alida, turn your (red) light on!!

I was able to visit a good friend, patti and her family in germany for a few days on the way back from nigeria. i had a great time of relaxing, hanging out with her children and husband, drinking real coffee, getting used to "western" life again.

I took a train to amsterdam on monday evening as my flight left midday on tuesday, and i decided to stay at a hostel in the heart of the red light district as it is close to the station, cheap, (and christian, therefore no crazy drunk tourists). i was dragging my bags down a street and accidently took a wrong turn so i pulled out my directions. an old, innocent looking man approached me and in dutch told me he was "not an amsterdamer" but perhaps he could help me. he directed me to a pub a few feet away and it being tiny suggested i not take my large bag inside. i put it on the ground but before i even took a step inside the bartender and a customer were yelling at me not to leave my bags outside as theft was rampant in the area. i backed up and what do you know, the nice old man had disappeared (thankfully without any of my bags!!) i should have clued in as i have never seen so many people on hard drugs in one place outside of east hastings in vancouver. i even saw a woman eating dirt out of a flower pot. i guess they have to steal their drug money from somewhere!! (this is the part where i should have turned my brain/light on, and been more aware of my surroundings!)

the customer and a stoned guy on the street were trying to figure out what street i needed to go to and the stoned guy apparently knew where it was. the customer suggested he might take me there for two euros... ya, i don't think so... i said i didn't have two euros and what do you know, the stoned guy went back to his friends who were snorting things beside the aforementioned flower pot.

i had to walk through the heart of the red light district which i found quite repulsive. i had been there many times in the past (when i lived in holland) but apparently i had only ever been on the fringe of it... there is some raunchy stuff there and full of male tourists checking out the female wares. i passed one really lovely gentleman who was the door guy for a live sex show and he had a scar from the left corner of his mouth to half way to his ear and it had been deep enough that it obviously cut his entire cheek. i walked a bit faster by him....

the hostel was quiet and clean and safe though and i had a good nights rest...

when i left the next morning at 9:30am there were no less than 6 people cooking crack cocaine on tin foil less than 20 paces outside the hostel doors. pretty sad stuff...

i am now back in calgary in one piece although my insides were almost frozen solid when i stepped outside the airport. i knew it couldn't be good when i saw amy dressed in a 3/4 length down jacket, hat, scarve and mitts. only a 70 degree difference from nigeria! i have not braved the outside yet today, but i need food so i am going to have to leave the house at some point!

i am returning to nigeria in january to try to start a biosand water filter program in a small village. i am a little scared as i have never done this before! we were able to have a steel mold made in november which is a huge part of it, so now it is about teaching about the filter to some designated teachers, and pouring and testing the mold. i pray it will be a success!

i am trying to sort out all my thoughts and experiences from this past month, and will try to put a short summary on my blog in the next few days... thanks for reading!!

dutch police, drugs and diarrhea

So, what do these things have in common? me of course!! leave it to me to unknowinlgy cause some ``wahalla' without knowing it!!

just as we were leaving for the abuja airport, i started getting stomach cramps. the whole ride to the airport i was having violent stomach cramps and didn't know which end it might come out of. once in the airport i had to go to the bathroom five times before i even checked in!! i took 3 pepto bismal tabs, a bunch of maxeran (for vomiting which also makes one drowsy). i was feeling pretty dopey when i was checking in and kept doubling over my suitcase with unbelievable cramps about every 15 minutes. in one line up the wife of a swiss ambassador gave me some imodium which greatly helped. i had to ask for a seat near the toilet on the airplane and once i was sitting, all the stewardess were asking me if i was alright or tired. i told them i wasn´`t feeling well and had taken medication that made me tired. after a stopover in another nigerian city, a stewardess took me to the front of the plane to let me lie down in 3 empty seats.

apparently, as i was walking by, jenny and leanne told some people near them that i was their friend and not feeling well. a dutch guy who later identified himself as a dutch drug police agent said that all the KLM staff had alerted them to me as i appeared stoned in the airport. apparently, the dutch police had been alerted that alot of drugs were being taken from nigeria to holland and they were there to investigate. the police agents had been watching me closely in the airport. then jenny and leanne without yet knowing who he was told him that i had `taken alot of drugs`` and had ``overdosed`' in the airport, and was having stomach cramps!! so they probably thought i had bags of cocaine in my stomach!! when jenny and leanne were told who they were, they made sure they clarified that i had diarrhea and had taken legal medication that made me droswy!!

so while i was passed out on the three seats, i was being discussed and watched as a possible drug addict!! i had no idea any of it was happening as i was completely passed out!! i thought it was pretty funny and i was thankful that i was not subjected to a bodily cavity search!!

only i can seem to get into this kind of situation!!

i am now in germany, visiting a friend and will be back in canada on the 28th!!

see you then!!

there is a plan...

this week God reminded me that he has a plan and purpose for everything. one of my boxes was stuck in minneapolis for a good time, then the phone numbers i gave klm in nigeria for contacts in the country did not work, then the office at the airport was closed on the day the driver was in town.... finally the box arrived on thursday, the second last day we spent in mkar. i had been fairly irritated with the whole process because i wanted to hand out all the supplies. so on friday, i still had the majority of supplies sitting in the house still.

friday morning, i walked up to the house where we eat breakfast, and a man was laying on the sidewalk who looked like he was 15 months pregnant with triplets. he had the hugest ascites (fluid in the belly) i have ever seen. so much that it had started leaking from his belly button!! he was on his death bed, he could barely breathe as the fluid in his abdomen was pushing on his lungs. dr. reedyk decided that we would offer him some relief by tapping his abdomen on the front stoop. and what do you know, i had all the supplies in the box! we put a 16 gauge (really huge) needle in his belly, hooked it up to an IV tube and drained it into a bucket over several hours. i even had tegaderm bandages to cover the site with. over a period of several hours, over 8 liters of fluid drained from his abdomen on the front lawn. "real bush medicine" at work! it was disturbing, but cool. he felt alot of relief and his breathing improved. if we hadn't had all the supplies, we would have had to admit him (a family with no money anyways - you are really desperate when you drop someone on a doctors sidewalk for help).

a little later in the day, joe, our engineer was on the front porch was talking to his wife on the phone when he mistepped and fell off the porch. he dislocated his shoulder and they couldn't get it back in without some valium. jenny and leanne started an IV with the supplies from work, leanne ran to the hospital to get some valium, and we sedated him a bit to "reduce" his shoulder back into place. again, if the box had arrived on time i would have given away all the supplies and would have nothing on hand. God works in mysterious ways!

So to my colleagues at work, I have photos of all those discarded supplies that you have faithfully put in the box, being put into use! Thank you for your efforts!

This trip has carried with it alot more frustrations than last year with the nursing students and it was easy to get overwhelmed, angry, irritated. i have been questioning my desire or calling to work and live in africa. i talked with several people who have lived here for decades and ask how they cope. they have encouraged me to focus on the people that show hope, determination, desire, and mentor them. i did meet a few nigerians along the way that give me hope... a 15 year old boy who is head of the household as his mother died, his father works out of state, he is responsible to put his younger twin sisters through school. he shows a strong desire to work hard and suceed, and i really want him to pursue education. so i have invested time in my relationship with him, encouraging him... please pray that i don't get disillushioned with the
"bigger" more depressing picture...

we are heading up to "the bush" tomorrow and i am looking forward to seeing all my old friends in the village of mahula. apparently they have internet up there, so hopefully i will be able to update there...

peace alida

it's all in the name

some interesting store and church names i have seen around the country...

embryo book shop

senile youth corp

bature (white person) medical clinic and midwifery

sympathizers coffin and casket

semen fashion

catholic charismatic renewal centre

de final home - casket construction place

there is hope, but not at this internet cafe

so, once again, i typed out a big posting about good stories when only half the computers shut off, mine being one of them. i think i have to update my blog one sentence at a time...

ryan, the OR tech had someone pull his phone out of his pocket and hold it to his ear while he was putting blunt instruments in someone's abdomen. if i have surgery, i would prefer someone's attention is on me and not what the person is saying to his wife...

i have several "hopeful" stories which i have been attempting to share...

today i found some worthy patients to sponsor their surgeries.... gilbert & family, one is a really cute little lady with a huge smile but an even bigger goiter on her thyroid. it is almost the same size as her head!! but is a happy little lady.

when i taught the nursing students today, they were receptive and eager! even the head nurse was open to suggestions! we got the unconcious patient all comfortable and doing better and then he died right in front of me! i hope they don't connect my teaching with patients passing away! they won't ever want me back! that is the 3rd patient who has died in front of me...

there is doctor who runs a village hospital who wants me to start a biosand water filter program in the community, so i am returning in january to get one up and running. if anyone wants to donate some seed money to get it started, the program will be self-sufficient quickly. talk to me when i return if you are interested. the doctor runs a pretty amazing little hospital, it will be interesting to spend time there.

a very physically disabled guy whose community wanted to throw him in the bush when he was born is getting a degree in special education and has defied all nigerian odds of survival and success. he is the only one in his family to get a university education. the boy who was the biggest burden at birth is now described as the "biggest blessing" by his mother. he has a vision to transform the attitudes towards disabled people in nigeria, and he can probably do it!

the hospital engineer works harder than anyone there, and is donating several months of his own salary to fix the electrical work at the hospital. he is going up north to drill water wells on his vacation which is unheard of for a nigerian to do (without getting paid).

all of these people have humbled me, amazed me, astonished me, made me proud and re-instilled some hope that was fading away...

Ridiculous

every time i come to this internet cafe (the only one in town), something crashes. i had just written up a big long blog when the generator ran out of diesel and everything shut down. so it is not for lack of trying to update my blog, but something goes wrong every time. and i can't write much now because i was supposed to only take a "short" break.

only in africa

only in africa...

...does it take 45 minutes to wait for the blogger site to come up only to have someone shut down all the computers in the internet cafe by plugging in their cell phone.

...do i check my email with goats outside the door, and a compound of mud huts less than 50 feet away.

...see my 'alarm clock' cow killed for market 30 steps from my bedroom door (on a small garbage heap - will make me take a second look at beef soup here).

...it is not acceptable for men and women to hold hands in public, but it is okay to ask me to marry them every day without even knowing my name.

...the same guy proposes marriage to me every morning on my way to work and he doesn't understand why i am turning him down. for pete's sake, he has asked me, so obviously i should accept! and he fully admits it is because i am white and he wants me to take him to canada.

...do african women ask me to marry them so that i will stay in their country.

...a 3 year old looks up at me and in perfect english says "give me money"

...do you see a sign that says "catholic charismatic renewal centre" (catholic AND charismatic? i think my catholic friends will get a chuckle)

...do the OR techs answer their cell phones during surgery.

...do i calmly kill spiders while i am taking a shower.

i hope you get a little laugh! nigeria never ceases to amaze me!

a day in the life...

i haven't written in awhile as the computer is often down, and i am often busy. thought i would let you know what a day is like here.

every other day, some sort of insanity comes over me and i go out walking/jogging with len, leanne and jenny at 5:30am. leanne and jenny are marathon runners so they go runnning off into the dark, and len and i walk for 5 minutes, jog for 5 and manage to keep that up for 40 minutes in 70% humidity at 28 degrees, mostly in the dark risking ankle injuries with every step. on the other days i sleep into a whopping 6:00am.

we eat breakfast at 6:30 and are at the hospital by 7:30 for xray rounds when we look at the previous days xrays and the nurses in the group learn how to read xrays. we usually do some ward rounds until 9:00 and discuss some interesting cases.

on the days i am in the out patient clinic i see about half of the 50 patients (leanne or jenny see the other half), completing a history and doing the physical exam. dr. reedyk then comes in and either signs off, orders some meds, or if it is more complicated, do additional assessments and do some teaching with me about what is going on.

on the other days i have been spending on the wards with nursing students attempting to teach them, instill some nursing values into them. i have been trying to help with their "nursing process" which is like an admission form they are supposed to fill out on each patient with nursing diagnosis and goals.
i do see glimmers of hope with some of the students (mostly the men), but some of them should never have been let into nursing school. i question some of the head nurses as well - the other day a confused man pulled out his suprapubic catheter and they left him leaking urine in his bed for 5 hours. i had to insist they change the bed, i ran around the hospital trying fruitlessly to find a doctor, finally dragged dr. reedyk there and he just had me reinsert it and try to teach what an emergency means.
today i discovered a 13 year old girl with massive congestive heart failure did not get any of her morning medications (a million excuses later) and she was starting to gasp for breath. i shake my arms in the air!! i bang my head!!

but today i played uno with some of the HIV patients and the students and most impressively, the students actually interacted with the patients and actually sat on their beds! so i hope to spend a little more time doing that, getting some interactions going on. when i first walked onto the HIV ward today all the women were lying in bed listlessly and i started blowing up balloons (provided by lucille) and i noticed that the women slowly started sitting up and taking notice. things were more lively after i had blown up 20 ballons. they just love the attention.

we finish up by 5:30pm and end up going out for dinner at someone's house at 6:30/7pm for some pounded yam and soup. (hence the need to run in the mornings as i consume about 5 pounds of yam)

i am in bed by 9pm at the latest. the cow likes to moo loudly outside the guesthouse at 4am, so i am usually half awake pretty early in the morning.

that is the day in in the life...

I need patience

I wrote in a previous post about my frustrations in trying to teach students, trying to figure out the best way to assist them. My thought has been to teach them assessments but I don't know if that will really benefit them as they are not really expected to do full assessments.
The difference in attitude and worldview is so dramatically different from mine, that I cannot wrap my head around it. They live a life that holds no promises; life here has no guarantees, everyday is a struggle to survive. They don't get paid on time, they have to wear the same uniform everyday because they can't afford one for every day of the week, their children get sick and die, or they can't have children, the grandmothers take care of their grandchildren because HIV has wiped out their own children... i could go on and on.
So I am trying to understand this, just as I am sure they are trying to understand me. but i need patience. i hope God grants this to me, or I won't survive!

On a positive note, many people from the village remember me from last year and greet me frequently and welcome me with open arms. When I stopped in at the orphange the toddlers all came running for me (often they are scared by white people) and the "mamas" who work there were cheering, so I look forward to spending some time with them.

I think I need to re-evaluate what I can get accomplished in three weeks. Perhaps my purpose is not to teach the students every detail of a head-to-toe assessment, but encourage them when i see them taking pro-active measures with patients. North Americans like to see immediate results though, and I am no different. but perhaps i am here to plant the seeds, and i will not be able to see the growth.

(I had planned on playing UNO with the HIV patients, but these patients are much sicker than the ones last year. Many of them cannot sit up in bed, so plans change, but the intentions are still there. I will need to get creative)

i am just alida

I have been listening to a song about a woman named esther who goes to africa, falls in love with it, but writes home asking friends and family to pray, help. The lyrics strike a cord as they say
"esther has 2.4 million children, she writes and asks us to pray and help any way we can, because 'i am just esther' "

in many ways i feel like i have 150 million to take care of here in nigeria. i have been spending alot of time on the wards this week, observing how things are run, how treatment is administered, how the care is given. we have absolutely no clue how good we have it in canada, because i NEVER pause to think if the patient can afford the 2x2 gauze or the tylenol, i just give it. many patients here cannot afford pain medicine, antibiotics or feeding tubes. a patient who has had a stroke is agitated and possibly in pain but the family has not bought pain medicine. the guy with tetanus can't swallow, but the family can't afford an nasogastric tube so he gets IV fluids sometimes. i would love to pay for all their medications and needs, but i don't have that much money and that isn't necessarily going to do any good. but it still makes me want to bang my head against the wall. watching people suffer is not easy!
i did break down yesterday though. i was in the OR to see a surgery when a family rushed in to have Dr. Scott check their child. The boy was unconcious and not breathing regularily. Dr. Scott gave him some adrenaline and then had to cut open his arm to get an IV. They boy stabilized a little bit and was taken to the pediatric ward. I went to check on him a few hours later and the boy had died about 15 minutes earlier. I have never seen a dead child, so it was a bit of a shock. I felt empty and hollow and I thought I should be crying my eyes out, but strangely I had few emotions at the time. The father looked like I felt inside. He didn't seem to know what to do. The bill for inserting the IV and all the medications came to almost 6000 naira ($45). This man was dressed in pretty raggedy clothes and had empty pockets. I told him I would pay for the bill that he must promise me that if his other child becomes ill, he must go to the doctor right away.
When I went to bed that night, the tears for Benjamin Asase came, but I know there are millions of more Benjamin's in Africa. How I am supposed to help them all? Am I supposed to help them all? Am I doing anything significant here? I am just Alida...