Clinic Day #3: HUMPDAY (theme= surviving but not quite thriving)
- Emily Graves
- May 9, 2018
- 8 min read
Location: same as yesterday (Kitwara)
Patients Served: 203!
We made the same trip today that we did yesterday to hopefully see the people we didn't get a chance to. The van rides were getting more entertaining because thanks to the masterful DJ/bus mate (HEY GABBY!!) we had some awesome pump up songs. And by that I mean we listened to the soundtrack of The Greatest Showman. And by that I mean we listened to This is Me every single day multiple times. Much to the people who rode with us's dismay, we sang loud and proud even if we knew no words. But don't let them fool you, they kept coming back for more every day, so they secretly loved it, our voices, and us. It was hump day so we were just trying to get everyone pumped up, ya know?
We unloaded the vans and got set up which took a lot less time than yesterday since we knew where everything went.
Who has two thumbs and was extremely excited to get the humpday started??? THIS GIRL ------->
We also started off the day with one of the interpreter's sons who was a shy little dude. He would stay close to his mom's side, but once a ball was brought out, he was ready to go and I was able to kick it back and forth to him for a little while. A day starting with some futbol is an excellent day.
So first off, we were able to give shoes to 2 women who had asked for them yesterday but we didn't have their sizes. That is the plus side of coming back to the same location two days in a row, we get to bring supplies back that we previously needed but ran out of. They got there so early so they could come straight in and get those tennis shoes. They were so happy and appreciative! Excellent start to the day.
Special shoutout to Eme for being my sole partner for the day and bearing with me through the struggles that the humpday brought. Our first patient was another 92 year old woman who was insanely adorable. She came in with a large stick and her son, who had to watch her and assist her a lot with navigating around. She had extremely swollen knees, so we wrapped them in ace bandages and taught her how to do the same to decrease the swelling she was seeing. We also got her a sick new pair of Nike shoes to try and reduce the impact her knees were receiving when she walked. (I personally loved the shoes and they looked like a pair I would buy, which if you know me, you know how picky I am about my tennis shoes). But anyways, she looked fly. Then we got her a knee brace for her right knee which seemed to have a dislocated patella. That's another thing we can't do much for since we are in a 3rd world country with no access to surgeries. We can't re-align bones that are dislocated or that are healed incorrectly, so we have to provide education, give medication, and show proper techniques and strategies for decreasing pain and improving independence. Next step for this patient was to get her an assistive device. We first tried a quad cane, which she liked, but she was using two hands on the cane and it was very unsteady. Although we would love for patients to use assistive devices like this, if they aren't going to use it safely, it would be detrimental to give it to them. We explained this to her (which is incredibly difficult to do) and then moved on to a walker to try and provide support for both arms, since that was what she was seeking with the quad cane. At first, she and her son were unsure about the walker, but then we adjusted the height and let her try again and BOOM! They loved it. She was walking on her own outside and was way more independent and steady. Her son couldn't stop smiling because he no longer had to support the weight of his mother. I like seeing that because you can't understand how much time and effort the caregivers put into caring for their loved ones on top of caring for themselves.
So next up was when hump day got a little wild. An older man came in with some back pain (shocker!) and trouble walking in general and he had complete paralysis on his left side (sidetone: paralysis to them means numb, so you have to be careful with words you use! But this patient was actually paralyzed on his left side). He had arthritis and so there wasn't much we could do with the range of motion he had already lost, but we decided to make a resting hand splint to be worn at night to preserve the range that he did have.
SO, quiz question!! How do you make and mold a splint for this nice man in Uganda???
A) you don't, sorry
B) you have a premade one and you pray that it fits
C) splint him? I barely know him!
D) you start a fire and rock that splint making!!!
IF YOU CHOSE D: YOU'RE CORRECT!!!!
So with a little help from our dear Ugandan mentor, Jimmy, I created a fire in the middle of the hot Ugandan terrain, and we tried to make a splint. I emphasize try because although it ended up being very successful, it took a lot of work. All we had to work with was some coal made of wood, a pan, some water, and a little tiny match. I used a lid off of one of our bins to fan it for about 30 minutes in the hot sun. I received lots of weird looks and lots more giggles.
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While we were waiting for the water to boil, we got him a sweet new pair of kicks & a hemi walker cane for walking. He did great with it! He even left his own stick with us at the end of his session which is big!
Then me and Eme drew up a resting hand splint and then of course learned an easier way to do it from Patty (seriously tho, she's the best). But alas! The water was still not boiling, so again I went to fan the flame for about 20 more minutes in 90 degree weather. I did mention the theme of the day was survive not thrive, right?
BUT, it was worth it. We finally got it hot enough to mold the splint, so we heated it up, took it inside, and fit it on his hand! It looked pretty good if I do say so myself. Then he went and got some glasses. So this guy got 1) shoes 2) custom splint made by yours truly and Eme 3) a hemi cane walker 4) glasses & 5) tablets!!! Go on and have a day, sir!!!!
Next will hit you in the feels, if one story hasn't already. A little 7 year old girl came in with CP (cerebral palsy) carried by her mother. She had had seizures all of her life and has never talked. She was also running a fever of 103 degrees. She had on a little red dress and was cuddled up in her mom's arms. Her way of getting around was solely crawling on her hands and knees. Since it has been years, there isn't much she can do to get that range of motion back. However, she had range and good use of her upper extremities. Because of this, we were thinking that a wheelchair would be a good fit for her. However, we don't have kid sized wheelchairs with us, since they have to be fitted for them. So this is another case where we are going to try and raise money and send one back with OneWorld Health in August. It's hard to explain this to someone who has no knowledge about devices like wheelchairs, especially when they came in hoping to be served today, but it gives me peace knowing that she will soon get a device that will change her and her caregiver's world forever.
This patient's mom also needed to be seen for hip pain, so you know what that means!!! Emily gets to hang with the kiddo!! We sat on the ground and Patty let me give her a whole jar full of peanut butter. I also decided that I wanted to give her some shoes because I just wanted to giver her all the things, but we didn't have any kid sizes left for the day. BUT ALAS, guess what I found??? Fuzzy pink slippers!!!! They were adorable. And I love thinking about how someone probably put those shoes in the bin and were like lol who the heck are we gonna use these for, & God just kind of chuckles and is like "oh you just wait". It's awesome. Hopefully everything will work out with the wheelchair and I can't wait to see pictures of her in it. The mom asked the little girl if she could have a scoop of peanut butter and the little girl put her fingers down in it, pulled them out, looked at her fingers, looked at her mom, and then stuffed it all in her own mouth. That's when I knew that this kiddo had a bright, bright future ahead of her. Child after my own heart
The rest was just some pretty scattered activities. Some more lower extremity pain, arthritis, carpal tunnel, etc. We found a pair of shoes for one of my favorite interpreters. He was so happy that he hugged me for forever and kept saying my name. Which is pronounced emEEEEly. Extra emphasis in the middle. And their hugs are like French people's kisses minus the kissing part. The translators stay with us all day for however many days we are at that specific site and their services are exchanged for being treated at the end of the day. It's hard for us though, because a lot of the things are taken by the end of a full clinic day, but we do the best we can for them. They are so sweet and understanding and they were all so, so happy even if all we had left were sunglasses and socks. Talk about some pure hearted people.
Then it was the end of the day and the last day at this site which means....KIDDOS!!! We all went outside and gave them some chalk to scribble everywhere with. There was also some jump roping, and we tried the "skip it" which is entertaining no matter who you are. The kids were loving it, we were loving it, and it was an awesome way to end the day. The older kids are pretty hesitant around us. They usually sit back and kind of laugh at the ridiculous stuff we do with the kids, you know, that "too cool" age. But today I got about 5 of them to come inside with me and make some bead bracelets. They said thank you and they looked like they really liked them, so I call that a success! Even though I'm sure they just laughed about that crazy Mzunga girl later.
We cleaned up the location and put all the benches back where they belonged. I hit my head, tripped, and
scratched my hand while carrying a bench with Gabby, so that's where I was at. We packed up and headed back out in our vans, which obviously means more antics by Emily, Gabby, and Taylor. Just keeping everyone on their toes. Then some of us took a little pre-dinner nap....... We got back and ate and shared more life stories. I can't emphasize enough how incredible the people I worked with are. You can see God in each and every one of them in so many ways and I was so grateful to be able to call them my teammates.
Then I fell asleep real quick to get ready for that 5AM workout!!
So although the struggle was a little real today, especially when it had to do with fire and carrying benches, still absolutely no complaints. THE LOVE JUST KEEPS GROWING Y'ALL.
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