Zimba....

On Monday of last week we had the opportunity to visit Zimba Mission Hospital and stay the night. Rachel and I partnered up and started taking vitals and preparing the ART (Anti-retroviral therapy--AIDs treatment) patients for their doctor's appointments. There had to be nearly 40 people who passed through the ART clinic for the 2 hours while we were there. It was very chaotic, but a wonderful opportunity to get to know some of the patients. I talked to one man, who was a farmer with five children. He said that he was not sure how he was going to get his 4 youngest children through school, because no one is buying his crops. He said that he was bankrupt and could not find a way out. I talked to him about his extended family and he said that none of them were nearby and that his father and mother had died with AIDs. He has been staying on schedule with taking his ART medication, therefore his health is pretty good at the moment.
After the ART clinic Rachel and I moved to the lab. Dr. J taught me how to draw blood for the first time! It was exciting! It was not as hard to draw blood as I thought it would be. IVs, however, might take some more practice! I tried a couple IVs the next morning and had some trouble, but I am very anxious to try again! The next morning Rachel and I were paired together again and were placed in the med-surg. men's and women's units and the TB unit. We had a couple blood draws and a couple IV sticks. There were quite a few patients in all 3 wards and there was only 1 nurse for these 3 units. There were many AIDs and malaria cases and a few musculoskeletal problems on the men/women's units. Later that evening Rachel and I got to scrub in for surgery in the theatre (the OR). Rachel scrubbed in to be the surgical nurse! How cool is that? It was a wonderful experience, especially because I love the OR! We watched 2 hernia repairs and then saw a severe burn patient, who had fallen into fire in the village. I have seen many surgeries at home and it was extremely interesting to see the difference in how the OR's are run. I can not wait to go back to the OR when I get the chance! We have had some wonderful opportunities this past week and I am looking forward to what is coming over the next month and a half!
Blessings,
~Alivia