Medical Outreach

Isaac and I have wanted to put together a medical outreach to the village of Kiwanyi but we couldn't think about how to accomplish such a big task. We knew we needed extra hands to help in the process of seeing so many people. We were so happy when Sara said she was coming. Sara just finished her first year of medical school and was willing to jump in with both feet. Ramses is a man from Chad. He got his degree of nursing at the same school as Isaac. 

With Sara and Ramses on the team we felt we could adequately serve the people of Kiwanyi. What we didn't know is that we would serve the people from surrounding villages as well. People came from far and wide to see the doctor for free. One woman carried her child over 20km (12miles) to see the doctor.

We made up 80 red number tickets to help control the line. We passed out 217 tickets the first day! We were told that the clinic normally serves 100 patients in a month and we only did 2 days.

I took people's blood pressure and pulse with a machine I had along with weight and temperature. Ramses then took respiratory rate, and retook blood pressure and pulse if there was a concern. The patient then received a green number card to wait and see the doctor. At the end of the two days Isaac had seen 172 patients!

Many patients were finding out about their health concerns for the first time. These patients had a variety of ailments but the most dominate group were ones with hypertension, diabetes, and peptic ulcers. We also saw patients with eye cataracts, sickle cell anemia, hernias, Down Syndrome, benign prostate hypertrophy, malnourished children and women, a woman with a breast lump, and many surgical cases. Most people complained of skeletal and muscular pain. This is because of their age and the difficult work they do as subsistence farmers growing their own crops to eat.

We found that many of these issues could be elevated or be treated before they become a serious medical concerns if proper healthcare, early diagnosis and education were available within the community.

It was great to be able to find out more information about how building a hospital will help this community.