Second Day in Africa

Day two in Mombasa was a lot like the first.  We had quite a bit of freedom as our program doesn’t officially start until Monday.  We woke up around 8 because one of the doctors was supposed to come talk to us about procedures and what we could do in the hospital, but our program coordinator came in to tell us that he was stuck at the hospital so we would do orientation at night.  Most of us were still tired from the night before so we went back to bed.  When I woke up I instantly could feel a migraine coming on so I took some Excedrin.  About 30 minutes later I started feeling sick because I hadn’t eaten much before that.  I tried to take a nap, but my head was pounding.  Some of the group wanted to go to the beach and as I much I wanted to, I knew I wouldn’t be able to sit out in the sun.  While they were gone I took some more medicine after eating a little then read a little bit and figured out how to hook up my internet.  The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out in the main room and chatting with other students.  We had four new people come to the house today from Poland and Georgia. 

By 5 dinner was ready and we were all very hungry.  I felt a lot better so I was eager to get some food in my body.  Dinner was a traditional Kenyan meal but I don’t remember the name.  It was like a homemade tortilla with white rice and this stew.  I was surprised I liked it, but it was very good.  After dinner it was time to head to the hospital for orientation.  We had to take three cars to get everyone there and driving always makes me very nervous.  There are no road signs or traffic lights here and everyone just uses their horns to signal what they are doing.  People dip and weave into traffic and tailgating is very common. I thought we were going to crash about three times because of the traffic congestion. 

Once we got to Costal Province General Hospital my stomach dropped.  I didn’t know if I would be able to handle working there every day.  Because it was nighttime the hospital wasn’t very busy but the first thing we saw was a man coming out on a stretcher, a cast on his arm, a huge bandage across his face, but his clothes were covered in blood.  As the people pushed him to the exit blood dripped behind him.  They tried to get him into the car but it took four people and it looked like he was in a lot of pain.  It seemed weird to me that he was still bleeding but he was leaving the hospital. Next, we got a tour of the hospital and saw where everything was located.  The hospital is open air with no air conditioning.  The windows are always open which allow mosquitoes, flies, and even stray cats within the hospital area. The areas we can shadow and even help in are Maternity, Minor Theatre which is like an emergency room, Major Theatre where all the big surgeries are, pediatrics, and internal medicine.  Because we have about 16 in our group we would divide into four groups and rotate throughout the areas.  Although I was nervous about working in the hospital I was eager to go back Monday and try this new experience.  We left the hospital after our short tour and made our way home.  I showered then went to bed once I got home because I knew I would need to be up early.