Tuesday, August 7, 2012
For the first time I was completely exhausted this morning
when I woke up to my alarm in the pitch black.
I managed to get out of bed and woke up quickly after mass. Sister Loretta was having her toe operated on
today, so I had someone to walk with to Kilu’ufi! We enjoyed our walk, but I could tell she was
so nervous. I waited outside the
operating theater with her as we saw Dr. Jason and Dr. Joe getting ready. We spoke with a woman outside of the theater
who shook my hand and thanked me for “yesterday.” It was then I realized that this was the woman’s
mother that had the C-section!
She was so grateful and said she was worried the entire
time. All the credit goes to Dr.
Solomon and the team because they are truly amazing. Because Sister’s operation was so quick, they
took her in on time actually! I scrubbed
up but decided it would be best to hold her hand instead of cut her toenail
off. I do still want a place to sleep at
the end of the day! Dr. Joe was laughing
when I refused to do the cut but he was also nervous because he is part of Auki
Parish! After some numbing and a few
quick cuts, Sister was all done, but she was in pain! I felt horrible but she
took the bus home and I instructed her to rest for the remainder of the day.
After Sister, we saw a young boy with a fractured wrist and
also a prisoner with fluid in his knee.
The nurses took care of both procedures.
I was a little nervous to see a prisoner even with the guards
in the room, considering he was arrested for assault/manslaughter. Dr. Jason said he was ready with sedatives
and I hoped he was joking. When Dr.
Solomon came in, she told me she saw Alick this morning getting on the boat to
go home! She wished him well and gave
him money to buy snacks. I truly saw the
light in her eyes when recounted the story. I held down the fort in the Operating Theater while Dr. Solomon took care of a woman in septic shock in the maternity ward.
Dr. Solomon came back and reported that the hospital ran out of “Panadol” or Tylenol, to give the mother in septic shock. She was sweating with a fever and infection and the hospital could not help. Dr. Solomon said she had to go to outpatient and ask the people outside if they had any extra tablets. Luckily, she gathered five from various people and was able to give them to the mother. I could not believe that this happened. Could you imagine a hospital running out of Advil? Dr. Solomon said that the director had not ordered more because the hospital doesn’t have the money. Because the medicine is freely given out if prescribed, there is no “profit.” Once again, government corruption rears its ugly head.
Dr. Solomon came back and reported that the hospital ran out of “Panadol” or Tylenol, to give the mother in septic shock. She was sweating with a fever and infection and the hospital could not help. Dr. Solomon said she had to go to outpatient and ask the people outside if they had any extra tablets. Luckily, she gathered five from various people and was able to give them to the mother. I could not believe that this happened. Could you imagine a hospital running out of Advil? Dr. Solomon said that the director had not ordered more because the hospital doesn’t have the money. Because the medicine is freely given out if prescribed, there is no “profit.” Once again, government corruption rears its ugly head.
Dr. Solomon and I saw a few more patients in the children’s
ward and maternity. There was no real
action, so I decided it would be helpful to the sisters if I went to town to
pick up some produce for the rest of the week.
Clare and I caught a ride with one of the parish teachers and went to
get Internet first. I caught up with a
few important emails and received a picture from my mom and dad showing me my
room in my house in Providence that they furnished for me. I couldn’t believe their hard work and it
made me miss them incredibly. More than
ever, I feel so lucky. At the market, I
decided I wanted to buy something to make for lunch for the doctors
tomorrow. We haven’t taken one lunch
break yet, and Dr. Solomon mentioned maybe taking one tomorrow (we’ll
see…) I picked up a loaf of bread,
peanut butter, jelly, cookies, and watermelon.
Although this may not sound appetizing, this lunch would truly be a
delicacy at Kilu’ufi. I was hoping to
find some pineapple or bananas at the market, but nothing was available besides
Betelnut. I had to be creative. After picking up sodas for them, I was
satisfied.
While waiting for the bus to return home, Clare and I saw
the ice cream stand was open and enjoyed every bite. I proceeded to drop the watermelon and watch
it roll down the street. It was fine
when I caught it but I realized I drew attention to myself when I saw a crowd
laughing. Woops. It is already intimidating going to the
market as the only white person, but I cannot seem to blend in no matter what I
do. The motif continued when we caught
the bus, as I was the only person crammed in the front facing everyone. The only thing I could do was laugh as I was
about one inch from a stranger face-to-face.
I sure stick out like a sore thumb, but that’s how it is in the US too! A true universal trait.
Sister was still sleeping in the hammock when we got home,
and Clare and I decided to do Insanity.
Agatha met us in the conference room under the Bishop’s house and soon
there were maybe 10 people all joining!
Chrisma’s mom Jill, grandma Gladys, friends, and Sister’s students were
all doing Insanity. I thought it was
hilarious but also partially dangerous.
I toned the exercise down while Clare took Shaun T. seriously. I couldn’t even fathom that a grandmother
that had never exercised in her entire life was starting with this torture
video. Not safe. Tomorrow I think we’ll do some sit-ups and
fast walking! The girls here are really
excited about exercise. I don’t think
they have been introduced to any type besides soccer or sport, and mainly the
boys take over. I think it is important
for them to realize that they are capable of setting aside a half an hour each
day to be active. This will make for a
healthier population and give them some confidence.
After dinner and playing cards until late, I am signing out
until tomorrow!
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
I awoke to pouring rain outside my window and the cool
breeze felt amazing. When I finally got
up, I attended the morning mass said by Father Moses. After, Clare gave Richard back his birthday
present backpack that she sewed.
Anything bought from the Chinese shops here is the absolute lowest
quality so of course his new backpack broke the first day. He was happy to have it back, and pulled me
aside to show me a drawing he made me. I
could have just hugged him but I held back.
He was saying how his English isn’t well but he wanted me to accept a
gift. He even put an octopus in the
center because I was admiring one on his other design! He is planning to show us his village on
Saturday. His house is on stilts in the
water.
Richard joined us for breakfast and then headed off to
school. Afterward I realized if we had
not asked him to come over, he would have been starving all day. We had crackers for breakfast, which barely
sustain me, so I can’t imagine how a growing boy would feel. Aligegeo high school students receive 4
crackers for breakfast and rice for the rest of their meals. It seems that food and lack thereof turned
out to be the theme of the day.
When Sister Matilda and Clare headed off to teach
kindergarten, I took out my lunch supplies to make a feast for the
doctors. I sliced a huge watermelon (I
am actually sore from carrying it back from the market) and placed it in a
Tupperware. I found myself happy to see
how much I got for my money. Since the
market did not have any vegetables, bananas, or pineapple, I decided to make
them my specialty: peanut butter and
jelly. I felt disappointed that I
couldn’t be more creative. I made about
a loaf’s worth of sandwiches and sliced them diagonally for effect. I packed a container of cookies and 4 sodas
for the director and 3 doctors. Right as
I packed everything up in a tablecloth and tied it so I could carry it on my
shoulder for the long walk, the sky opened up with more rain. Perfect timing! When it slowed down a little I commenced my
journey looking like I ran away from home with my knapsack, but luckily I
caught a bus to Kilu’ufi. I let the
director know about lunch and also Dr. Jason when I saw him. I received a pat on the arm and a, “You
should come here more often!” He obviously means I am doing such a good job in
the operating room. I informed Dr. Joe
who raised his eyebrows 3 times, and just shook my hand. I couldn’t believe how happy they were to
just eat peanut butter and jelly. I have
never seen them take a lunch break once, and if anyone deserves it, they
certainly do. Dr. Solomon was equally as
excited as her eyes widened and she promised to take a break today. I knew that wasn’t going to happen but I
figured she could eat it for dinner if not!
I dropped the cookies off in the operating theater for my nurse friends
and headed to the children’s ward.
In the children’s ward, there were some new admissions. I played with a little boy named Junior Sammy
for about an hour as the doctors and nurses were reviewing him. He was admitted based on “failure to thrive”
or failure to gain adequate weight or grow for his age. His AST enzyme count was abnormal after blood
work. Dr. Solomon said that this represented an acute viral infection in the
liver. She said that she suspected it
was due to malnutrition. She said she
feels sorry for the babies who have to suffer because the parents are either
ignorant or just unable to provide their children with necessary vitamins and minerals. Americans have baby charts where the
pediatrician will mark the child’s height and weight compared to the
average. Based on the World Health
Organization chart, a Solomon Island baby at 60% of height and weight is
considered normal. Babies can survive at
1.2 kilos.
 |
| Baby Collin |
It was around 3 PM and once again I was famished! Dr. Solomon kept saying she wanted to eat
lunch but I told her we could press on with her patients. After all, I am only here for so long. It is good training for when I start
working! I took a few vitals for her and
we set off to her outpatient gynecological clinic. Once a week, women come in for various issues
that they wouldn’t go to Dr. Jason for.
There were two women with ovarian cysts that presented a lot of
pain. One was 20 years old and a student
at Aligegeo. Both of their pain got
worse with menstruation. After booking
them for the surgical tour, Dr. Solomon explained more of the taboos with
menstruation. Women who live in the bush
still abide by the rules of isolating themselves during this time of
month. They also need to be in isolation
during birth. She said that this is
abuse and the most dangerous and unhealthy practice. She also said that women have no access (even
in Auki) to sanitary napkins so once-a-month you can expect girls to just stay
in their house or miss school.
Around 4 PM, Dr. Solomon slowly led me to the office where I
collapsed. How does she work like this
every day? I handed her the sandwiches
and she devoured them. I enjoyed some
melon while reading over her speech on Friday.
Dr. Solomon is involved with a women’s rights group run by the United
Nations, Unicef, World Health Organization (WHO), Ramsi, and so on. Basically, they asked her to be a
representative for Malaita because she is so knowledgeable and so
powerful. Dr. Solomon has been a part of
a study where women volunteered to let researchers come to their home and
interview them. Both qualitatively and
quantitatively, data on abuse was collected.
Over 2/3 of women are abused and it is more likely that a woman will die
from abuse than malaria. There are no
such things as social workers, and Dr. Solomon is working to affiliate one with
the hospital. She also wants to advocate
for women’s centers and shelters to prevent violence. It is extremely difficult because women have
always been submissive throughout the Solomon culture. Women in America don’t even admit to being
abused, so imagine how difficult it would be for a Solomon Islander where this
harassment is socially accepted? I
commend Dr. Solomon for taking on yet another project and advocating for
women’s rights. It is an overlooked
aspect of health in the Solomon’s, particularly mental and reproductive
health. Women become depressed/anxious
as a result of the abuse and fail to be treated. Furthermore, even though a couple might be
married, men essentially rape their wives to have more children (more
children=more money when they work or get married, such as bride prices), which
could be detrimental to the mother’s health and baby’s. I admire Dr. Solomon’s courage and her
ability to stand as a role model for any woman.
She is the only woman (besides the sisters) I have met who has held a
job without having children yet. She is
an incredible woman and I am eagerly awaiting her talk.
Just as I was about to walk home, it was torrential yet
again. Dr. Solomon walked me out, and I
caught the bus home. I arrived at
Fanualama and smelt something incredible (still starving…) I saw Clare headed
to the back of Bishop’s and I followed her to an amazing sight. Agatha and Sister Loretta were making a
cassava and coconut pudding in the outdoor grass hut! What a great day! They grated the cassava and milked the
coconut. After wrapping a pan in palm
leaves from the trees, they placed the two ingredients on top and covered it
with more leaves. They placed the pan on
hot stones and put more stones on top.
What resulted was a delicacy. The
consistency was like thick oatmeal but not sweet, just crispy. We shared the best dinner of fish, cabbage,
papaya (popo), and pudding. Sister
Loretta wanted me to watch a movie called, “Gifted Hands” starring Cuba Gooding
Junior as a pediatric neurosurgeon completing an operation to separate the
heads of Siamese twins. We all watched
the film and joked that I would be doing the same thing tomorrow. At this rate, anything is possible.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
I couldn’t believe today was my last day in the operating
theater. I was seriously upset as I made
my walk to Kilu’ufi. When I arrived, I
was thanked thoroughly for the food I brought yesterday and I was happy
everyone was pleased. The doctors were seeing 2 abscesses today. Nurse David took care of the first, a woman with a mammary abscess.
The lymph node under her armpit was also extremely swollen. Dr. Jason said this type of abscess is
common, but I had never seen anything that looked so painful. Her baby was only a week old. I will
spare the details but let’s just say there was a lot of cutting and scrubbing
involved. When I finished I ran into the
other room to sit down while David walked in mimicking me. He said that I was supposed to
move toward the patient not away! We
joked the rest of the day about this experience and I told him I would get him
back!
After I took a quick break, it was time to fix an old woman’s
fractured leg. It looked like her
shinbone was cracked from falling up the stairs. She winced in pain as they tried to straighten
her leg and set just the back with plaster.
Her knee was too swollen with arthritis to put a cast on her whole leg
so they would wait a week until they could drain her knee. It was then a little boy’s turn for abscess
removal. The boy was put under so
much ketamine he was having trouble waking up.
He broke into a sweat and his eyes were going back and forth. It was so upsetting to see him like that and
it reminded me of David After Dentist, “Is this going to last forever?” except
it wasn’t funny! He kept calling for his
dad in a little voice saying he was hungry.
I felt terrible as they wheeled him away, but there was an appendectomy
to get through.
While we waited to the patient to stabilize, I had many
interesting conversations with the doctors and nurses. Dr. Jason and I discussed his training in New
Zealand and how it is hard to move around to different hospitals such as
Honiara and Kilu’ufi. He would like to
do more training but unfortunately he cannot leave because of the shortage of
staff. I then moved on to a wonderful
conversation with David who wants me to find him an American girlfriend. I told him about the show “The Bachelor” and
he wants to be on it. He said he would
prefer a Spanish woman, so who do you think I suggested? Dani.
I described her appearance and received many “Ooohs and ahhhs.” I told
him how all the boys in the US stare at her when she walks by and he agreed he
wants to meet her. Dan, next time you’re
coming with me! Our conversation then
moved on to Solomon food and everyone laughed when they found out I ate
sandpaper cabbage. I think it is sort of
the spinach equivalent in America. It is
regarded as not that tasty and it is easily grown. It is what many families eat when they cannot
find anything else, but I loved when Sister made it. The nurses were laughing. I told them about the cassava pudding, the
mangrove fruit, tayo, and coconut rice and they couldn’t believe I liked
it! Now I was starving and it was time
to go into the appendectomy.
It was around 1 PM
and I was already exhausted. Dr. Jason
wanted me to help. This surgery was grueling and very physical. I watched Dr. Jason
whenever he cut, and helped with whatever he needed in the 2-hour surgery. The man had much more muscle than the women so it was a very tiring operation. While he was stitching the patient up, Dr.
Jason and I chatted about the sports I played and activities. I told them about field hockey and martial
arts which they loved. Dr. Jason told me
he was a singer songwriter and was in a band!
I told him to bring me his record and I hope he listens! When we were finished, Dr. Solomon told me
that there were going to be twins delivered, so I said my goodbyes and walked
over to the labor ward.
 |
| Dr. Jason in the Operating Theater! |
The twins were not expected for another couple hours, and it
was approaching 4 o’clock. I walked
around the ward and ended up chatting with one of the nurses, Cathy. She is a well-spoken woman from Western
Province. She translated the “slang”
that some of the men were saying to me when I walked by which I appreciated (I
think..) She ended up telling me her
life story about how she wanted to marry a German doctor but her parents
wouldn’t allow it. They instead arranged
a marriage for her so she would remain in the Solomon’s. She said that she still thinks about him and
he still writes her. She told me that
she was adopted and has a niece that goes to Berkley in California. She also said that her great granduncle was
actually the man that saved JFK when he was shipwrecked during WWII. If you read up on the Pacific part of the
war, you will learn that the story goes that JFK was stranded, wrote a message
on a coconut, and was saved by Solomon Islanders who delivered the message to
the US base. This is exactly the story
Cathy told me! She said that her uncle
was one of the men on the island who rescued the canoe JFK was drifting in with
two others. JFK exclaimed that he was
American not Japanese, so her uncle rescued the boat. He proceeded to climb up the coconut tree and
grab an unripe (soft) fruit. He carved a
message on the coconut and hopped in the canoe to sail to Rendova where the US
base was stationed. They delivered the
message by night and left JFK on the island because he refused to get on the
boat in fear of getting hurt. The US
base received the message and rescued JFK.
Her uncle’s name was Biuku, but JFK pronounced it “Book.”
I could seriously talk to these people all day. They are so aware of their family history and
so cultural in tune. I figured I should
probably head back so I started the walk home.
I barely reached the road outside of the hospital when a man came up to
me with his hand outstretched. This is
normal, so I was not really alarmed. Not
until he introduced himself and told me that he was a bipolar patient in the
Psychiatric Unit who had been off his medication for 8 years. He said he came back to take some because he
is starting to work as a mechanic. I
told him he was doing the right thing and tried to keep my smile. I couldn’t help feeling a little nervous as I
walked away down the road but all was fine.
After a nice meal and seeing the Bishop after his return, I went to
Aligegeo with Sister Loretta and Clare to watch the students practice their
speeches for a competition tomorrow.
This is a provincial competition and 17 students are competing from 4
schools. Our friend Christina is one of
them so I was quick to go listen to her speech on women empowerment and equal
rights. I listened to 4 different
speeches tonight on poverty, development, and equality and I am truly impressed
with the caliber of their English and confidence. We walked to the dining hall (where my
infamous dance took place) and noticed that so many people from different organizations
were decorating the room with palm fronds and chairs. It looked beautiful. Christina then presented Clare and I with the
sweetest letter and gifts of bracelets and lava lavas, or sarongs. She apologized her English is not that
well. We invited her for dinner this
weekend and Clare and I will try and spend as much time with her as
possible. I will miss this country and
the beautiful people greatly.
Reiterating the words of Samuel, one of the speech competitors, “The
Solomon Islands may be impoverished, but it is a rich country in its
people.”
Friday, August 10, 2012
Clare, Sister Loretta, and I traveled to Aligegeo early this
morning to help the students prepare for their big speech day! I was so excited for Christina and her women
empowerment speech. I was planning on
staying the morning and then heading to Kilu’ufi for Dr. Solomon’s talk and
then making it back to see the award ceremony.
The deputy principal stayed up all night decorating, and the dining hall
looked fabulous. It was donned in palms,
flowers, and lava lavas. The kids had
the day off from school and were crowding around the hall waiting for the
judges to arrive. The minister of
education arrived along with the UNDP, or United Nations Development
Program. They were running the speech
contest to raise awareness for their eight new goals or initiatives to be
achieved by 2015. They were environment
sustainability, eradicate poverty and extreme hunger, improve maternal health,
lower infant mortality rates, reduce diseases such as HIV/AIDS & malaria,
globalization and development, empowerment of women and gender equality, and
ensure primary education. The goal was
for the students to either write an essay or give a speech on any of these
topics. The dining hall was packed, and
there was even a bamboo band for entertainment!
The whole event was very formal, but I had to run to Kilu’ufi for Dr.
Solomon’s speech!
When I got to Kilu’ufi, I helped out in the wards for a
bit. Richard came to outpatient excused
from school because he was feeling so sick.
I gave his slip to Dr. Jason and hopefully he will get an X-ray this
time to get everything sorted out. There
was also a CVA, or stroke patient in the waiting area with blood pressure
230/130. I couldn’t believe it. She was shouting in pain as we tried to help her
swallow her pain medication. Dr. Solomon
still wasn’t in yet and it was 11:30 AM so I was getting worried because her
talk was at 12. They called her mobile
and she was at home with a serious migraine but was being picked up. I had made her lunch before her speech and
she was happy to eat something. She said
she thought it was malaria but hopefully she would feel better. Despite her illness, her talk was very
enlightening. Most of the staff came to
the classroom and she summarized a workshop she attended in Honiara regarding
VAW or Violence Against Women. She is a
representative for UN Women and was discussing the findings of the study that
2/3 of women are abused. She recounted
case studies and initiatives to make women feel safe and also to establish
places where they can have shelter. They
would also like to train someone in outpatient to deal with abuse cases and to
get the social worker involved. Right
now the social worker, police, doctors, and government are all on different
pages. I picked up most of her talk in
pidgin, but I asked her if she knew anything about the speeches going on at
Aligegeo. She said she had heard about
them but her research wasn’t connected!
She wanted me to get Christina’s contact information so she could come
speak at the hospital. Hopefully I can
create a foundation for an alliance with Dr. Solomon and younger girls for
women’s rights. My job now is to connect
the two establishments so when I leave they can move forward. There is also a woman, Sheila, who is arriving
at Fanualama today for a women’s rights workshop. She started a Catholic Women’s Group to make
village women aware of violence. I told
Dr. Solomon about her and she wants to meet her as well. I hope that these connections are made and
that progress is made to stop the women and child abuse in this country. George, one of the operating nurses, told me
that you can actually buy a baby in the Central Market at Honiara. The same place where you can buy bananas,
pineapple, and coconut. This violence
needs to stop and if Dr. Solomon and various women’s groups can bring
awareness, that is a solid first step.
Right when I stepped out of Kilu’ufi, it started to rain
like usual, so I rode the bus to Alegegio to try and catch Christina’s
speech. I took a back way into the
dining hall and got lost for 10 minutes and slipped down a muddy hill, but I
finally found it and I was in time! I
rushed in and sat down to watch and was suddenly overwhelmed by excruciating
heat. The dining hall was so hot and
these people had been sitting here since 8:30 AM and it was 2 PM! I was told it was even a hot day for the
Solomon Islanders. The kids laughed at
all the speeches for some reason, whenever the speakers would make a bold
statement. One girl even ended her speech
with, “Women are not recreational tools for exercise.” That got everyone going. Christina was so nervous but truly nailed her
speech. After waiting 2 more hours for
the judges to decide the winner in “Solomon time” they were finally ready. Christina had won 3rd place out of
17 contestants! In fact, 2 other girls
who spoke on women’s rights received 1st and 2nd. It was a good day for the ladies. Clare was equally as thrilled because she had
revised their essays and worked with them all week. Aligegeo also cleaned up in the essay
contest, with Clare’s student taking 2nd place. Overall, it was a great day. Christina even told us that after form 7, she
wanted to become a Sister of Charity, like Mother Teresa. She said that she would want to be a nurse
and help as many people as she could.
She is seriously adorable and her win showed that good things happen to
good people.
Today was major progress for Malaita in the eight millennium
development goals. Making the youth
aware is the first step to securing their future. After listening to 2 more speeches from the
ministry, Clare and I walked back to the house.
Bishop invited us to dinner to say goodbye because tomorrow he leaves
for Honiara and New Caledonia so we will miss him before we leave. He cooked us an incredible pasta with garlic
bread and…. OLIVES! I was never so happy to see kalamata olives and I think I
ate the entire bowl while the other women (Sheila’s Solomon Island women’s
group) were grossed out and didn’t touch them.
After dinner, we talked with the 3 women from Malaita about their
foundation of the Catholic Women’s group with Sheila. Apparently, she traveled to the Solomon
Islands and lived here for 10 years with her husband who was a doctor at
Kilu’ufi. The labor ward is dedicated to
him. When she was here, she got involved
with the women who were being abused in their village. They founded a group and
now these 3 women teach others.
Essentially, it is like a support group.
The sad part is, some women have to ask their husbands if they are
allowed to attend meetings. I realize
now that women in America take their freedom for granted. One of the older women, Immaculate, was
telling us stories about how her son was a priest and her husband didn’t want
him to be. She was hysterical and told
us how her son told her everything and she hid the secret from her Anglican
husband. When he was asked to go to the
seminary, she acted like she didn’t know anything when her husband found out. She was laughing as she was telling the
story. Now her husband is a fully
converted Catholic and everything worked out.
She told him the story after and said that he could be scar sometimes so
she pretended she didn’t know. Listening
to these women recount their stories is so entertaining. It made me realize just how many unique
stories exist in this world.
No comments:
Post a Comment