Leaving For Jinja, then off to Tororo :)

Hi All,
Since yesterday, I found out that the girl with possible ALL (Leukemia) made it through the night with a few blood transfusions which is great news! We went to bar trivia last night at an irish pub...yes Kampala has an Irish Pub. I had a good time, but I honestly wasn't a huge fan, I am in Uganda, why would I want to go to an Irish pub??? (No offense to the IRISH that are reading ;)

I was in Acute pediatrics again today and I have an absolutely heart wrenching, make you ball your eyes out story from today. I am going to preface this with, this can and does happen anywhere in the world, I just happened to see it first hand in Uganda. Today a 1-2 day old infant was brought in by the police. Her mother had abandoned her and placed her in a pit-latrine. The police rescued her this morning and brought her to Mulago for care while they searched for the mom. When she came in, she was covered in feces, but by the time she came to our room, she had been washed by the nursing staff, but was still really cold. The Ugandian Intern was continuing to wash her off, when we realized...don't read this if you are squeemish...........that there were magets coming out of her swollen eyes and her ears and a few left on her body. I have never had such an awful feeling in my stomach! We got her good and whiped off (I'm not going to lie, the Ugandian intern did most of the maget catching) but there was still alot of pus coming from her swollen eyes. I think being from the cold, we are much more prone to treating hypothermia, so me and a peds resident from Detroit stepped in and worked on getting her warm. Between finding blankets and filling gloves with warm water, we got her all wrapped up and took turns holding her. Just an awful story and way to start of your life! I am worried about her vision, everytime I checked on her today, I would relieve more puss from her swollen eyes, and I kept hounding people for the anti-biotic drops for her eyes, but they haven't surfaced yet. They were also going to feed her through a naso-gastric tube, they don't have any bottles to use. Since the baby otherwise has no reason she couldn't bottle feed, I went and bought one in town during my lunch. A few dollars well spent....that is provided the formula that was promised to me ever arrives on the ward tonight. Every few hrs I keep going in to hold her for a few minutes, otherwise she lays in the crib by herself. Absolutely heart breaking.

I don't think there is anyway to transition well from that story, so I will just make it abrupt. Lisa and I are very excited to get out of Kampala tomorrow! Kampala is a nice safe city, but as put by Dr. Welishe "it is not the true Africa." Like any other city it has horrendous traffic, lots of people, and trash. Surprisingly, it also has alot of Mzungu's (white people). I am not sure if that is just cause I am around the hospital, but I was shocked by how many foreigner's I run into left and right. When I was in Accra, I barely every remember seeing a white person. Kampala is also incredibly globalized. There is a mall "Garden City" where you can pretty much get any western products you would need/want. I even say clean and clear face wash. We lasted about 30 minutes in Garden City (25 of which were eating ice cream) and then we were ready to leave. Also I am continually shocked by the lack of traditional clothing. When I was in Ghana, I would have estimated that > 70% of the people I saw, at least women, had traditional clothing/fabric. In Kampala most people are dressed in western clothing, many of which is brought over from US second hand stores. For instance, Ugandian man walking down the street with a Greenbay packer shirt ;) So Lisa and I are excited to head the "the real Africa" in the words of Dr. Welishe who is our preceptor for the next 2 weeks in Tororo. Kampala and Mulago have been fun, eye-opening, educational, frustrating, and a cultural experience all in one, but we are ready for the next thing ;) Oh, and Dr. Welishe was in Kampala today so we met briefly to discuss what we will be doing for the next 2 weeks. He has a whole itinerary for us. He is getting us into all types of community HIV clinics, "peripheral" or village clinics, ect. I think this will be a great addition to what we have done so far.

So tomorrow AM we leave for Jinja, where we will go class 5 whitewater rafting on the Nile tomorrow ;) Wish us luck! I am hoping to bring my camera since it is waterproof. From there we will stay in Jinja till Sunday afternoon (some of the people we live with are bunji jumping) and then head to Tororo for 2 weeks. I am note sure of the internet situation, so it may be a bit until I post again. I am not feeling the love. Mac is the only one that has called me thus far. I know some of you have calling cards out there. I think mac's is 8 cents a minute. If I don't pick up it doesn't charge you. I am 8 hrs ahead of Wisconsin, so the best time to call is 9pm my time on weekdays...around 1 pm for you, but anything after 5 is usually okay. Miss you all!!

Crystal

ps tried to upload pics again...no hope