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Jambo!
The morning was crisp and sunny as the team walked the 10-minute distance from the hotel to the hospital. We have learned our way around more so we split up and went to our stations- some to the cath lab, to the operating room or “theatre” as they call it, and some to the clinic to check in the new patients for today.
Dr. Cabrera, Michelle, and I met Crystal in the ICU where she stayed overnight to watch over Veronica and Denis. Denis was eating breakfast, all of his tubes out and sitting in a chair with his parents at his side. Veronica was feeling better and her status was obviously improving.
From there, I met our hostess in the lecture hall to give the presentation of the day, “Complications in the ICU and Prevention.” There were over 30 nurses in attendance! Some came from across town, other hospitals and different areas in Nairobi Hospital.
After the lecture I returned to the ICU where we met our first new patient of the day, Favour, a 6-year-old little girl who had a ventricular septal defect closure. You can see a picture of her as she is gently lifted to do an X-Ray at the bedside.
After Favour was settled in, I went to check on the cath lab patients and met 4-year-old James before he and his teddy bear were sedated. Of the two main tribes in Nairobi, James is of the Kikuyu tribe (the other is the Masai).
Dr. deMoor was working closely with the local cardiologist, Dr. Naomi, in interventional cardiology so that she may perform the procedures after we have gone back to the United States.
Right before the afternoon rain came, our second post-op patient arrived from the operating theatre. I mention the rain only because you must understand that there are no air conditioners in Nairobi. The windows are left open to the breeze throughout the hospital.
By the end of the day, the patients were well-tended to by the Kenyan nurses and doctors with our guidance and the moodwas light. As we have gotten to know each other we joke and show pictures of our loved ones and promise to visit each other in our different countries after the mission is over. I have come to admire my new friends and sometimes feel I am learning more from them than they are from me.
Asante,
Whitney
Our team would love to hear from you. Please send your questions, comments or words of encouragement to
Whitney Partin, R.N., partinw@lebonheur.org.
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