Lovely local!

Glamour in the dressings room

Thursday 22 July

Pauline and I were doing teaching with the greens today on the wards, bed baths was today’s lesson. We managed to find two towels and two face washers, the co-patients had the hot water ready. We even had two washing up bowls. This was just so hard last year to do that; you would spend half the lesson time trying to find the equipment - what a difference small things make.

The new medical ward that now has 22 beds is full already (there used to be 16) and we are expecting a car-load of HIV patients today from Yirol a small town about three hours away that has no treatment centre - not sure where we are going to put them.
The last patients that came were so advanced in their disease, there was not a lot we could do for them, in fact 3 have died. Until the people come to terms with HIV and admit that it exists, this problem will continue. Early intervention is essential.

Just had two hours teaching in the dressing room, one patient took about one hour, a man with two gunshot wounds to both legs & upper thighs. Luckily for him the bullets came out the other side without hitting the bone, don’t know how, must have been so close. But what a mess to the legs. It’s surprising what you can do with cotton wool, gauze and bandages. I did have some ribbon gauze, courtesy of a friend of mine back home, which has come in very useful, but alas used the last one today.
Next dressing was a spear wound to the back.

Just when we thought all the dressings were over, a young woman with a new baby arrived (sitting in the wheelchair you brought last year, Ian) with a terribly gangrenous leg.

She had been bitten by a snake 10 days ago in a remote village. Two days later she delivered a baby, much more important. Then we’re not sure what happened, think she might have gone to the local witch Dr, but history poor. Her brother who lives here heard about it and went off to bring her to the hospital. Thank goodness he did, as I’m not sure if she would have survived if she had been left.

With the help of two other nurses, we debrided the leg and dressed it as best we could; she will go to theatre tomorrow to see what can be done. She was just so brave with very little pain relief (no schedule 8 drugs here…).
She has now been to theatre. Good news, I think we can save the lady’s leg, but she will be here for a long time.