the other clinic

on wednesday they were totally inviting. we met everyone and mr muma showed us around again. (i'll upload photos later). we started out doing prenatal visits. (which i've never done) it was TOTALLY awesome listening to the fetal heart sounds through this funky little silver tube that was small on one end and large at the other. the fetal heart was more like a feeling, a vibration in your mind instead of a sound though and i found that exciting. you just have this sensation of a heart..a life. and touching all these pregnant bellies and visiting the baby ward where there was a 2 day old baby and 3 other newborns with mom's eager to allow us to hold them. just that first day i started 2 iv drips for malaria patients and gave an IM shot to some kid. (they rarely give an IM in the deltoid...ALWAYS in the butt...poor kid) ...it was a totally fulfilling day. i learned so much about a clinical setting and prenatal info.

and today i went again because muma said they would be going out to the community to give vaccinations. obviously i couldn't pass this opportunity up!
i got there just after 8 am and changed into my scrubs. we set out fairly on time and walked down these rocky back paths to some random schools made of cement and tin. (unfortunately i don't have MANY photos because the batteries in my camera were nearly out, but i did catch a few!)... the kids were all sitting excitedly in mini chairs at mini tables...and some were crying because they thought the whiteman and white coats were going to stick them with needles. it wasn't long before they realized we only had oral "sweets" (medicines) for them to take and most of them were eager to take them when they saw their friends smiling faces. some even asked for more. we went from room to room of these weather rubbed buildings passing out these sweets. my duty was to mark the left pinkie of each child who had received each of the three medications: polio vaccine, vitamin A, and worm medication. the meds were only for children 5 years exactly and under, so we were dealing with probably some of the cutest kids in cameroon.
we went to maybe five different schools. at each one the kids would wave hands through the windows and cry "whiteman"... sometimes after i was nearly out of view from them.

i was offered a stick of sugar cane at one point. they laughed at me as i oddly fumbled the cane about trying to figure out how to even begin to eat it. but once they showed me i definitely had the hang of it. you have to bite the outer shell and tear it off with your teeth. and then you take a knife and cut the stem into four parts (this makes it easier to fit that whole bit in your mouth). you bite away one of those four parts and chew and suck on it until you're sure all the sweet watery sensation has left the roughage and evaded your senses. it's too enjoyable, really.

after we got through with the schools we went to the community. trekking up and down rocky mountainside paths to find all the "pickens" under the age of five. in the village were the younger ones and they weren't quite as eager to receive the sweets from the people in white coats. some screamed. some wept before we even got close. and one was caught quietly slipping away down the street. we sat at a little community center and waited while the town crier went to the random homes to announce our presence. while we sat i discussed my small understanding of the pidgin-english language with some local men.
i de talk small pidgin, you see? and i de hear pidgin more.
they were enjoying some shots of whiskey from these small sealed plastic bags. they said this was the way the poor man could taste good things. it was about 10 cents a shot. very tempting really.

so after we started heading back to the clinic i realized how exhausted i was. it was HOT. i was thirsty. i was hungry. and i was WELL pleased with the day! :)
four of us stopped at a little restaurant and i enjoyed a full plate of ndole (usually i share a plate with shaye) and a gordon's spark.

and back at the clinic i got to observe/assist with a circumcision. it was SO painful to watch. apparently the blade was slightly dull so i'm assuming it made it that much terrible for the 5 week old boy (they usually do it within the first three days). i was a little sickened honestly. she kept cutting and tying surgical sutures around pieces of skin...attempting to stop the bleeding. finally it stopped. i really was scared but... wow. it was intense to watch. i don't think i'd like to do one...but maybe someday. we'll see.

anyways. i'm about out of time but on one last note:

I MIGHT GET TO CLIMB MT CAMEROON!

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written by  theresa on December 4, 2009 from Douala, Cameroon
from the travel blog: to africa
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