hospital work

Soooo, about the kiddies I work with. I spend my mornings on the burn unit, helping out with dressing changes. I have learned much more than I ever wanted to about how to treat burns (at least in South Africa) and seen children’s faces marred beyond recognition.  The kids are usually so afraid of it hurting that they are in tears before the changing even starts. Most of the nursing staff and even parents frown upon the children crying or showing their pain. This does make my job very difficult, because we generally encourage children to talk about what they are feeling and to tell someone if something hurts. I do my best to keep in good spirits around the children who are in pain and let them know that it is okay to be nervous. I think it is easy for some to brush off children’s pain, especially after working in the burn unit for so long, because it would just break you down to see so many children that way.

The rest of the day, I spend on different wards. I spend some time in oncology, where I currently have 1 patient (the second was able to go home last Friday, yay!!). He is my most difficult patient because he is up and alert but refuses to talk to talk to me. He will nod his head to “yes” and “no” questions and will point to things he needs, but will not speak (he is 8yrs old, so is able to speak). I have a few other patients, some with TB, HIV+, pneumonia, bone cancer or some other disease of which I am not yet aware. A few have all these diseases together.

One of my patients is an older child and I have no idea what her diagnosis is, other than diabetes.  Ironically, I am working closest with this patient. At this point, it is less important for me to know what her diagnosis is and more important to get to know her and the procedures she needs. She goes into surgery tomorrow to drain some cysts in her pancreas, I have no idea why they are there, but all I need to know is how the doctor’s are going to remove them. So far, so good. She had to transfer hospitals today, which was extremely stressful for her, so I sat with her and mum in the new room for nearly 2 hours and tried to distract her, answer questions and do a couple art projects.

I’ve been getting in the hang of things at work. At least I know how to get around and who I need to see. My biggest challenge is lack of experience. Sometimes I have no idea what to do with or for a patient and that is a terrible feeling. Also, sometimes I feel like there’s more I should be doing, but I don’t know what it is. I guess that will take some more experience too.

Anyway, for now that’s all I’ve got. Keep you all updated on new experiences J

Love from Cape Town.

I've Been Here for How Long?

• After nearly 2 weeks, I am feeling confident about my surroundings, I feel like I can get myself to pretty much anywhere at least in the surrounding Cape Town area.
• With one week of work accomplished, i know the hospital environment fairly well.
• On that note, I have seen many dressing changes on burn victims, and i'm not sure if i'll ever become used to it. However, by the end of the week, I went through rounds alone and i think I did well. I only have about 5 in-patients and a few out-patients.
• I've been able to check some things off my to-do list and even added a few more. Thus far, i've been sand boarding, whale watching along the cliffs, abseiling and today i'll go skydiving. 

Yes, it's true, today i'll be up in the air and jumping out of an airplane!! I've actually been more afraid to tell my family than I am afraid of the jump. :) To skydive here is so much less expensive and why not? I was actually supposed to go last Monday when I went sand boarding, for some reason it came in a package to do both in one day. Unfortunately the weather did not hold out long enough to permit skydiving, so we re-scheduled for today! I'll let you know how it goes, i'm pretty certain that i'm going to love it.


On other notes, i've realized I did not take into account the travel expenses here while budgeting for my trip. So far, i've spent more money of minibus taxis, buses and other transport than i've spent on anything else. It costs me R16 to get to and from Red Cross everyday, and that certainly adds up after a while (it's just over $2 a day). When it gets warmer out i'll be able to walk there and back, which will be nice. At this point, i'm to wimpy to get up and walk in the morning freezing weather. 
Yesterday, we went to Hermanus, a fishing town along the southern west coast and saw whales. It was incredible! There were a few people who went sea Kayaking and then a couple of us went walking along the cliff instead. It was absolutely stunning to see these animals!! They are beautiful and huge. Even from far away you can see their enormousness. Right before lunch, we saw several of them really close to the shore, coming up to breathe. It was an experience of a lifetime. This is where I went abseiling for the first time, which was also amazing. The abseil was quite short, but quite fun!! The guide let me do it twice, being wicked cool! The drive back from Hermanus was beautiful. We went along the coast and it was amazing to look out one window and see cliffs and mountains go straight up and the look down and see the ocean, rocks and beaches. I loved it. 


I'm loving Cape Town so far and I can't wait to do more and learn more.

1 Week, post travel start date

So, the weekend and beginning of the week goes something like this:

Saturday was beautiful, as I already wrote about I went on the Sisanda Fundaytion trip with the kids from the townships. Sunday was cold and rainy, it was not entirely enjoyable.
Sunday I was supposed to go to the Waterfront with a friend, but she cancelled last minute due to the weather so I was cooped up inside with very little to do. However, I did go out to see South Africa vs New Zealand Rugby game, it was very good and SA won!
Yesterday I went sand-boarding with some of my housemates and it was fantastic! (other than the walks back up the sand dunes) It's much like snowboarding, but you have walk back up the dune and when you fall, er do a cartwheel and land on your face, it doesn't hurt nearly as much :) I boarded all morning and then in the afternoon went to a restaurant called Moyo where they paint your face as part of the tradition.

Today was the first day of work. It was entirely overwhelmed and I woke up 10 mins late so I was NOT prepared when my supervisor came to pick me up. The hospital is big and a bit busy, but I think i'll do okay.I was very nervous this morning, but felt like I could handle it by the time I left. My biggest concern is getting in the wrong mini-bus taxi and them not getting me to work on time. I only had a half day today, but in a half day, i met  at least 20 people, went to a meeting, shadowed on 4 wards, had some terrible coffee (OH and big update here, I found a coffee maker!! :)), found the Child Life office and viewed all the activities I can use. All in 4 hours.

So, tomorrow I must figure out how to get to the hospital, it's not too far from where I live, so i figure I can walk when it's nicer weather out. The rest of the week will be full days (7:30 to 3) and i'm certain I will be exhausted by the end of the day tomorrow. However, this weekend should be fantastic!! but i'll write more about that the next time i'm here.

I miss everyone back home. I even found myself missing work today. If you guys think it's crazy at CLC then you should visit this hospital for a day, it's easy to be grateful. But even with the getting used to things and the huuuuge differences, I still am enjoying myself and making the most out of every moment. I have a long time to go here still and i'm looking forward to it.

love always,
christy

good day, good friends

Today was a day of firsts.

I had my first experience in a Cape township, first time seeing the southern Atlantic ocean, first time interacting with children in South Africa.
I volunteered with a group called Sisanda Fundaytion. They basically take under-privileged kids out for a day to do something fun. Today we went on a mini boat tour at the Waterfront. So, we went past Camps Bay, which is a beach where the beautiful lay out during the summer (which it is not here, in case you forgot). We then took the kids mini-putting and then to a playground not too far away. We were each assigned 2 or 3 kids, i had one girl and one boy. they were both very sweet, but both very sneaky. It was hard to keep track of them because they always wanted to do different things and go different ways all the time. Overall, it was very fun. I loved it so much , i signed up for another expedition in October :) So, The kids were super fun although sometimes difficult to understand. I met a lot of really neat people on the trip, including a couple women that i intend to meet up with sometime next week for more volunteer experiences.

On a more general trip note. I love it, besides the ridiculously cold weather (it's 50 right now). I mean, I realize it's winter here.. but come on! this isn't the Midwest, it's South Africa! I figured i'd at least be warm during the day... nope. I'm getting used to how it works already and i love that when i look outside my yard there is a mountain a mile away. Other than the beggars and mini-bus yellers, everyone is friendly. People have been warning me constantly about the crime, but no one i've met has had any trouble thus far. My roommates are cool, although most of them are leaving in a week, so hopefully i'll get some new cool ones. Other than that, i'm looking forward to starting work on Tuesday, today made me really appreciate being here and having what i have back home. I also realized how hard it is for me just to sit still and not have to something or think about doing something. Today, i was grateful to have something to do.

I miss home and I miss family and work, I almost miss school, at least the idea of knowing where to go and when. I miss knowing how to walk home in the dark and not worrying about anything. I'm sure the longer i'm here, the more fantastic it will be, but for now, i miss home quite a bit.

love you all,
Christy

The Journey to Cape Town

A full 2 days ago I was in the airport in Chicago waiting to get on an airplane that would take me to Washington, Dulles, USA then another to Johannesburg, SA (with a pit-stop at Senegal) and then finally to Cape Town, SA. 


The first airplane ride was the fastest 2 hours of my life. I sat next to a grumpy old man (one comparable to the grumpy old man in the move "Up") He was not very comforting. But when the plane landed I had just enough time to scoot my booty over to the next terminal where I had to get my passport and boarding pass checked before being rushed onto the airplane, which i spent the next 19 hours of my life on. 
On this plane I met Joseph, originally from Zambia - now lives in New York and is flying to Johannesburg to see his son and wife. He was pleasant to sit next to, although he slept most of the flight. I watched Rio (finally! and mom you really should watch it before you give it back to Erika, it is super cute), did some drawing and writing and attempted to sleep before landing in Senegal. We were there for an hour but were not allowed to leave the plane, so everyone was standing up and walking around (doing lots of complaining). It was funny to me that I  noticed a difference between  Americans and just about everyone else I saw. For example, there were 3 rows in front of me, 2 rows were couples in their mid-fiftiesish and the third row was 1 man all of them American. These three rows complained almost the entire time about sitting for so long and being bored and wanting to get up and walk around. When they weren't discussing movement the single guy was talking about his investments and how he made his money... I thought "who cares?" I certainly didn't, I was just grateful that the family kiddy-corner from me was finally getting off the plane which meant her kids weren't going to be keeping me awake anymore. 
Alas! the plane took off again we spent another 10 hours up in the air. I got about 2hours of sleep total. Apparently I do not sleep well on airplanes.... (sidetracked.. wow the mango here is awesome!!!!).. okay back on track, so finally landed in Johannesburg and it was SO confusing! I was grateful to have 2 hours in-between planes because I took the first hour to find out where I was going. Not only were things not marked like they are in the states, but some things weren't marked at all. So, the first place I went to re-check my bags was closed and then no other places were marked, I was told go up a level and then go down.. and then just take a right and look for the signs.... I was entirely confused, but I was not alone at least, so i had a friend going to east london and we figured it out together. Once she had her stuff re-checked she booked it to the terminal because she was late. 
When I finally found my terminal (which sent up a level and then down 2 levels)I had about a half hour of waiting still. The take-off was delayed because we had to take bus trips out to where the plane was waiting for us. While waiting, I met a woman named Choiling and we will be going shopping tomorrow at the Waterfront :) So, the good news is I made a friend, the bad news is she will only be in town for about 2 weeks. 
So, ending my trip I landed in Cape Town, where I met Sly (the driver for VAC, who I am living with but not volunteering with). He drove me to my house and we got there sometime after 10pm. It was a looooong day, literally, since I had not actually slept since 10am (well 5pm local time) the day before. 
My room in the house is the very first room next to the front door and I have 5 roommates so far. 2 of them are leaving next week and 1 more is moving in sometime in September. I started unpacking last night, but was too exhausted to do much good. I had to wake up at 9:30, but my new phone was not set correctly and I did not wake up until my supervisor called me. 
She met me this morning and gave me a VERY brief low-down of what i'll be doing and how i should get around. At this point, I at least know how to get to the internet cafe and a grocery store. So far, so good. I start work on Tuesday (which leaves the next 2 days open... to do... ummm yea i don't know how to get anywhere.. so i might just be chilling at the house)

So, now i'll head back home and continue unpacking. Oh and things I have forgotten thus far: a towel (which made my after shower experience quite interesting this morning), my electrical adapter and my hairdryer. I had to buy a new adapter which cost 50 Rand or just under $9. 
for today, at least it's sunny, even though it is still quite chilly, I am glad to have brought my long pants and jackets. 


Christy
p.s. there is NO service down with my verizon phone so there will be no calls that way, I am thinking i might be able to buy some minutes on my new phone and we'll see about international calling :)
love you all
p.p.s. The Mountain is right outside. I can see it from my yard!!! oh joy!!!!! 

The beginning

Where to start?


To all my friends and family, this will hopefully allow you a glimpse into my life across the globe. As I will be leaving in just 3 days, I figured i should let you know how to find this blogspot and make sure everyone can see it without any trouble. 
As for now, this is the plan for the first couple days: Tuesday, 8/16 I leave from Chicago at 1:10pm and arrive in Washington around 4pm local time then leave to Johannesburg at 5:40pm and land there around 5:20pm on Wednesday (that is an entire day later, but it's not actually a 24 hour flight, thank the Lord). Then one more flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town, which will get me there around 9:30pm local time. I'll have a short night's sleep and begin the adventure bright and early the next day with my orientation to the city. Hopefully, this will allow me to gain a better understanding of how the public transport system works and how often i'll be able to use it. 
I believe the day after (that being Friday) i'll have orientation to the hospital. Saturday, i've requested to go on a trip that takes "disadvantaged kids" on a 1 day vacation each month. Hopefully that will work out and i'll get my feet wet right away!


so, for now that's all I know. I'll let everyone know how i'm doing and how everything is going as soon as I can. 
thanks for all your prayers and support!


love always,
C