final week at saint francis
highlights of the week:
- admitting young girl who was very, very sick and diagnosing tb pericarditis, being correct, treating her and curing her. we were all so totally elated when she walked out of the ward, the biggest smile beaming on her face. successes like that make it worthwhile. make you remember what you’re in this madness for.
- the same girl, every time she would see me walking towards her end of the ward, (because everytime i saw her i wanted to listen to her chest), would sit up and whip her blouse and bra off. and i had to run over and stop her because i wasn’t actually walking over to see her just yet. madness. this happened several times. she just didn’t think twice about flashing her mammaries at everyone.
- 2 female patients asking for my phone number and address. this now makes the score (people who have asked for my numbers from the wards) - 4 male - 2 female, and one unknown (the ‘female’ at the king’s bar who had a huge gob).
- seeing patients get better, and smiling. my favourite patient on the ward at the moment is this 19-year-old girl who has a relapse of tb and has the craziest chest x-ray in the history of chest x-rays, but who is quite asymptomatic and is cruising around laughing and joking. great fun.
- diagnosing psychiatric problems when they have never been considered and no one else could figure out what was happening.
- mosi.
- playing basketball till after sunset.
- the safari. oh my gosh did i mention the safari?
- the ‘hamburg’ sausage i ate today. only 5000 kwacha too.
- looking forward to next week: going to livingstone and doing touristy things like vegetating around pools with all these pasty white people around, drinking copious amounts of ethanol, going to the *amazing* victoria falls, canoeing, white water rafting, and so on.
- chilling with the irish boiz, talking arrrish and shutting our punts.
- knowing that the highlights far outweigh the lowlights. and knowing that most of the lowlights are kind of highlights in their own way.
lowlights of the week:
- tracy reading the above stories and thinking that i am having a wonderful time in zambia with all these guys and girls and guygirls and patients flashing me.
- seeing patients, especially young ones, not get better.
- never being able to get used to the wailing from families when someone dies. it *always* gets to me.
- knowing that i will be leaving st. francis this week. i feel that these five weeks really haven’t been enough! a big part of me wishes i had another week! i am enjoying everything so much, learning and doing so much, experiencing so much. i think five weeks is not enough at a place like this.
- the score is still 4-2, and i only have two days left.
- having an argument with a nurse who insisted that i should prescribe an ‘appetite’ pill (FeSO4) to a patient.
- the same nurse wondering whether i was from china. don’t ask. i can’t figure it out either. and i’ve been thinking about it for days.
- this feeling at the moment that that ‘hamburg’ sausage is having a party in my bowels. and no, it’s not the good kind of party.
- filling up my bucket with a lovely two kettles of hot water. then putting the cold tap on to fill up the rest of the bucket while i brush my teeth. then getting distracted and coming back to find that the whole thing has overflown, leaving nothing but a cold bucket to bucket with.
- admitting young girl who was very, very sick and diagnosing tb pericarditis, being correct, treating her and curing her. we were all so totally elated when she walked out of the ward, the biggest smile beaming on her face. successes like that make it worthwhile. make you remember what you’re in this madness for.
- the same girl, every time she would see me walking towards her end of the ward, (because everytime i saw her i wanted to listen to her chest), would sit up and whip her blouse and bra off. and i had to run over and stop her because i wasn’t actually walking over to see her just yet. madness. this happened several times. she just didn’t think twice about flashing her mammaries at everyone.
- 2 female patients asking for my phone number and address. this now makes the score (people who have asked for my numbers from the wards) - 4 male - 2 female, and one unknown (the ‘female’ at the king’s bar who had a huge gob).
- seeing patients get better, and smiling. my favourite patient on the ward at the moment is this 19-year-old girl who has a relapse of tb and has the craziest chest x-ray in the history of chest x-rays, but who is quite asymptomatic and is cruising around laughing and joking. great fun.
- diagnosing psychiatric problems when they have never been considered and no one else could figure out what was happening.
- mosi.
- playing basketball till after sunset.
- the safari. oh my gosh did i mention the safari?
- the ‘hamburg’ sausage i ate today. only 5000 kwacha too.
- looking forward to next week: going to livingstone and doing touristy things like vegetating around pools with all these pasty white people around, drinking copious amounts of ethanol, going to the *amazing* victoria falls, canoeing, white water rafting, and so on.
- chilling with the irish boiz, talking arrrish and shutting our punts.
- knowing that the highlights far outweigh the lowlights. and knowing that most of the lowlights are kind of highlights in their own way.
lowlights of the week:
- tracy reading the above stories and thinking that i am having a wonderful time in zambia with all these guys and girls and guygirls and patients flashing me.
- seeing patients, especially young ones, not get better.
- never being able to get used to the wailing from families when someone dies. it *always* gets to me.
- knowing that i will be leaving st. francis this week. i feel that these five weeks really haven’t been enough! a big part of me wishes i had another week! i am enjoying everything so much, learning and doing so much, experiencing so much. i think five weeks is not enough at a place like this.
- the score is still 4-2, and i only have two days left.
- having an argument with a nurse who insisted that i should prescribe an ‘appetite’ pill (FeSO4) to a patient.
- the same nurse wondering whether i was from china. don’t ask. i can’t figure it out either. and i’ve been thinking about it for days.
- this feeling at the moment that that ‘hamburg’ sausage is having a party in my bowels. and no, it’s not the good kind of party.
- filling up my bucket with a lovely two kettles of hot water. then putting the cold tap on to fill up the rest of the bucket while i brush my teeth. then getting distracted and coming back to find that the whole thing has overflown, leaving nothing but a cold bucket to bucket with.
posted by SuperDha at 8:56 am
2 Comments:
another greeeat post moight.
so it's your final week already??
five weeks gone already? moight that's madness. it's loco.
so.
how are ya doin?
saying goodbyes to everyone, frantically taking photos, and, of course, shutting yo puntz?
are you gonna bake a cake? in the shape of a hamburg? how's that party by the way?
i'm sorry but. what's iron sulfate doing there as an appetite pill? you are from china? and all this time i thought you were from seoul?? wait, isn't your real name dhamidhoon bulgogi kimchi ilovefreeasianowdotcom eratnekim?
how's that party?
sounds like your lowlights outweigh your highlights. you have officially overtaken me and now you are the new chumpion.
i'm so shexxay.
how's that party?
can you take pictures of livingstone please? i've wanting to go there for a roong time. Dr David Livingstone was such a great man of God..
can i come too?
hey, i did white water rafting last weekend with a crazy 1.92m tall German guy and a girl from the UK (they are med students doing their elective in no other than Whakatane!!). it was grade 5 - meaning that it's the craziest, maddest river u can do without being a pro. anyway, we did a 7-metre DROP! it was insane. the english girl fell out and i nearly fell out too. the raft was perpendicular to the surface of the water by the time we hit the water at the bottom of the fall.. it was AWESOME!! watch out for rocks when you do rafting!
hmm.
another highlight here is that i was admitted to the greenlane clinical cenre for day surgery last week. i was notified a few days in advance and it was a nightmare to get there. what was i doing there? to remove the mole on my right upper eyelid. what happened? we decided that risks far outweigh the benefits - since i'm so shexxay. plus the mole is likely to be nothing.
ok now that i've written a copious amount of hoooncness on your blog, i must retreat now and watch "Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire" DVD that i confiscated off kids at hospital today. i love paeds!
i wonder which movie i should confiscate tomorrow.. hmm maybe a ps2?
how's the party?
peace out and have a safe trip to livingstone and tell the great man i said yo. enjoy the falls, rafting and other misadventures you should be getting your butt into. be as touristy as you possibly can. that's how we dooz. take lots o 4toz and post em up so i can live my african adventure through your Canon eyes (can i have your camera?) tell shexy ladies i said yo. tetyana says yo yo. lastly, thanks for the ipod nano charger biatch.
peaz outt chinaman.
Yo.
To one and all.
Cause i said so.
Yeap....
Its like that.
So.
It is time my children to tell u about the chump factor. here. in malta.
Well - i experienced the chump. like u Dha nad U Hoon have taught me. - i got robbbbbed. Yeap. Wallet and that beutiful 'shlot' Dha sold me... with all my beats... that was supposed to ;ast me for the rest of my elctive.
I left them in a bag in a theatre changing rooms. and. some piece of shaaaaaaite stole them out of it. despite all the awesome and hight tech security measures employed by the hospital to protect my stufff... namely a door. namely a door that does not lock. namely... ah fuck it. Later they told me that someone always comes in there and steals shit - wallets, mobiles, etc. I wa like 'wo' - its good how u told me before. oh.
Anyway - at least i got the wallet back - the biatch must have thrown it out when he got the money (he left the NZ $5 dollars though! wat a great asshole! :-) ) anyway - not much actually stolen - i only had 10Lm in the wallet. but i am now without music. so i serenade myself. all the time.
Wo.
Thas all the bad news. At all. the rest news are. good.
So - life is crazy and beautiful here. it is, for lack of a better word - and to be honest, are there really any better words, than words themselves? its hard to tell really, especially being in the middle of a small island in the meditewrranean sea where everyone speaks english by they dont really. Anyway- life is a beach. The heat has supsided and it is now possible to stay alive here :-) sun tanning and going to the beach and finishing my 9th novel. (there is a book shop under our appartment - i am putting the kids of the owner through college, i think - i am spending all my moiney there. but its so kool. its like borders right under our place!)
Hospital, i am now largely ignoring, just like they r ignoring me. its summer and now all the consultants left for their holidays (the bastards!). so in theatre therte is nothing but tonsills and grommets. and i am not allowed to touch patients.... but i found this kool anaesthetist from poland, so for the last week i have been doing anaesthtics... well not quiete - but i have been intubating ppl all over the place. this is my one prctical experience so far. I am, of course - a god. Not.
wat else is shaking?
Welll - spending lots of time with Lola, which is absolutely great! Having our own place is so kool. I come home, and she has cooked dinner, got me a beer in the freezer... the place is spotless :-) wow. i am being spoilt here :-)
Have taken a boat trip or two, around the island. lots of swimming, diving, snorkelling. Am i on an elective or a holiday? dont know anymore. Going off to a another island with one of the registrars tomoro - to do a 'tonsil and grommet' list = explore the islnd and get wasted on the beach :-)
Wow.
Gotttttsta run.
Net-cafe timers wait for no. man.
Love to y'all who are reading.
Nd to those that do not read... welll, may b its for the best!
Laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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