Francois

Francois came to me following a traffic accident. His leg was gangrenous and I took him to the theatre to debride it. He was under spinal anaesthesia so could communicate with me. I told him "Je doix coupe isi" and he understood my French telling him I must cut his leg off. He refused even with me telling him he will die. The next morning I saw him and now not only had the gangrene moved several centimeters up his leg but he also had a surgical abdomen. I was able to convince him to allow me to explore his abdomen and amputate his leg. 

He is now ten days out of surgery for the amputation and he had blown open completely the second portion of his duodenum, which I was able to repair. He is eating a full meal and the education I have done with the creation of the wound care team has him recovering well at his 
amputation site and nutrition wise. He will return to complete the reconstruction on his leg next week after some good nutrition and then hopefully off to Bafut for physical rehabilitation. 

I wrote this poem after a late night discussion with his wife and son (sorry no pics internet isn't so hot right now):

Your blackness reflects in my eyes of china blue
Lines of pain zig-zag around your face
In a maze  that I can not understand and is so exhausting
That it would put angels to rest
I am not sure what you are trying to say to me
You are not nameless yet I do not know your name
I am not sure how to love you
but as long as there is no price to it I?ll stay
In this hour it is too easy to construct an artificial distance
In this dark place with death waiting when we
Are unsure if in the morn we will be met with
The preserved honey of life or the mortuary concrete

Je suis presse

Je suis presse, that is French for I am rushed. It may be spelled incorrectly but as it says I am rushed! 

My french has been coming along as I bartered "like an African woman" I was told, for a French textbook. In addition the operating theatre has been moving along with perforations and c-sections and so many wounds. Aside from the business of clinical work I have introduced wound care teaching and something akin to a "wound care team" as it would be called in the states and it looks like improvements are slowly happening we will see how it goes. 

Lastly, I have begun some work to improve upon the library and will be reaching out for help as far as that goes.

God Bless!

When it Rains it Pours

Well when it rains it pours here and I don't mean only the monsoon rains that come and keep my clothes from drying for over three days!  

Today was slow which was okay considering yesterday was three emergency c-sections with one woman who did not know she was pregnant with twins. Surprise for everyone and all mamas and babies doing well today. 

I am preparing a lecture for Saturday on wound care for the hospital staff and have also noticed there is no medical library...hmmmm?