A Nurse's Notes

People Everywhere!!

From the end of May until this week, Kibogora was pretty quiet.  Well, not really quiet as there was a lot of spring cleaning going on in all the houses.  But there were no visitors which made it feel quiet.  Now all the houses are full of people.  We are quite busy making sure people have what they need for their houses and assigned jobs.  For example, one woman told me the coffee pot didn’t work.  The coffee pot and microwave had worked at the same time, and now the coffee pot wouldn’t work.  I checked to see that the coffee pot was plugged into the power strip.  Yes, but she had unplugged the power strip to plug the microwave in.  Thankfully, that was an easy problem to solve!!

Moving Drugs

Yesterday we moved the central pharmacy where the large quantities of medications are kept.  The pharmacy is divided into two parts, the central pharmacy and the distribution pharmacy where patients go to get their prescriptions filled.  The medications on the shelves didn’t look like too much, but when we started putting the pill bottles into boxes, we realized there were a lot of medications on the shelves!  On Friday the plan is to move the distribution pharmacy.  Friday is a holiday, so there won’t be much going on at the hospital, a good day to move the pharmacy!!

Lots of New Pictures

My parents are visiting me for seven weeks. We've given my dad a long list of building projects. My mom is helping by putting new pictures on this blog. You can see the pictures by clicking on the squares to the left. After that, lots of pictures will show up. Click on each one to see the picture expanded plus a title and caption.

I'm Back!!

After a week of not having e-mail, I'm back and so is my computer!  I can now do a better job of keeping my blog updated!!  I had a great week in Kigali and visiting Shyira Hospital in the north part of Rwanda.  I left Kibogora on the 21st and spent three days at Shyira.  I stayed with a German missionary family.  Their three daughters and I had tea parties.  I also visited the hospital where their father works.  The hospital and town don't have electricity, so I enjoyed seeing how they use solar and kerosene to power their machines.  At night we sat around and visited with solar charged lanterns. 

When I got back to Kigali, the next three days were spent shopping and picking people up at the airport.  I picked up a total of fourteen, so now our mission station houses are full and we're having lots of fun with visitors.  Two of the people I picked up were my parents!  It's great to see them again and, of course, put them to work. :-) 

Sifa Update

Sifa is back in a cast.  They operated on the tendons in her ankle to try and stretch them, so she can place her foot properly on the ground.  She is, of course, an expert at crutches, so it isn’t affecting her mobility!!  I was just surprised to see her back on crutches after she was doing so well at getting around on her own.

Happy Birthday to Me!

          I had a nice birthday, starting with French toast made from homemade bread.  I worked at the hospital in the morning, and then in the afternoon I curled up with a good book and relaxed.  Sheila, who had been in Kigali for the week, returned to Kibogora with two packages for me.  Both were birthday gifts from my family, and, amazingly enough, they arrived on my birthday!!  Instead of a birthday cake, I had vanilla pudding made from scratch.  I hadn't had it since I left home, so it was much more of a treat than cake. J  We are going to have my "real" birthday party when my parents arrive.

Moving!

            We started to move!  All the boxes from one of the storerooms are now in the new building.  There are, of course, things we use regularly that we can’t move yet, but most of the other things are moved.  Now that there are many empty shelves, I'm using the space to spread out and sort all the surgical instrument.  Sometimes among all those instruments, I find surprises, like this paper punch.  Hm-m-m… I have never heard of that being used in surgery!!

Thunder

            We've had a number of thunderstorms the last couple of days.  I don't know why, but the thunder keeps rolling and rolling for 20 seconds (I counted) before the big final crash.  I don't think I've ever heard thunder rumble for so long!

Quiet Around Here

            The team from Roberts Wesleyan University left Saturday.  I thought the mission station would be so quiet without them.  The team was a lot of fun and left some broken hearts behind because some of the local high school students proposed to some of the RWU students.  Unfortunately, all the answers were no.  :-)   But as it turned out, I ended up sick in bed the day they left and was quite glad there was no one around, as I was quite useless.

            It was tough being sick without a computer because I couldn't even watch a movie.  But then I figured out how to use the video projector speakers with a DVD player, so I could watch a film while lying on the couch.

No Computer

            After this Saturday, I won't have a computer until the end of June.  I'll try to keep my blog updated, but it will be a little more difficult as I'll be using Sheila’s computer, not my own.