Lifesavers

Since we’ve been in Gushegu we have noticed a few things that have saved our life. The first being our kettle that we bought in Tamale – one of the most important purchases of this trip. This allows us to have oatmeal and a boiled egg for breakfast and sometimes lunch since there’s hardly any food in this town (I did not know you could really boil eggs directly in the kettle…but you can). It also allows us to have our Nescafe instant coffee (I cannot WAIT to have real brewed coffee). Another thing that saved our life was our bike rental idea. We go into town a few times a day for a coke and water and sometimes manage to find more food like bread and Mr. Noodles type food (yet these are expired). A third thing that has saved me and helped me pass the time in this boring town is the Sudoku book I got in my Christmas stocking a couple years ago…Mom, that was a good idea. I have done SO many of these. The last thing that we are so thankful for is the wonderful hospital laundry lady! She volunteered to wash our clothes for us. Let me tell you, none of us are very good at handwashing our clothes so they were never actually clean post-washing, until Thursday after they went through the heavy duty laundry machines. Wonderful. And it only cost us $3 Canadian to get ALL of our clothes/towels/bedsheets washed. So great.

Sleeping is still a difficult task. The heat here extreme and we just have to grin and bear it. Sure it gets hot in Kelowna and occasionally in Vancouver, but…the heat can be escaped. A/C in cars and houses, going to work in a cool environment, being able to get cold water whenever you want it is also nice. None of those things exist here. We do have fans which are wonderful when the power is working.

On Thursday and Friday Shawna and I worked in the medical ward. Thursday began quite stressful. Our shift began and I walked into one of the rooms to find all the nurses/students around a patient’s bed chatting. I took one look at the patient and noticed that he was have a very very difficult time breathing. He was definitely in respiratory distress yet nothing was being done. Shawna and I came over and we asked the nurse if he had a bronchodilator ordered that we could give him to help open his airways and the nurse said “no he doesn’t have one ordered” and just stood there (there is no urgency in these hospitals…the patient was VERY unwell). Shawna and I kindly yet sternly told them to call the doctor to get something ordered. In the end, the doctor came and agreed with us and we right away sent the patient to the OR in case he would need to be resuscitated (that is the only area in the hospital that has the necessary equipment for resuscitation). Sure enough, he got intubated and ventilated. Sometimes it’s just a bit irritating to see something going so wrong yet nothing is being done about it! But...this is Africa, folks.

For the most part though, the hospital here is run much better than Tamale. It’s small and modern, and the communication between the staff is quite a bit better. None of the doctors are from Gushegu – there are 2 from Cuba and 1 from southern Ghana.

On Saturday we were asked to do a presentation for the Ghanaian Nursing students who are also doing a practicum here. We were asked to tell them what Nursing in Canada is like (the differences are endless) and our perceptions of Nursing in Ghana. This went over pretty well and the students were really receptive.

We have had some serious issues with getting food here. We have been told not to eat in town and there are very few non-perishable items there. We’ve been told that the kitchen that provides the meals for the nurses and Ghanaian nursing students will provide meals for us, but…this hasn’t been happening. It has been frustrating. I haven't had fruits or vegetables for a LONG time and none of us feel healthy at all. Not fun.

Today I was on the pediatric ward and I'm back there tomorrow as well and in the afternoon we’re doing another presentation for the students, Wednesday I’m in the OPD (outpatient department – aka emerg…sort of), Thursday we head back to Tamale, Friday we go up north to Bolga to see a grassroots project that our school is supporting there and then come back to Tamale the same day, spend a few days there, and then we’re off to Cape Coast for a VACATION!! We’ll also be hitting up the Volta River for a night or two which is south-east Ghana.

Hope you Vancouverites enjoyed the Olympics!! We tried to watch the gold medal game last night and got all dressed up in Canadian stuff/red and white but we couldn't get the channel on the TV at the hospital. Such a bummer. Gotta head out though! Dinner and football (soccer) time!

To those of you who have commented/emailed/facebooked me, thank you very much, but I can't respond for the next little while because I can't get on the internet very often. Sorry!

Take care all.