well…doctors will be doctors. Tomorrow I get to go back to that clinic…maybe I’ll get an easier patient.