Clinic Day #4: Last Full Day :(
- Emily Graves
- May 10, 2018
- 5 min read
Location: Byerima Primary School
Patients Served: 223 people!!!
We moved to a different location today! So after a workout, a fuh-reezing shower, breakfast, and a devotional, we headed out about 1.5-2 hours to Byerima Primary School. The bumpiest rode we have been on so far, but it seemed to be one of the wealthier areas. We passed a place called a "prison farm". I tried to convince my bus that that was where goats go when they are baaaaaaaad, but I don't think they were buying it. ANYWAYS, you can get sent to this prison by doing the weirdest things like bumping into someone and making their cell phone break. And their punishment is to learn life skills, such as farming, and apparently they make more than 1/2 of that area's crop supply. Also big news: this is the day that Gabby has decided we have to listen to 3 songs before we get to our destination. Today's picks included Who Says by Selena Gomez and....can you guess it??? This is Me. Classic. We knew a little bit more of the words this time around.
This morning I had the grand pleasure of being with my girl Kathryn and then in the afternoon I volunteered to be a runner. Which is a person who takes the patient from building to building so they don't get lost and the transitions can run more smoothly. It was originally supposed to be Jerry, but we only have 2 physical therapists, so he needed to stay behind. I volunteered as tribute.
In the morning our translator was Syrus! He was a medical officer which is equivalent to a PA in America. He also told us that they have a mandatory retirement age of 60! Just some fun facts to start the day.
Our first patient was a lady who had a SCI (spinal cord impairment), GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), and a BP of 180/100. We taught her ways to compensate for gardening and for carrying heavy objects. She was doing a lot of motions that required bending of her spinal cord, but we showed her ways to use her shoulders more instead of her back. Her range of motion was good, so there wasn't too much we could do since a spinal cord injury requires so intensive surgery and examination. We took her to the pharmacy to get tablets for her pain and she had a follow up appointment with their local hospital.
Next was a little old man who just needed some shoes and glasses. We found him a nice pair of shoes with some socks and he got some glasses and was super thankful and so darn cute!
Next and last patient for me..but hold on tight 'cause it was a good one! It was a 7 year old boy with an extreme case of hydrocephaly and epilepsy. Hydrocephalus is a condition where there is too much cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. He physically looked as if he was 3-4 years old. After learning that his mom carried and held him constantly and that she has 3 other little kiddos to care for, we decided to make a bed for him that was comfy and supported him so that mom would be able to put him down safely while she did other activities. This was one of her main concerns and the one that she wanted us to address. So we got to work! You are quickly reminded of the limited resources you have when you are put in this situation, but I 110% believe that this has made me into a better occupational therapist. The bed was made of soft foam and we carved a spot out for his head to fit in. The base was a few cardboard pieces to keep it steady with the foam placed on top of it and secured with duct tape. Then we put cylindrical foam pieces on both side of the head pit so that his head wouldn't flop back and forth, especially in the event of a seizure. We also put foam down under his knees to keep them bent and not in full extension. We used lots and lots of duct tape, that became a theme in Uganda. Then we covered the whole thing with a tablecloth to make it easy to clean since the little guy was incontinent. Once we were done, we laid a nice soft blanket over the entire thing to make it more comfortable for him. He really seemed relaxed in it, and at one point he even went to sleep! His mom seemed very happy with what we made for him and we taught her the correct positioning. Then we made a handle out of duct tape so that she could carry it home, which her daughters were excited to help her do. It was awesome to watch & I'm so luck to be surrounded by people have literally have the coolest and best imaginations and creativity because these contraptions didn't stop after this one.
That was the final thing I did before eating lunch and going to be a runner! I also gave my leftover lunch to a dog who was limping and hanging around the clinic...my mom would be very happy about that.
Running was pretty cool getting to come into contact with so many patients even though we didn't share a common language. It started to pour because naturally that is my luck, but it was over in about 10 minutes. It included a lot of smiling, waving, and pointing. I was happy to take the job and help out because even though it seemed trivial it was actually super important in order to keep the flow going so we could see as many patients as possible.
When I got done running, I was able to pop back in to the therapy room and see if they needed any extra hands. Didn't really know what I was about to walk into. My dear friends Kathryn and Alison were digging worms out of a young ladies feet. They had infected her lower extremities so badly that all of her toes had extremely large knots and nodules on them that caused her pain. They did such an awesome job caring for her that at the end of the day she was nothing but smiles. They were even able to find shoes that were wide enough to fit her feet without affecting any of the nodules or causing her pain.
Although Kathryn did flick a worm in my general direction, I was floored by how calm, cool, and collected her and Alison were caring for this incredible woman. I'm telling y'all...I work with the best. The lady was so happy that we saw her the next day, too, and she was still smiling from ear to ear and still thanking them for everything they did.
At the end we packed up like usual and headed back to the Masindi Hotel. There were vendors at the hotel selling all kinds of hand made crafts. The art and craftsmanship of the people here with limited resources is incredible. I bought a few paintings, a few postcards, jewelry, and a Ugandan soccer jersey (which I can wear for the World Cup since the USA men didn't make it...too soon?)
Also super cool moment! Our physical therapy teammate, Jerry, got a grant to come to Uganda and not only serve people but also see if he would be able to create a wheelchair from scraps and items he found laying around the area so that the people of Uganda would be able to make one for themselves. And in just one day, I kid you not, HE DID IT!!! It was awesome! Even more awesome was that he was able to give it away to someone who needed it.
Then we had some dinner, shared more life stories, and then I went and tried to go to sleep quickly so I could wake up one last time for that 5AM workout and last clinic day!
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