What I'm expecting
My brother told me today that I should write about what I am expecting to see during my time in Ethiopia...so here goes...
I honestly don't know what to expect. In an email I got from Dr. Rick Hodes (who I will be working under), he told me about how he sends certain kids to Ghana for special operations, but the hospital there occasionally loses power for 30+ min. during an operation and the generators only run to power the ventilators so the doctors either operate by flashlight or they wait until the power returns. I am not expecting the clinic to have dirt floors (but it might) and I am expecting to see many flies and other flying insects inside the clinic. I don't know how much medical work I will be doing (I hope a good amount) but I am sure that whatever I do see will be unlike anything I could imagine here.
I recently finished reading "Just Here Trying To Save A Few Lives" by Pamela Grim, M.D. It was a quick, easy, interesting read that was your typical ER doctor testimonial, and her twist was that she had also worked for Doctors Without Borders in Nigeria. She told of how she saw things that had disappeared in the US decades ago (i.e. tetanus) and how her clinic lacked basic medical supplies such as tape for holding down IV lines.
From the way Dr. Hodes talks of his clinic, it doesn't seem as though they lack such basic supplies, but I imagine their supply closet looks quite different from the one in any American ER. So again, I don't know what kind of work I will be doing, whether it's helping the nurses care for patients or playing with the orphans, but I am excited about all of the possibilities and simply anxious and impatient to get started.
Before my travels last year, I was nervous/excited but mentally removed and I tried not to invest myself too heavily in excited anticipation for fear that the experience wouldn't live up to the hype. A month ago I felt the same way about this trip, but now I am letting myself get excited for the experience of being there and doing something so unbelievably different and unknown that it is an adventure in every sense of the word. I am not expecting it to be 24/7 fun, exciting, or depressing, but a mixture of all of the above as I dive into this unique place, culture, and opportunity.
I have a meeting tomorrow AM with an infectious disease MD to discuss how to protect myself when dealing with HIV/TB/Hep B patients etc and so I'm off to rest my eyes and get some beauty sleep.
p.s. definitely did not finish work for the economist or pack today...."procrastination is the art of remembering yesterday"
I honestly don't know what to expect. In an email I got from Dr. Rick Hodes (who I will be working under), he told me about how he sends certain kids to Ghana for special operations, but the hospital there occasionally loses power for 30+ min. during an operation and the generators only run to power the ventilators so the doctors either operate by flashlight or they wait until the power returns. I am not expecting the clinic to have dirt floors (but it might) and I am expecting to see many flies and other flying insects inside the clinic. I don't know how much medical work I will be doing (I hope a good amount) but I am sure that whatever I do see will be unlike anything I could imagine here.
I recently finished reading "Just Here Trying To Save A Few Lives" by Pamela Grim, M.D. It was a quick, easy, interesting read that was your typical ER doctor testimonial, and her twist was that she had also worked for Doctors Without Borders in Nigeria. She told of how she saw things that had disappeared in the US decades ago (i.e. tetanus) and how her clinic lacked basic medical supplies such as tape for holding down IV lines.
From the way Dr. Hodes talks of his clinic, it doesn't seem as though they lack such basic supplies, but I imagine their supply closet looks quite different from the one in any American ER. So again, I don't know what kind of work I will be doing, whether it's helping the nurses care for patients or playing with the orphans, but I am excited about all of the possibilities and simply anxious and impatient to get started.
Before my travels last year, I was nervous/excited but mentally removed and I tried not to invest myself too heavily in excited anticipation for fear that the experience wouldn't live up to the hype. A month ago I felt the same way about this trip, but now I am letting myself get excited for the experience of being there and doing something so unbelievably different and unknown that it is an adventure in every sense of the word. I am not expecting it to be 24/7 fun, exciting, or depressing, but a mixture of all of the above as I dive into this unique place, culture, and opportunity.
I have a meeting tomorrow AM with an infectious disease MD to discuss how to protect myself when dealing with HIV/TB/Hep B patients etc and so I'm off to rest my eyes and get some beauty sleep.
p.s. definitely did not finish work for the economist or pack today...."procrastination is the art of remembering yesterday"
Comments
What reading material are you bringing along?
Also, don't forget to pack the wet wipes.
~The Places in Between
~Anthills of the Savannah
~Kavalier and Clay
and one other i can't remember right now
wet wipes are wonderful :-)