Hi everyone- thank you again for all of your interest and support here! I assure you that I am deeply grateful and completely enjoying your company 💗
Week 2 is already well under way. I’m feeling rejuvenated after an overnight in a beachfront resort last Sat in Accra with some of the other volunteers… not sure what I enjoyed more, the cozy bed, the AC, the running water or the pool! (have I mentioned yet that it’s damn hot here?) OK for those of you who may have Googled the temp here, it is only 80-85 degrees and humid (which in Maine is a perfect day to me) but I assure you there is NO air conditioning ANYWHERE here in our day to day lives where we can escape the heat… not in the clinics, not in our house, not in the vehicles nor shops…so God only knows what the temp is inside those places. I used to think that I didn’t really sweat much, turns out I sure can! But it rained today and I was so excited…(as much as I moan about the long, dark Maine winters, I never thought those words would ever pass thru my lips)… this was the first comfortable day here since we arrived. It is winter here, so several of the locals were wearing hats and sweatshirts since it was “so cold” today!
I wish I could tell you that I enjoyed a good swim in the ocean last weekend. Unfortunately, Ghana like many third world countries, does not have any organized trash management systems in place. People burn their garbage and just throw plastic on the ground, there is literally plastic garbage everywhere- including at the beach!
So once again those competing opposite emotions surfaced…it felt so great to have a luxurious break to recharge yet I was completely heartbroken to witness these plastic-choked beaches.
On Mon, it was back to the clinics. I will be alternating week-to-week between a very rural farming area clinic here in Frankadua and a clinic in the small city of Atempoko about 20 minutes (and a few prayers) away by Tro Tro (manic taxi vans)! This week I am in Atompoko with the midwife Joyce. First thing Mon morning I watched her do a circumcision. She said I will do the next one if I would like to. Big Gulp but Yes!! I didn’t tell Joyce that this was only the second circumcision I have ever witnessed… and the first one I had to leave the room because I almost fainted😇 I don’t really know what has come over Me but since I have been here, surgical things that used to really make me queasy have been fine. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had plenty of queasy here but at home, that transitions into my ears ringing and having to step out of the room so I don’t pass out! Yet here, I’ve been able to get the jobs done while still upright! 🙂 Call it Guardian Angels (thanks Mom+Dad), God’s Grace, digging deep so I can be helpful….who knows, maybe all of the above but I am so grateful for this new found gift 🙏
Monday also meant motorcycles (yahoo) to go visit our very rural patients to do some wound care / dressing changes. I really love the Mon + Thurs rides in the countryside but what I especially love is that we are able to bring Healthcare to people who live too far from the clinics and have no way to get there on their own. They live in scrap metal /wood shacks and cook outside in their red dirt yards over open fires. When they receive a wound, it can get very serious very quickly because they don’t have medicine/medical supplies out there and they are malnourished with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension etc – all of which makes wound healing VERY difficult. ( Fair Warning, if you are queasy, please skip the next picture! Wound care doesn’t phase me because it’s not surgery)😇
Today was an unexpectedly very interesting day. Instead of going to the clinic, the midwife and PA at the Atempoko clinic invited me to join them at the bi-annual Performance Review of the Healthcare in our district. Their major Healthcare initiatives are family planning, malaria control, childhood vaccinations and HIV screening of pregnant Mothers to prevent transmission to the baby. Before I knew it I was being introduced to the local Healthcare Ambassadors who oversee the Healthcare delivery here. They were very kind and welcoming to this Nurse Practitioner from the United States – I think that’s the closest I’ll ever come to being a rockstar! 😘
This afternoon I was invited to the children’s community band practice. My friend Richmond (aka my motorcycle driver) is the band director. He is 28 years old going on 40! It was fantastic! They practice from 3:30 to 6p M-F then on Sat they perform at weddings, funerals or events. They range in age from 5-18yo. When you listen to them play, they are enthusiastic and quite talented! And yet when you look closely, the instruments look like something we would find in a dumpster! One of the trumpets had no bell on the end, another trumpet had 3 rods sticking up but no finger pads etc etc and there are more kids who want to play in this band than there are instruments. So one group practices the song while another group watches and then they switch places so everyone gets a chance to play. They don’t have music stands in front of them (too costly) so instead there is a large dry erase board in the front of the room with the musical notes written for everyone to follow. Three little girls playing tambourines pulled up chairs next to mine, handed Me my own tambourine and taught me the rhythm. We had many smiles and giggles as I struggled to keep up with them. These children are so poor and yet so beautiful in and out💗
Lastly, a huge thank you to so many who have generously offered to send care packages! This ain’t no Kennebunk (and at times I truly feel like I’m on another planet) but I assure you, I am fine. Each and every day I am solicited by several desperate people in great need of help in medical clinics, music+sports programs, people adopting orphans etc. So if you really would like to send something, they need it far more than I do and I’d be happy to deliver to them for you.
Looking forward to chatting more soon. The rain water is running off the roof into a barrel. I’m going to pretend it’s a babbling brook!
Big hugs and kisses across the Atlantic
~Sheila
