Squatter bug...

Well the bug that moved in during the graduation ceremony some weeks back is still around. It went away for a day or so, then came back with a vengeance two weeks back- runny nose, body aching, extreme tiredness, the racking cough at night... no sleep, painful chest/abdominal muscles from all the coughing during the night. By this past Sunday i'd built up a sizeable sleep deficit, and couldn't go on any more. The good doctor booked me off this whole week - for which i'm so grateful. Penicillin didn't do much for the superimposed bacterial infection. I'd been through Red clover tea- which helped some- but soon lost it's effectiveness - wish we'd had some echinacea - i'm sure that would have done something. Any how, i moved over to elder berry flower tea, grapefruits - great expectorants, but the thing kept up a tyrannical nightly invasion. the kind doctor living next door to us loaned me her Vicks cough mixture - a potent aniseed extraction in 10% alcohol...! It took the breath away never mind the cough- worked for about an hour then the coughing was back, hacking as ever. I took to supplementing the cough mixture with chewing some actual aniseed seeds - they worked longer... Then yesterday i finall resorted to doing my own artificial fever therapy (don't try this alone at home... there must always be some one around). My old Mum and the maid were around, so i climbed into the hot bath and raised my temperature to 39.5*C for half an hour. Sweated real good, then showered down with invigorating cold water - like you can only get in Lesotho... I lay around in some towels for another couple of hours, watching 3abn, dosed now and then, and surfaced just before lunch. Took a warm shower and washed all the sweat out of my hair, and got lunch on the go. never felt better! and for the first time in weeks i slept through last night!

Graduation

The Maluti Hospital School of Nursing recently held their graduation ceremony for student nurses and midwives. They had the little first years march in first, all neatly togged out in their whites with identical pen sets in their pockets. The graduants then follwed in their black gowns, followed by the tutors. The main speaker for the day was the man in charge of education for the local church conference - a most inspiring delivery! Other speakers included the Lesotho representative for the Lesotho Nursing Association.

I had to leave half way through to relieve the girls in the wards - but i was also beginning to feel very 'fluey'...

Drivers in training

one, two, Three n up...! Our Maluti Hospital drivers get to do call out on the hospital's ambulance from time to time when there's an accident near by, and they usually end up having to help extricate and load patients. So some basic accident scene management training was hugely appreciated - and enjoyed by the men - and a pretty sharp bunch they were - caught on real quick!

Some of the boys remebered their Path finder knot training... but

we did some reviewing. We had huge fun packaging and loading one chap and rushing him off to casualty :-D

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...

hey Mr. Doctor!

This little lass came for a follow up visit after a bout of illness - the broad smile on her little face and challenge to 'tug-o-war' with Dr. Simon said it all... we'd won- for now at least...