Another week gone by in South Africa, and my notebook has plenty to show for it. At the hospital, we are still being bombarded by all kinds of interesting patients and cases. I've taken to bringing a small notebook with me which I affectionately refer to as "Notey". In it I write down everything we see as we go along. We have gotten to know most of the doctors well so we are free to roam the hospital and follow any of them whenever we want. We have been observing the sisters doing blood draws and will probably start doing them ourselves pretty soon. We've seen stroke patients, tons of diabetics, gangrene, ulcers, cardiac arrest, lymphoma, and nearly any infectious disease you can think of. As a short lesson, there are 4 main types of meningitis: viral, fungal (cryptococcal), TB, and bacterial. As of the end of last week, we have observed every single one, a grand slam! In the US, a patient with bacterial meningitis is placed in a sterile room with anyone entering required to wear a mask (maybe two). Here they are placed on the bed closest to the window. It speaks volumes about the endemic of infectious diseases here.
Matt and I are both interested in infectious diseases and missions to some extent in our medical futures, so this has already been an invaluable trip. We have been in the laboratory, taking ARV lessons with Dr. Makhakhe when possible, and doing rounds with Dr. Nhiwatiwa and the rest of the medical ward doctors. We are scheduled to go to the oncology unit in a few weeks, and tomorrow are spending our day observing surgeries. My expectations for this trip have been far exceeded and we are only two and a half weeks in.
The other side of things here has been great as well. Our container home is now fully furnished and so we have started cooking for ourselves, which usually consists of rice or whatever we can do with a potato. We spend a good amount of time out there now and watch movies most nights. I enjoy talking to Brian and Lois about their ministry and finding out more details of how it works in practicality. Recently they have been bombarded with requests to take in children but they just don't have the facilities or personnel just yet, especially any more babies. There was one 13-year old girl who had been raped by her sister's boyfriend and needed a temporary place to stay, but the social workers never brought her to the Village. South African children can't be adopted to the US and there are few other places here for them to go so it is a very vital ministry. I like to play my own small part by taking care of baby Tumi whenever I can.
Yesterday we went four-wheeling onto the mine dumps, which are huge dunes created by mixing the leftover ore with a cocktail of other chemicals, which makes for an ugly sight but great riding terrain. I am definitely starting to miss American food, especially the snacks. In my opinion, that would be the largest sacrifice of a life in missions to South Africa. However, I will say that the pop here is delicious. After going missing for over two weeks, Matt's bags finally arrived at the Village today which has made him a happy man. The Village has a phone line now and will get internet whenever the workers get around to it, which is anybody's guess.
I hope you all enjoy hearing about the trip, and if you have any questions feel free to email me at thircock@mchsi.com. Thanks!
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