Long time, no blog?

Dear avid followers of the blog to end all blogs,

Pole sana (we’re very sorry) for our long delay in updating our blog! Time is flying by here and we’ve been keeping very busy over the past few weeks. We thought we’d briefly mention what we’ve been up to, with a few special highlights from each of us at the end. Last time we left off we had just finished our two weeks of work at the Nkoaranga hospital, and we were happy to be back in civilization and settle into Centre House.

• Our first week back (July 11-15) the meds and nursing students spent time at Dr. Mhando’s clinics (Engira and Bondeni). The dents started their work with Dr. Tekle, who they’ll be working with for the remainder of their time here.
• On the weekend all 8 of us travelled to Zanzibar to enjoy some relaxing time on the beach. Unaccustomed to the African sun, most of us left with memorable sunburns (a first for Supriya!), which we’ve thankfully recovered from.
• Last week (July 18-22) we split ourselves up, with Caleigh, Christina, Supriya and I (Hilarie) staying a few nights at CCF Maji Ya Chai and working at the Upendo Leprosy home. Working at the Leprosy home was an amazing experience for all of us. We got to do lots of wound care in the mornings and helped with cleaning etc. around the home. Then in the afternoons, our favourite time of the day, we led the mazuezi (=exercise) class that last years nursing students, Sam and Courtney, implemented as a way to get everyone out. CCF (Children for Chilren’s Future) is an organization that provides street children with a place to live outside the city, giving them the invaluable chance to go to school. Marc and Harpreet made the daily commute to join us in the afternoons hanging out with the CCF boys, where we tried not to embarrass ourselves playing soccer with them. We all had a great time getting to know the boys before conducting their medical screenings on the weekend.
• On Friday we went back to Nkoaranga hospital for the grand opening of their new paediatric ward. The building of the ward was initiated by a young paediatric nurse from Belgium (Tanya). She got the idea back in 2008 when she volunteered at the hospital for 6 months. She then returned home and fundraised all the money needed over the past few years. It was inspirational seeing all of her friends, family and donors who also came for the opening.
• This week we’re conducting screenings for the Upendo HIV group – a group of 70 HIV-positive patients that we provide annual medical care for.

Side Bar Updates:
• The roosters have yet to fail as our daily alarm clock; no matter what village, tent or building we spend the night in.
• We have adopted 2 stray cats, multiple geckos, and a mysterious bull frog that lives in the walls and has yet to show its face.
• Following our Marathon run last month, Christina is now 3 toe nails short.
• The solution to a stray dog roaming around the hospital campus is to slap a collar around its neck; one way in which the hospital jazzed up its appearance for the 100 Mzungus (white people) attending the opening ceremony of the paediatric ward.
• Dala-dala strike. The LTC strike has nothing on the mayhem that encompasses the streets of Arusha when their version of public transportation
• Ice-cream cones – AWESOME!
• Coming back from Maji Ya Chai with what we thought was a tan…only to see it wash down the drain as we showered for the first time in days
• Days/ nights without power and running water no longer phase us
• 10 people in a 5-seater taxi= pleasantly cozy. One of our many new norms.

To sum things up, we are all having a wonderful time as we learn about the Tanzanian culture, ourselves, and the medical knowledge & experiences we are gaining with each new day. Although situations are not always ideal and some days we are left feeling a little discouraged, we have learned to hold onto the small accomplishments along the way. Whether it’s sharing a moment with a mother and her newborn child, partaking in the thrills of laughter during a game of soccer, or witnessing the eminent joy as we hand out the donated gifts and photos taken in the year previous.

“Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.”- Eckhard Tolle

Cheers,
Hilarie, Caleigh and the MedOutreach Gang

Here, there, and everywhere!

The team is back at home base in Arusha, exhausted by the intense experiences we have had in Nkoaranga. Medical and nursing students alike were thrown into the fire. Under the watchful eye of Dr. Julius, we have had several incredible medical experiences. In one situation, Harpreet and I (Marc) scrubbed into a particularly complicated Cesarean section. As the lights of the operating room shone over us, and the pressure to effectively aid Dr. Julius mounted, we helped deliver a baby which weighed 4.5 kilograms. When the baby was born without a pulse and not breathing, it was as if those same operating room lights were shining 100 times hotter and brighter. The situation was suddenly filled with urgency, and in an instant Hilarie and Supriya acted in order to save the baby's young life. Supriya and Hilarie acted as if they had nerves of steel and started CPR. Staying calm, cool and collected, they successfully sparked life back into the baby within a few minutes, giving it a chance at a healthy life. When the baby started crying, the cool African winter air returned to the room, staff and students alike were collectively relieved. In the meanwhile, as the surgery continued, the new mother began to rouse. As the intensity began to peak for a second time, we assisted Dr. Julius finish the operation as the patient began to feel pain and move her arms and legs. Speed and precision of our work were necessities and the surgery ended successfully. A couple of days later, the team visited the new mother and child, and we were happy to see them healthy and together. We have had many notable experiences in Nkaronga; another big highlight of the week included Christina scrubbing into her first, but definately not her last surgery. We have been stricken by the differences between Canadian healthcare and the standards of healthcare in rural Africa. In Canada, it is almost unimaginable that a patient would have major surgery while aenesthetic wears off.

Throughout the past 2 weeks at Nkaroanga hospital, the dental team, consisting of our two dental students, Andy and Cara, was able to provide great help and service to the locals under the supervision of Dr. Frank Akyoo, a local dentist. A community clinic that lasted for a total of 4 long days (9am - 5:30pm) was put together with the help of the hospital administration. By word of mouth, the free dental service clinic spread like wildfire to the surrounding villages and towns. At 9am in the morning, there were at least 20 people lined up awaiting dental services. The line never seemed to die down until late in the afternoon, as people continued to flood the dental building. From elders to children, people waited patiently for hours to be seen in hopes of being relieved of dental pain. The problems ranged significantly from severe periodontitis to periapical abscesses secondary to dental infections to heavily decayed teeth. The majority of the dental treatments rendered were dental extractions, with some scalings and root planings as well as composite fillings. All of the patients that we treated were extremely thankful and appreciated our services. For Andy and Cara, this experience was certainly worthwhile and they were grateful to be presented with this opportunity to help people who would not otherwise receive dental treatment due to financial restrictions.

Prior to our departure from Nkoaranga hospital, we handed over a luggage-bag full of medical and dental instruments and supplies that will certainly benefit the hospital and all of its patients. The donation of these supplies was made possible thanks to our fundraising efforts as well as MedOutreach donors and supporters. We are thankful for the opportunity we have had to learn and assist in Nkaronga hospital, and look forward to using these experiences to advance our skills as medical and nursing students.

In addition to our incredible medical and dental experiences, the team had many other highlights during our Nkoaranga adventures. For the two weeks we spent in Nkoaranga, the eight of us shared the hospital guest house with four other volunteers from England and a mysterious spirit named Stanley. Stanley visited us on a nightly basis, making strange noises and causing a ruckus. The creepy sounds kept us on edge and one night even drove Marc out of his bed to escape into the girl's room for safety. The unexplained happenings all seemed to stem from the attic... So to face our fears and for the chance to meet Stanley face-to-face the group spent one night in the attic... and survived!
To make matters more interesting the power outages in Nkoaranga were numerous, often and added to the haunted experience. Within the darknesss of our house, we still had to complete our daily tasks such as cooking, cleaning and showering. With our headlamps and flashlights to light the way we were able to cook romantic, candlelight dinners and enjoyed our cold, refreshing showers. After long days at the hospital and no power at the house, we often travelled to cafe Tanz-Hands in Usa River to enjoy nice home cooked meals. By the end of our two weeks, the staff at the cafe became family, greeting us with warm smiles and banana chocolate milkshakes.

Our main mode of transportation in Nkoaranga was the dala-dala. We often rode it down the massive mountain to Killala and Cafe Tanz-Hands. The dala-dalas are packed, mini mini-vans and one day when there was no space inside we climbed onto the roof and travelled in "high class" to Killala. We also explored Nkoaranga by foot, venturing up the beautiful mountain to Urisho Village. Along the way, we met many of welcoming hospital staff and even accompanied a family to the top carrying their children on our backs in the traditional Tanzanian way. The view at the top was absolutely breath taking but the view for the villagers was quite surprising as they had probably never seen Canadian visitors in Urisho. Despite getting lost on our way down, Christina's strong sense of direction and pocket full of candy, aided us in getting local children to help us find our way.
Besides our mini adventures and hikes, we spent most of our free time visiting the orphanage behind the guest house. From the first day to the last, these kids won our hearts over and their contagious laughter and smiles lit up our days. Approximately 25 toddlers and infants live in one house, under the care of Mama Pendo and only 3 other staff. One thing we realized during our visits was how fortunate we are back in Canada, to have what we have, as these kids have close to nothing. The orphans share their beds, toys, clothes, food, everything ... and for them to be able to smile and appreciate life as much as they do is a lesson for all of us. We were able to make a few donations (thanks to Corunna Church and Mrs.Singh/Jump Rope for Heart) but our biggest contribution was being there to share our love with each and every one of them. We really fell in love with these kids and for some of us these kids have been the highlight of our trip so far. Although it was hard to leave, we hope to go back and visit.

We send our love to all those back home! We are safe, happy, stomachs fully satisfied and looking forward to work with Dr.Mhando and Dr.Tekley in the following weeks.

-The Medoutreach Gang

Nkoaranga Adventures

N o power - 4/5 nights without power

K ids at the orphanage - behind our house where we spend our spare time

O opherectomy - marc and supriya each assisted on this surgery

A ll sharing one bathroom (12 people)

R oosters - 24/7

A ir drying laundry - takes 8 days when at 100% humidity

N o running water - the one night we had power...

G owgate aneasthetic (local aneasthetic) injections in the dark

A ll 8 (+2) crammed into a 4 seater taxi

Nkaronga Hospital
The team has spent the past four days volunteering and learning in the rural village of Nkaronga. As students, our healthcare experiences in Canada are limited, however many of us are striken by the differences between the small rural hospital of Nkaronga and what we have experienced in Canada. In class, it never dawned on me that people would undergo surgeries we learn about without a general aenesthetic, having to bare the brunt of their illness while awake and in pain. During my observerships, I never realized that surgeons accross the world sometimes have to scrub into emergency surgery while the running water of their hospital is shut down for the day. At the risk of being cliche, I truly have a newfound appreciation for some of the drugs and procedures we get for free in Canada.
I have decided to lead off with care in the hospital such that it will be more difficult for me to complain about our living arrangement: 2 rooms. 8 People. 4 additional Roommates. 1 Bathroom. No running water presently. No electricity at times.My bed is on wheels and sinks into the center of the room. We have two mysterious pets, a dog and a cat, who come and go as they please. To be a little more candid, I woke up the other day with a spider bite on my backside which I am reminded of every time I sit down. You think I may be miserable, but the truth is that aside from some mild homesickness and a literal pain in my ass, I have never been better. The group has been getting along and facing every hardship, either instrinsic or extrinsic, with enthusiasm and gusto. We have been learning every day during rounds and in the operating room theatre, helping to treat illnesses which have been ignored and neglected while they ought to have been treated within weeks. This truly has been the experience of a lifetime, and it makes me now more than ever appreciative of the people who have supported us and our plush lives in Canada. As always, share your comments, and keep in touch.
-Marc Lipkus and the Gang

Kilimanjaro Mararthon

Before kicking off our official Medoutreach mission of learning and donating to healthcare in Tanzania, the team decided to participate in a charity run in the town of Moshe in order to contribute to one of the local hospitals and challenge ourselves. Caleigh and Christina ran their first marathons ever at the base of kiliminjaro in what I could only describe as pure grit and determination that drove them through every single gruelling hill and turn. They may not have fared as well as the Kenyan winners of the race that ran their marathon in 2:23 minutes (a world class speed) but they both did Medoutreach proud. The two amazing nurses of our group are still feeling the rigors of their marathon, but the pain is blunted by glory, pride, and sheer strength. Andy, Harpreet and I (yours truly, Marc Lipkus) decided to support our two fearless leaders by participating in the 10 K run. While Andy swiftly finished his run and doubled back to help the rest of the team, Harpreet and I challenged ourselves by pushing beyond what we thought possible and finishing our first ever 10 kilometre runs. Although we were dwarfed by the accomplishment of the two nurses, and our muscles and blisters have healed long before theirs, we have also tasted the sweet nectar of victory and are proud of what we accomplished in Moshe. The night of the marathon, we picked up Cara and Supriya to embark on what has thus far been an incredible journey. Stay updated on what we are experiencing, and feel free to share your opinions and insights with Medoutreach, with our family and friends, and with the world. Hi Mom!

-Marc Lipkus and the Gang