My week at Kibuye

So the much desired cold weather was all too real, I forgot my jacket down in Buja, the land of heat. I brought my pink wrap with me so that was my source of warmth. The last time I traveled to Kibuye I went with the medical students. It was the loudest and most fun I’d had since college. Nothing like riding on a crammed bus for 3 hours with college students that are super excited to do something practical with their training. This time was very different. The bus wasn’t crowded and the novelty of working at the hospital had worn a little. I was tired from the crazy two weeks and laid my head back and rested. Lots of the students did the same. I stayed in the Ogden house with four Oklahomans who are here for the month of June. I split my time 1/3 at the Ogden house preparing syllabuses and lesson plans, 1/3 at the student dorm hanging out, and 1/3 at the hospital, again hanging out with the students.
The house was quiet with everyone at the hospital in the mornings. This helped me focus on my task. When I got bored of working I would walk up to the hospital with my camera and take pictures of the students working. They were so eager to tell me about the patients. They wanted me to be involved in what they were doing. I really liked that. They encouraged me to enter the operating room. I was reluctant but the last time I came up they tried and I didn’t cave. Now I was curious. For each operation there are four people that work on the patient. The main surgeon, the assistant (sometimes a student), the man who passes the instruments (this was most of the time a student) and the man who runs around making sure the patient stays alive, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels, and keeps them asleep the whole time. Every time I entered the operating room there were at least 5 people hovering around the patient watching the surgeon’s every move. With all the people in the room it made watching a surgery a social event, and I love social events! I got to see many C-sections, a few thyroid surgeries, and some other random things. The first surgery I surprisingly lasted 15 min. The ones to follow I stayed much longer. Once I got over the blood thing I was fine. When I wasn’t in the OR I was traveling around the hospital looking for a photo opportunity. I found myself many times in maternity with a baby in my arms.  That was my favorite part.
There were some hard parts about being at the hospital. The smell is just a constant reminder that people are sick. A few babies didn’t make it past birth. I was so strong for the first one but by the end of the week I lost it. One baby died and I couldn’t keep my composure. It was the end of the day and so two students walked back with me. One began to sing I Surrender All. I didn’t like the words at first but they finally penetrated my sad heart. After he finished he told me that when things happen he always sings that song to remind himself that he’s not in charge.
When a normal day was over the students would travel back to the dorms. I would either go back to the Ogden’s house or follow the students to the dorm. I tried to get over to the dorms at least once an evening because I enjoyed talking and getting to know them. I got to know a few of them well because they would always come out of their rooms when I came in. I like having friends. But when the week was over it was harder to leave them.
We ended my week with a great game of spoons. There were 18 of us in the Ogden’s living room. Only one injury, a finger nail to the hand. Don’t worry, I bandaged him up, I think he’s going to make it. 