Clinic Life

Lyndsay here,
So we decided, we have done a really good job at painting a picture of Uganda in terms of culture, housing, food, people, and all the crazy stories/things that seem to go wrong when the three of us our together, things that have made us laugh, cry, and touched us in a deeper way than we had ever thought possible.. The one thing we haven't really done a good job at is describing more of the clinic, the people there who work with us on a daily basis, and more updates of the work we have been doing everyday.

Oh the people, who have grown to be family in a matter of a few short weeks, we are already dreading the moments we have to say goodbye. Every morning, after leaving the guesthouse around 9 am for our blistering hot walk through jungles of trees (resembling my father's yard in many respects, including the abundant men/women/children carrying machetes) on the uneven red dirt roads up the side of a very steep mountain, we arrive, always covered in sweat, greeted with smiles, hugs, and already "thanks yous" for the work we will do for the day, before we have even started. We are thanked for walking into a clinic, walking into a store, we have even had people thank us when we are out on a run... The Ugandan people here are simply that, so grateful. Which has taken us all by such surprise given I usually make it through several 12 hour shifts at work without ever hearing a thank you.

The usuals at work, Dr. Lisa and Douglas of course. Richard, Kristen's Ugandan brother, who works as the Outreach Coordinator and pretty much does everything and anything ANYONE needs. He is always smiling, laughing, and is so animated! He manages to make talking to grown men and women about sexually transmitted diseases a fun thing.. He also works one day a week at an orphanage where we have been going every Monday to do teaching. This past week we taught them about setting goals and how to achieve them. We had each child draw what they wanted to be when they grew up (easier said than done when you don't even have enough pencils or crayons for your class), they then could present to the class if they so chose to. The majority wanted to be airplane drivers, nurses, teachers, and one child who wanted to be a doctor! We spent time encouraging them that things will not be easy, but they can do anything they put their minds to (a lil piece of advie handed down from our parents during 4 grueling years of nursing school, we love you all for it)!

Back to the clinic staff, sorry for my tangent there, we are slightly obsessed with the orphanage, the teachers there, and obvisouly all the children (of which we each want to bring back 5 or 10) and I could talk about them forever...  Along with Richard is Wilson, a 53 year old Ugandan man, who looks like he is in his 60's (the people physically age here so quickly due to the stressful lifestyle) yet has the spirit of a young man. He often teases us for the singing and dancing we do in the clinic, and likes to say we are not "spirited" enough... Please, I don't honestly think 3 women can get any louder than Kristen, Michelle, and I when you put us together. I would also like to put Wilson in a bag, along with my Ugandan children and bring him back to the US.  Needless to say I hug him as much as possible.

Irene is 25, works as a nurse, she is sweet, beautiful, soft spoken, and has a heart of gold. She is always so happy to see us, and looks drop dead gorgeous. She is married to James who works as one of the 2 Clinical Officers (an equivalent to a PA in the states). Along with James as a C.O. is Viola, more quite, and keeps to herself more than the others, but we love her all the same. She is always dressed in a gorgeous dress with her hair well done.

Rogers... oh Rogers. Rogers working at Station 4, which is where all IV's are done, wound care, debridement of burns, abscess drainage, oral medications given, IV medications given, and medications dispensed for patients to take home. Needless to say, we have bonded with Rogers over countless IV's, tons of wound care, several painful and heartbreaking burns, boda injuries, etc. Rogers told Michelle and I we "sympathize too much" when we were taking our time cleaning the boda injury of a grown man. He got in there and started clipping off pieces of skin, usuing sutures to make mini touniquest to leave to stop bleeding, scrubbing hard, cutting this, pulling that... Michelle and I were wincing the entire time. At this point I turn to him and say, "Rogers, I am a pediatric nurse. I like to hold my patients and sing to them when they are in pain." And he tells me I should sing to him... and I did. Didn't help, cause he still looked like he wanted to hit me in face and take a swing at Rogers too. We have really learned from him what practicing 3rd world medicine is like, and that pain is not the emergent need to be addressed, there simply are not the resources. You get in, get out, and pray they will come back the following day for follow up.

Emma works in the lab, he is still on a volunteer basis, will start to be paid staff in a few months. He is smart and such a great teacher. We have really enojyed his company. Musa is the HIV testing/couselor/resource. He is tall, think, dark as night, and speaks every so softly, you can barely hear him. He is one of those people whom you need only talk to for a moment, and you can tell he is the sweetest person in the world who would do anything for anyone. We love Musa, and given that he is nearing 31 and unmarried, Wilson has told us it is our mission to find him a wife before we leave. Given that the life expectancy here is between 40 and 50, apparently 31 with no children is considered "old."

Julius and Grace work as counselors for discharge teaching, why you take medications, how to take them, treatment plans, symptoms to watch for. Michelle cant manage to look at Julius with a straight face because he talks, laughs, looks like Rafiki from the Lion King. And last, but certaintly not least, Ida. Ida is the housekeeper for the clinic, does grounds work, helps to cook meals, cleans the latrines, she does it all. She is one of the first ones there and one of the last to leave, and always with a kind word and smile on her face.

Each and every one of them embodies the Ugandan spirit and what it truly means to serve people around you. Despite the fact that many of them have may tangibly have close to nothing (you see some of them rotating the same 2 or 3 outfits because it is all they have) they have everything that truly matters to give. Love. Compassion. Support. Kindness. That is what life is all about. This trip has served us with the perfect reminder of just that.