One Week in Nalerigu

Since today is Thursday we mostly did surgery. But every day begins with rounds and today was no different. The doctors make rounds and see each patient every day. There are 120-130 patients on admission right now So it takes a while to see everyone. Here are some pictures from the wards:

Some of the patients on Men's Ward

  The hospital is often more than full and             patients are sometimes asked to sleep on the floor. It is not so strange since many sleep on mats on the floor at home.

Staff preparing for rounds



After rounds I went to the OR to do surgery cases. I worked part of the time With the Ghanaian surgeon, Dr. Muntaka and we both did some cases on our own. I was able to do some teaching and demonstration on how to do certain things.

 

Waiting in the surgery office for a case

Dr. Muntaka and Kwame Duut, surgery tech

 On the way home to eat supper I passed by the nutrition center. They were just getting ready to close for the day and the mothers were getting a lecture about how to care for their kids.

Lecture on caring for children

One of the children at nutrition center

Mother and child

Surgery Day

Tuesdays and Thursdays are set aside for elective surgery. Today we were pretty busy. I don't think I will show a lot of surgical pictures or cases. Dr. Muntaka helped me operate on a young man who had been through several surgeries and ended up with an ileostomy (opening for the small intestine on the abdominal wall). He has been waiting for some time for someone to come who could close the opening and restore his bowels to normal function. Anticipating a difficult case due to all the previous surgeries, I asked Dr. Muntaka to help me. It was much less difficult than we thought it would be and pray that the young man will have a good recovery.

In the afternoon I did mostly "minor" procedures. (I have been told that "minor" means it is not being done to you.) Here is a picture of the schedule for those cases:



Minor Surgery Schedule July 1, 2014

 

I did surgery until about 6:30 and then went to have supper with Peter and Erin. They had a rather unusual dish that was hard for any of us to eat, but it was good to visit with them for a little while. After eating they left to go and watch USA play Belgium and I came home to get ready for bed.

 

There is a nice steady rain right now and it has cooled things off a little. Should be good sleeping weather.

First Monday Clinic

Monday clinics have always been one of the busiest of the week, coming after two days without clinic. And today was fairly busy. I think I saw about 70 patients and that is not a lot compared to what Dr. Hewitt and I used to see when we were younger.

On the way to work this morning I met this little fellow:

Chameleon out for a stroll

 Since I am here to relieve Dr. Coppola and am using her office, I am ending up seeing a lot of her patients. And since she is an Ob/Gyn, I end up seeing a lot of women. I am sure they were disappointed not to see Dr. Coppola after waiting long hours to be seen. Here is part of the group waiting patiently outside the office:



Some of the ladies waiting to be seen 30 June 2014

Each patient has a "folder" with their medical record, vital signs, diagnoses, labs and treatments. No electronic medical records here! Here is what my desk looked like around the middle of the afternoon (there is another big stack in the window):



Folders of patients to be seen



I also found this memo pad among the papers on the desk and cannot figure out why there is an ice cream scoop with the medical instruments and medical bed. Are they doing some new procedures that I haven't heard about? And such a big scoop!









Sunday in Nalerigu

I was up for a couple of hours last night to do a C-section on a lady having a difficult time with her 10th baby. Fortunately, everything went well and she had a healthy baby, although the baby did have a very pointed head.

After sleeping a couple more hours, I got up and went to make rounds before going to church. We attended First Baptist Church when we lived here and we usually go there when we are back. It was a packed house today because they were winding up the three day funeral celebration for Madam Esther Lariba, who died unexpectedly a few weeks before I came.

Elisabeth and Madam Esther when we were here in April 2013

Esther was a good friend and a strong Christian witness. She was very active in the church and outspoken about her faith. Her husband has two other wives, so they were a big family and most of them were in church today along with many friends. She will be missed by all of us.

Inside First Baptist Church Sunday June 29, 2014



 

The service only lasted three hours with a one hour sermon on the Christian view of death by Rev. Isaac Wuni, who had been the pastor of First Baptist and is now principal of the Bible School in Tamale.

 

Rev. Isaac Wuni Preaching June 29, 2014



 



BATS!!

When we lived here, there were a lot of bats in the trees around our house. It seems that they have multiplied by the hundreds. There is a constant hum coming from the trees as one walks to the hospital, made by the flapping of thousands of wings! Pictures cannot adequately depict how many of these creatures there are, but here are a few pictures I took today to try and show some of the bats from a distance. I'm sure no one wants to see up close

In Nalerigu

Part of the road to the hospital

I made it safely to Nalerigu and BMC on Thursday just before lunch. But I have not been able to get access to the internet to post any new information or pictures.
I am now staying in the Coppola's house while they are gone and they have fairly good internet access.









There is a new sign at the entrance listing all the services we offer and it is no wonder so many people come for treatment when one sees what all we can do and that we have "24 Hour Outpatient Service"!










Station Meeting Nalerigu June 26, 2014

Thursday nights all of the missionary staff get together for a time of fellowship, singing, devotional and prayer. Though this is a small group, most of those present left today. Only Peter and Erin, Tim and Lori Cahill and their two kids, and I are left. Tim and Lori are both doctors and there are also 4 Ghanaian doctors here right now.

 

Arrived in Accra!

No pictures right now, but wanted to let everyone know that I have had an uneventful trip so far. Arrived at the guest house in Accra around 10:00 PM ( 6 PM Georgia time), almost 24 hours after leaving Atlanta. The driver said he will be here at 5:00 AM to take me to the airport to fly on up country. So it will be a short night.
Will try to post some pictures and more news when I get to the hospital tomorrow.