June 19th in Hlebsia

June 19th, 2007So I almost passed out twice today. I guess it was the whole blood thing that got to me, although it has never bothered me before. The first time I almost passed out was when I was watching a normal delivery of a baby ( e.g. not a C-Section) and I thought I was going to lose consciousness. I sat down and felt much better. The second time I thought I was going to pass out I was assisting the surgeon with a C-Section so there wasn't really any option of sitting down. All I kept telling myself was-"you don't want to be a patient here" and "you have to prove to yourself you can do this." I was profusely sweating, but other than that I stayed on my feet and it was an absolutely incredible site. What an opportunity. I loved the rush of surgery: It was a very focused and pressure-filled environment. After the C-Section we went to the labor ward where Arthur, Lindsay, Maya, Regina and I all got to put in IV drips and assist with pelvic exams (to monitor how the labor was progressing) and delivered babies!! It was very interesting to say the least. The sanitary practices and the overall treatment/attitude towards the patients here is definitely different than in America. The midwives stick needles in the mattresses when they are done using them before taking them to the sharps container. They typically only wear gloves when they are doing a pelvic exam or delivering a baby, but not while they are drawing blood or putting an IV line in. The midwives and nurses interact very differently with the pregnant women than nurses in the US: The major difference is that they treat every patient with virtually the same stern hand and often with a tone of voice that can be perceived as indifference. When the medical director Dr.Adams spoke to us this morning he talked to us about the patient Maya and I had seen yesterday and how you have to develop a "hardened heart" to cope with those situations. Perhaps this is what makes the nurses and midwives seem so "indifferent" from an outsider's perspective: They see so many HIV positive women and young women (the one that I helped deliver today was 16 years old), that it is probably easier for them not to have an emotional reaction. If they did for every case they had they would be exhausted emotionally and physically every day.

On a lighter note, this morning Regina and I walked about 3 miles on our way to the hospital (we got picked up by the van taking everyone else at about the half-way point). We got to see the sun rise and it was amazing. Tomorrow we are going to get an earlier start and try to walk the entire way (about five miles).

On our way home, Maya and Lindsay and I walked for about a mile. It was an amazing walk. All of the children and their parents would come out of their houses to say hi and wave. They were so excited to see all of us. I even got to take a picture with about five kids. They were so loving and sweet it was incredible. Everywhere we go in Hlebsia people are so happy to see us and excited to show us where they live.

Hlebsia is a truly gorgeous place. I am really happy that we get to stay with host families and work in the local public hospital. This way I get to see the cultural and societal forces behind the traditional medicine practices as well as the consequences of those medical practices.

Today we saw a man with abscesses on his elbows and on his buttocks, which resulted from an infection after he injected an herbal remedy above his elbows and on his left buttock. He told the doctor he did this because he had chest pain and that now the chest pain is gone. He also said he could just cut out the abscesses himself. The doctor said he needed to see a psychologist. He laughed and so did she. A lot of the doctors at Hlebsia are not guarded in voicing their opinions on the traditional medicine practices of their patients and at times (in the aforementioned case in particular) can be quite harsh and act superior to their "third world" patients. Again, I have to wonder if this is because of the "hardened heart"? While I agree that it is frustrating to feel like in most instances you are treating people for diseases they brought on themselves because they didn't go to a western medicine doctor first, at the same time does this mean that a non-western approach is automatically always the wrong option? By criticizing and dismissing the medical practices of the Zulu people, are the doctors being ignorant because in doing so they are dismissing years of cultural history and practices that make the Zulu people what they are today?

Love to all.