I’ve
finally done it! I not only got to meet the man that inspired me with his book
“Nasara” by to be a missionary I got to work with him for a whole four days.
Dr. James Appel books was a huge influence on
mine and my families decision on coming to Tchad. His book is inspiring in how
he was able to learn and adapt to the eviorment around him and to see the
problems that we there and try to fix them instead of looking passed them like
many other before him had. He also had a great time while helping people in one
of the most remote third world countries and he also found LOVE. Romance is
always a winner in my book.
Coming
to Moundou I had no idea what he had in store for me. I just said I was willing
to help in any way that he needed. So straight to the OR I went. I was able to watch
him in action and ask questions along the way. I wasn’t expecting to get to
involved cause I’ve never been a part of a surgical team before but what better
way to learn then from a great teacher like Dr. James. Oh the excitement is almost too much. But I’m a grown women and a
professional so I’m going to act like one. But
inside a gitty teenager.
The
first surgery I was able to watch was a urethral
stricture repair. His bladder was the size of a grape fruit and had a
history of difficulty peeing for the last 6 months. When they opened him up and
placed a catheter they found that there was no stricture but he did have puss
gushing out from his ureter. So essentially he has an infection in his kidney.
Why that caused him difficulty in urination I have no idea.
A lady with a Above the knee amputation had necrotizing
facites. The wounds on her leg were bluish green with a rank smell. I
watched has Dr. James cut off dread skin from the wound.
Then it was show time. He let me assisted
him in amputating a man’s right testicle
who had a hernia repair but
developed internal bleeding and now had a hematoma in his scrotum. While he did
the cutting I watched in Aww as this
mans cantaloupe size scrotum poured out blood. Huge clots come and then came
the kicker he took the scalpel and with a few quick slices…. There was one.
Dilation and Curettage. I’ve
seen one of these in the states. It usually takes about 10 minutes to perform
using the proper equipment. Here we do everything by hand. While I held the
speculum in place and Dr. James scraped what was left behind from her
miscarriage. If anything is left behind it can cause bleeding and infection.
Blood was splattered all over my arms and feet. We spend almost 2 hours trying
to get it all out.
I was able to scrub in a cesarean birth on a woman with twins
who had preeclampsia. What!? Me!?
scrub in…um YES Please!!! I’m looking all professional all gowned and gloved
standing opposite Dr. James. He had to give me a stool to stand on so I could
see the top of the table. It happen so fast cut….fluid rush….baby one
out….Suction…..baby two out…. Suction…..placenta out…..clear out blood and
clots…..close….Done. WOW! Rush!
When I wasn’t watching or assisting
in the OR I tried to find other ways to be helpful. I worked with the laboratory
and helped with blood typing, HIV and Hepatitis B testing and placing IVs.
When surgeries were completed early
and there was nothing else to do I decided to have an adventure so took a leisurely
2 mile walk from the clinic into town to the market. I was so excited to see a
paved road and actual building. Probably not the best idea being a lone female
and not knowing much French but I don’t like to sit still and this town is so
much bigger then Béré so I had to explore.
Friday came and as much as I loved
the experience of working somewhere new
I was finally ready to go home to Béré. I was lucky enough that
Augustine the Béré Hospital Administrator was in Moundou at the time and was
able to give me a ride back. I had to take a cuando (moto taxi) to meet him and
half a mile away from my destination the moto breaks down. Just my luck. And of course everyone
from a mile away wanted to come see the white person stranded. I had to push my
way through the crowd to flag down another moto to take me the rest of the way.
The truck is a old rusted loading
truck and is falling apart but it runs and that’s all I need. The road back is
bumpy and hot. We get stuck 3 times!! The workers had to unloaded all the
cement they were hauling each time to decrease the wait to we could push the
truck. I probably didn’t help much but I like to show those Tchadian men that
American women aren’t wimps. By 9:30pm its dark outside and we are 18 km away
from our destination and I’m the only female and with 10 men. Thank God for Gary.
He drove the distance to save me
Another African adventure but not
the ride home I was hoping for but that’s just life in Tchad. I think God might
have sent me here to test my patience.
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