Stirring the Nest

I've just had my Mom admitted to our private block. She'd fallen and broken her hip, and it was repaired at a state hospital in S.A. But now she has nowhere to stay as her previous residence will be inaccessible to her disability. So here she is. The Lesotho folk very graciously welcomed her, and our little 1st year nursing students bounced into her room all bright eyed and bushy tailed, giving her an eager and cheerful welcome. This brightened her up quite considerably, as she was somewhat disgruntled at being back in hospital, after a long day of travelling, with a blinding headache. Well, i took her some coffee, rubbed her feet and back, tucked in some extra pillows, gave her some pain pills, two young youth pastors came to pray for her, and she looked and felt so much better.

Awesome views

Sabbath afternoon walks are the highlight of the week - the emphasis being on 'high'... We have some stunning views just a few steps from our back yard. Maluti Hospital campus is perched up on a mountain/escarpment - so we have this awesome view all round - and yes, we're a beacon of hope up here on this mountain village of Mapoteng. We're well known throughout Lesotho - even the border guards and customs officials open their gates with a broad smile when they hear you're working at Maluti. The top picture shows a water fall at half-way mark, the next pic is a zoom backwards view of this spot. Next is the waterfall's source, while the bottom two photos are just other side of our back yard fence.

Ist Aid classes

The first year nursing students have just completed their basic life support module - all 32 of them. Quite a mission to put them all through CPR practical in a couple of hours, but with a bit of planning and technique, we did it:-D. They're a pretty smart bunch, so they caught on real quick, and retained it well - they remembered everything at the end of the 4 week block. For their exam, I divided them up into two teams, and relay style, we did CPR two-man rescue, switching roles after one cycle each. It gave me a chance to evaluate each ones skill in compressions and handling the bag and mask, and they had great fun- after all, resuscitation is team work. And the bandaging? well that went off well too - with some innovations... Just today i had great fun teaching the midwives neonatal resuscitation and intubation (pics to follow). Well, if they didn't have ears, their broad grins at sighting the vocal cords would have gone right round their heads...