HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF AND DONNY!
Monica- I did use an umbrella...lol...and I was still sopping wet.
The people on the bus...had no umbrella...hence...how did they get on the bus dry?
I am not sure how to process all that I am seeing and doing. So many things have happened it can be a little over whelming at times. As far as work goes, I am having the greatest experience. I love working at the Police Hospital, and I am having a great time with the ladies.
I am little sad because next week I will be transferred to the children's ward (there is a reason I want to do social work with Adults and not children) I think this transition will be hard for me.
It's almost as though I don't even know what to say in these posts. I am going to tell you about my client Esi
Esi is 18 years old. Be has a 2 year old child and is pregnant with
her second. She is in the hospital because of anemia. She was
supposed to receive three blood transfusions, currently she has received 2. These blood transfusions were donated bye the pastor of her church. She cannot afford the third transfusion so instead the doctor was supposed to give her inferon (I think that's how you spell it). Apparently this drug is supposed to elevate her blood levels...(I don't know, im not a doctor...lol). This was supposed to happen on Thursday and she was going to be discharged. On Fridays I attend lecture all day, so I do not go into work. Yesterday, I go to do my rounds, and Esi is still here. You cannot be discharged from the hospital unless you can pay your bill, or get it waived from the social service department. Esi cannot pay her bill, and the social service department cannot waive her bill because her case has not technically reached our department. SO I ask Esi if she received her shot, and she said no. I went and looked at the medical chart and noticed that she did not receive her shot because she could not afford to buy her medicine. SHE NEEDS THIS MED, she is pregnant. I go to the pharmacy and they do not have the drug. I go into the city, pharmacy where I know they will have it and purchase the drug for 18,000 cedi THAT IS ONLY $1.80. I happily return to the hospital with the drug (which is for 5 days, one shot on Monday, wed, and Thursday) and bring it to the head nurse with the instruction that this needs to be given to Esi right away. I was assured it would, and left for the night.
TODAY- I go to make my rounds and ask Esi once again, did you get your shot and she said no. I look on her night stand and see the drug 3 vials placed next to her. I ask the head nurse at the time what happened and she said "I don't know I was not working last night" I ask her to give Esi the shot now please (I was very nice about it...really). She told me I will, I said okay and left. About 30 min later, the shot still has not been given; I go outside and ask..."PLEASE. Can you give her this shot now; I would like to be here to make sure she got it." To which they said "I will, give me one hour." I said okay, thank you THANK GOD it did not take an hour. ESI FINALLY got her shot. WELL, I go and tell my supervisor about what happened, and he was very upset. Now Esi has to stay in the hospital until Saturday, one shot today, Thursday and sat. I tell my supervisor my concern that I am afraid that she will not get her shot on Sat, I w3ill be here to make sure she gets it on Thursday but what about Sat, and how if someone forgets to give her the shot on Sat, how will that affect the series of shots? SOOO he took me to see the Department Matron the person who sees over all the nurses to discuss this issue. He asked me to sit outside the office while he explained the situation. OH! By the way my supervisor is the Chief of the hospital (like the head person). After about 15min he comes out and asks me to come into the office. I explain the situation to her and she tells me "you students that come from over seas need to understand that this is how we do things here. My nurses are very good, and are very capable of administering a shot" ..."Madam, (that is how you address women) please, I know this of your nurses they are all very good and have helped me in many ways, I am just concerned with this situation." "Well, you don't know what happened Esi may have had her child visit, when the nurse came to give her, her shot so there for Esi was not in the bed when the nurse came bye. I will go down and talk with Esi, and make sure she knows she cannot leave her bed.
Please, you don't need to worry Esi will be given her shot." With that my supervisor and I left the room. I asked him if I was disrespectful in anyway and he said "no, I was very impressed with you, you did well. I asked you to come into the office because she did not believe me when I told her what happened, and gave me the same attitude that she gave you. That is just the way she is." Also on a side not, Esi when you look at her skin she is very pale, when you look at the inside of her eye lids, they are white, not red...I mean white...like a piece of paper.
SOOO...I guess I don't need to worry about Sat.
This is just one case....I have 4 others just like it. We went to the pharmacy the other day to buy medicine for a child with typhoid, it was $7.00. It kills me that these people are stuck in a hospital
because they can't pay a bill that $75. I try to be positive in most
all my posts because it is easier to type the good, when typing the bad I have no idea where to begin because there is just so much.
This hospital has no machines in it; people are in comas with no IV drip and not hooked up to anything. We found the first machine today in the children's room....it was a ventilator. The people sleep on mats that are less than an inch thick, on a metal bed that you may find in a jail. Sheets are not changed, catheters are not cleaned...
(I had to ask for someone to change a catheter for someone because ....well...let's just say it needed it). They really do, do the best that they can with what they have, but they don't have much. The nurses were excited to get a box of scissors today...really...no lie.
I hope I make sense right now...its really hard to chose what to type about because I could be here typing for the next 3 days if I wanted.
By the way, if you are a criminal, you don't get anything, you are ignored. The nurses in the children's ward do not touch the kids.
Elena (an intern with our group) is in the ward right now and she was telling us today that the nurse told her that "you want them to be scared of you so they will listen." There is a 9month old baby abandoned baby who cannot lift her head yet because she has had not contact, stimulation or anything so she is not reaching those developmental milestones.
It's a lot to take in, but I am having a great time and I really feel like I am doing something important here. I really can't wait to tell you all about it. I am sorry if my grammar is bad, and my punctuation is not in the right place....lol...I am tired.
Love you all
Me Do Wo Pa (I love you very much)
Ochina (until tomorrow/ goodnight)
Abenea Sewa (my name.)