I arrived in Nairobi January 4th. I was seated close to the front of the plane and was one of the first ones off. I thought to myself - yes now I won't have to wait in the Visa line forever and I can get to bed at a decent time tonight. Well,I was half right, I got out of the visa line in record time and went downstairs to grab my bags. That is when the waiting began, after about 1.5 hours all the bags had finally been unloaded and gone around the carousel. I was one bag short. So I filled out the paper work and was told the missing bag was still in Amsterdam and that it would be delivered in a day or 2 - which it was. So one bag short I walked through customs and went out to the sea of people holding signs. I looked for the one with my name on it, and looked again No sign therefore for some reason or another my driver had not come. I knew I should have sent an e-mail to double check. I made a few phone calls and found a taxi to take me to my home in Nairobi for the next month.
Finally I made it, the door was opened and I was greeted with hug from the Nurse Practictioner who has graciously let me stay with her this month.
Saturday and Sunday were busy picking up a few things, unpacking, Sunday service at church and realizing that I am actually in Kenya and I will be here the next 27 months.
I am living in Nairobi for the month of January. I have had to jump through a few hoops to get a registration to work in the hospital in Kenya. One of these hoops, and hopefully the last, is a 4 week practicum in the hospitals in Nairobi. I have completed a week at the public hospital here and it has been interesting. I have been placed at these hospitals to learn, and to see how the Kenyan system works. I have been paired with physiotherapists (they are the closest thing to an RT in Kenya) and spending time in the ICU. Since I am going through this process to receive a stamp of approval, not to teach them, it had been a little tough. I witness things happening routinely that are wrong and not in the patient's best interest. I try to bring it up gently but if they do not listen there is nothing I can do. Don't worry. I have not seen anything happen that could cause immediate death but just a lot of little things that grate on my nerves.
This week my practicum has been teaching 3rd year physiotherapy students. This has been fun .I am procrastinating preparing my slides, but that is normal for me. The lectures go well, although I have to continually remind myself to talk slowly. The last 2 weeks of my practicum will be back in the ICU at 2 different private hospitals.
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| I walk by these plants for sale during my daily walk, I call it the greenhouse they grow them right along the road |
This past weekend I got out of the city with the Nurse Practioner I am staying with as well as her team and the Tenwek eye team. We headed out of the city to a blind school started by the Salvation Army. The children have varying stages of vision loss and you literally see the blind leading the blind. The eye team saw about 150 children while the medical team saw the same children for a quick assessment and handed out deworming pills and multivitamins. A few of these children will be coming to Tenwek for further assessment as it is possible something may be done to restore their sight. WOW what a difference that will make in a child's life.
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| Eye Assessments |
I think that has you mostly caught up I will try to post again soon.
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