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
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