The Miracle Tree

I was restless last night because I had finished the second book of The Hunger Games and it was a cliff hanger. I was seriously debating starting the third book but talked myself out of it in interest of resting for another busy day.

Alison and I were able to text a bit last night. She and Pam (wound care PT) are experimenting using the Neem tree for wound care here since it is so readily available to the people. Hopefully it works!

This morning, Greg and I started our day at the SIM Hospital again. We were on our own because Barna (OT in training, native Nigerian) worked the night guard shift last night. So, no interpreter! We actually faired quite well. I think it's because the patients know us well and Greg and I can give a pretty mean demonstration... Ok not really. It usually took us about 3 minutes to get our point across but the people here are smart, patient, hard workers and good listeners. It's fun to work with the patients on the ward. They all love getting the chance to get up out of bed and the entire room stops what they are doing to watch and help however possible. They all act as a family here. Everyone is so appreciative too.

After working on the ward, it was time for our mid morning break. We walked back to the guest house and relaxed for a bit. I can really get used to this mod morning break thing!!! Then we observed on the clinic. I was interested in observing with the pediatric patients so I popped my head in there to find Mark (short term mission dr) working with and adorable 5 year old boy with a swollen belly. Mark determined through a sonogram, a good subjective history and palpating that it was most likely schistomiasis.  Unfortunately, here they do not have the resources to test for all possibilities so it's often a very educated guess. Anyway, schistomiasis is a water born parasitic disease carried my snails. It is really only prevalent in Africa and of course the most in Niger. It is the second leading socioeconomically devastating parasitic disease in the world, behind malaria- which is also very prevalent here. Mortality is low, but can cause developmental delay in children if left untreated with simple antibiotics. The swollen belly is due to an enlarged spleen and liver which occurs in kids with schisto.

Mark also took me out to the CREN (center for rehabilitation education and nutrition). When mothers bring their children into the clinic and they are severely malnourished, between the ages 1-5, and the mother is willing - usually takes significant persuasion- the mother and baby move into the CREN. It is essentially a village on the hospital compound. During the free 2 week stay, the babies are given plumply nut, a super nutritious peanut butter type paste stuff and formula 2x per day. The women are educated on how to properly nourish their children and are taught about the miracle tree. The moringa tree is a drought resistant tree that flourishes in tropical settings... Exactly where it is needed. It is packed with an extreme amount of nutrients including 4x the amount of vitamin A than in carrots (preventing blindness), iron, potassium and so many other nutrients that support a healthy immune system. These trees also come into full leaf soon after the dry season has ended which is right when many other food sources become scarce! Talk about God providing!! It seems the biggest barrier to these tress really making a difference is education on identifying the tree and what to do with it once you do ID it. Hopefully, these women will go back to their villages and educate.

We returned from the CREN at 1pm so it was time for lunch. I was tempted to walk to the co-op and get some cookies, but I didn't ... I got them later though of course! At 3pm we ran into Deb Berutti, the OT that works here. She had been out of town. Now that she is back she can really direct us where we are needed! We will start with her on Monday!

We headed back to the ward to see our patients again, but everyone seemed tired this afternoon. I don't really blame them though, I would be tired after a week of two-a-days of PT after being on bed rest while healing. That's another thing I've noticed here. Patients dont move a lot throughout the day. But I guess I wouldn't if it was 100 degrees outside too.

For dinner we brought a taste of the states to Niger. We had burgers and Pringles. :) I also tried making my first ever batch of homemade yogurt. We will see how it turns out. Colleen, a long term missionary just passing through Galmi with her family taught me how to do it. I'm excited to see how it turns out! I'll keep you posted!!

Miss you all,

Kaitlin

Since Monday

On Monday, Greg and I flew from Danja to Galmi on a little three seater plane. At first I was a little nervous, but once I saw the plane and that it was in good shape and the pilot was Canadian I felt a lot better. I got to sit in the co pilots chair. The president of Niger was in Maradi, to dedicate a marketplace, so his plane was also on the tarmack where our plane was. We pretty much could just walk up to his plane. There was a huge crowd of people out to see him but it felt like we were celebrities and they were there to see us :)

It was cool to see the country of Niger from and aerial view. It's pretty much all sand with the occasional random village in the middle of nowhere. I wonder how those people survive. It probably would take them a day to travel to a market. When we landed we were greeted by a handful of missionaries working here in Galmi.

Galmi is actually a very small town. It was given to the Nigerians a long time ago by the French who thought it was essentially a huge rock and the people would never survive. But, the people found water and the town ha really expanded.

The hospital is run by SIM (service in mission) a Christian non profit organization. It is actually fairly big and they are rebuilding the old hospital because it was not built well enough to withstand renovations. It was made of clay with a little bit of cement on top. And with the rainy seasons here, there isn't much hope for it to survive he renovations. The new building is gorgeous so far. They are only done with one wing and it hasn't opened yet but it will be really nice. Much more sanitary too!

The PT patients we will see here will be more acute patients (recent injuries/admission) and trauma patients. And let me tell you, trauma patients here are extremely different than trauma patients in the states. Not only that but they dont always come get health care right away so it adds a layer of complexity to the diagnosis.

To help you understand the trauma, I have been able to sit in with some of the doctors during their outpatient clinic hours and wow do they see a lot of things. A boy with and open fracture of the tibia and fibula (shin bone) because a wall of a house fell on him, a kid who's foot got degloved (skin ripped off) because he was sitting on a curb and a car ran over him, a guy who upset a bull and got rammed in the bum, horrible car accidents with multiple injuries because no seat belts are worn or they were on a motor bike... You name it.

On Tuesday I was actually able to observe 3 surgeries with Dr. Joe. And appendectomy, the guy with the bull horn hole and the little boy with the open fracture. Dr Joe said surgeries here are at about where they were in the states during the 50s. They just don't have the resources to perform the most high tech surgeries as in the states. They also don't have enough tests here to truly determine what is going on so they often find out once they get in there.  It is a good challenge for the doctors.

Today, Wednesday, I spent most of the day observing in the clinic with Esther, a missionary, and Lisa, a third year med student. THey worked in the OB/GYN clinic. It was really interesting to see how they view pregnancy here. Often times the women are pressured into getting pregnant especially if they have a co-wife and he is also pregnant. And, they place a lot of worth for these women based on if they can get pregnant or not. It is really sad for these women.


Anyway, it has still been a great experience, however your prayers are super crucial now that I am more in my own... Without Alison. Please keep the people of Niger in your prayers, they are wonderful people.

Sai Angema (cya later in Hausa)

Love,

Kaitlin

Na Kwana!!!

Good morning in Hausa!

Camel riding was awesome. My camel, whom I named Howie, was awesome. He was a little flatulent on the trip but I'll forgive him. I'm pretty sure he was the wise old camel cuz he was very well behaved and he was also the tallest. I never knew camels were so tall! The most fun part was getting up and down, it's almost like youre gonna fall off. My little saddle thing kept wiggling so I had I stop and get up and down 2 other times during the trip. It was such a great experience!




It's been windy the past 2 days so if it is windy again tomorrow, Greg and I will not be flying to Galmi. I'll keep you all posted!

Love,

Kaitlin

The Past Few Days

On Wednesday, we went to the prayer circle held at the chapel on the hospital compound. The pastor of the church leads the leaders of the hospital in a short 30 minute prayer session each morning to prepare us for the day. Today the message was very suiting for me especially. The message was about Gods mercy. That he helps us through overwhelming or difficult situations to show us that he loves us and that he is capable of doing it. With that, we know we can't trust in him to take care of us. This message really hit home especially since everything here is overwhelming. All I need to do us trust that God will take care of me. And he truly has so far. On Friday I was able to call my parents and Kyle. Each of them asked how I was doing. Honestly, I can't believe how well I am doing. I truly believe God has given me courage, strength and also Greg and Alison to make it through this culture shock to say the least. I could have never d  it would be this way, but am overjoyed it is!

I am sad that I had to say goodbye to everyone at the hospital on Friday. On Monday afternoon Greg and I fly to Galmi. It was so much fun here and I will truly miss it. Somila, I sent a picture earlier this week, is the therapist who works at the PT clinic at the compound. He is not licensed yet because right now he cannot afford it, but loves helping people! He is also very smart! Anyway, each day, before lunch, he would give us a Hausa lesson, Alison, Greg and I have really learned a lot from him.  In return for the lessons we would teach Somila some PT techniques.

On Friday we only worked a half day and were able to go into Maradi, a big town near by, to go to the market. They only had a little bit of shopping but it was fun to see the town. On the way back we got to meet Ayouba, our driver who is the most thorough and handy guy ever, let us meet his family. He invited us into his home and we met his
Mother, wife and one of two daughters. His little 2 year old was afraid of us because we are white. She is adorable though! It was such an honor to be invited into his home and see a real authentic home made African home.

Today, Alison, Greg and I drove to Zinder with Ayouba of course. Zinder is about 3 hours away and is a region with a very boulderesque (not a real word I know) landscape. It was really cool to see yet another part of the country! We got to meet with a couple of Greg's friends who have a church/prayer room attached to their home. We all thought it was hilarious because the guy put loud speakers on his roof to announce his prayer time to combat the local Mosques call to prayer. It was pretty funny! His wife made delicious cookies that I had 3 of but could have for sure eaten at least 100 more. We will try to get the recipe!

We also got to tour the Sultan of Zinders palace. It was really cool! They took us up on the roof and you could see the entire city! I have some awesome pictures. We also walked around the village where a street performer half scared us and half entertained us. He was making noises/music with knives sliding around on his skin.... That is a terrible description but honestly it was weird. I have a video I will upload when I get back and have better Internet!

Our three hour drive home was tiring but it feels good to be back. We are going to church tomorrow at 9 and then riding camels in the afternoon! Can't wait!

Miss all of you!

Love,

Kaitlin

PICTURES!!!

The hospital. To the left is the womens ward. The right is the men's. It's all open and outdoors. Not very sanitary. I don't have a lot of pics on my phone but I'll try to take more!

The small one I'm petting is soooo cute and I really want one. She actually got attacked by another dog and we think she is paralyzed or has a partial spinal cord injury because she can't use her back legs at all. It's really sad. The bigger one is the mommy!

These oxen were blocking our road and didn't want to move! They tie their front legs together.. Called hobbling... So they can't run away

It's not great quality cuz I took it with my phone from my camera if that makes sense

    Samila is the therapist who works at the pt department at the hospital. He is not licensed but knows a lot of information, works hard to learn and is very smart. He gives us Hausa lessons everyday before lunch and we give him tips on PT techniques in return at the end of the day. He is a pretty funny guy and I have really enjoyed getting to know him. Today was Greg and my last day working with him as we leave for Galmi on Monday via plane. Samila was also our translator... But he taught us a lot of commands that made working with the patients easier regardless of the language barrier!