This has been waiting for a few days... every time I have tried to use the internet the past few days, the network here at the hospital has gone down. Finally, it's back online. Carter, Meagan, and I have been working on the Internal Medicine service for the past 2 weeks, and we have seen so many diagnoses we had never seen in the US, including malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and a possible spinal cord compression/cauda equina syndrome. We have seen patients autonomously, making decisions about each patient on our own. In addition to the infectious diseases of Africa, we have also been able to demonstrate our knowledge treating patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure, pneumonia, pyelonephritis, gastroenteritis, and many other diseases. So far, this has been an incredible opportunity to hone our diagnostic skills, building confidence with each patient. We have practiced ultrasound skills on live patients and performed lumbar punctures and other diagnostic procedures. Most importantly, we feel like we have positively contributed to the physical and spiritual health of our patients. We also have learned much from our master orthopedist, Dr. Albertson, who took us on spiritual rounds on Sunday. Dr. Albertson has made this a habit of his career, performing spiritual rounds and praying with patients on Sundays for many years. I find this a wonderful practice that I hope to incorporate into my own practice in the future. Even with the language barrier from English to Kinyarwanda, God’s love can be communicated through service, as well as translated directly by the wonderful nurses here at Kibogora. Further preparation for residency has come to us through the management of emergency patients. Last night, I was awoken at 2:54 am about a patient who was presenting to La Salle D’Urgences (Emergency Room) here with chest pain. Although Drs. Bright and Simmons accompanied me, I was allowed to take the lead on examining and managing the patient. Fortunately, the patient was young and in good health, with no real concern for a myocardial infarction or other major cardiovascular event, and we were able to discharge him without worry. Duane led us in a prayer with the patient and his brother, and we were able to return to sleep with the hope that we had helped another patient and in some way demonstrated God’s love to him.
Concerning the food: Many of you who know me are wondering how I am doing with the food here. We are blessed to have some wonderful ladies preparing our food, and though it is considered a luxury to Rwandans, we have been having meat with almost every meal. While my colleagues here enjoy poking fun at the vegetables lacking in my diet, I assure you, I am eating them on occasion. One or two salads. With pepperoni. That counts, right?
Market day was on Friday this week: It’s like we are celebrities here. The children in the marketplace followed us around the whole time, and many adults crowded around too to see what the Mzungus (“the rich white Americans”) were buying. We seriously had 25-30 kids following us everywhere we went. Some of them even followed us about halfway home (around a mile). Many of us found fabric for dresses (not I; they didn’t have my color), and Laura and Katy bought ingredients for homemade guacamole to go with our delicious dinner of enchaladas. Finally, I want to post a prayer request. Our friend, JC, a surgeon at Nebobongo Hospital in the Congo has visited Kibogora with the group these past 2 years. He is one of the only surgeons in the Congo, and it is 700 km from his hospital to the next nearest surgeon. I ask all of those who read this to pray for JC and Nebobongo Hospital, and if you feel so led, find a way to support his efforts through other action. If you would be interested in finding out more about JC and his work in the Congo, you can ask me (or anyone on the trip), and we can get you more information. We appreciate all of your prayers! More pictures to come!
Joseph
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