Blah, blah, blog...
I do not feel like blogging today. It is Friday afternoon, May 5, and it has been a long week. It is hot, must be at least in the 90's. The power is off at the hotel and my room always catches the afternoon sun and heat. The internet cafe is boiling, they generally have A/C running so it is a cool refuge, but not today. And to add to the heat, the server is running at snail's pace.
We went to a new camp today, Barr. They have an established health unit there, so we had to only put up one tent to work out of, as we had several exam rooms available to us in the couple of buildings that house the health unit. We also had the two health officers seeing patients with us for a total of 7. The crowds were big and continued through the morning. I heard at lunch time that we were already out of all the children's medications, and starting to run low on many of the tablets and capsules. The pharmacy staff was overwhelmed with all the patients we were seeing, and it was decided to just see a few more of the registered patients. In all we saw 470 patients in just 4 hours! Yes, that sounds impressive, but if you could only have seen the hundreds turned away once again. And, I am glad to not know the numbers, but I am sure there were many that were seen but unable to get the medications needed to treat their conditions.
Both Sally and I had feelings of futility, as we wanted to help the people, but why even see them to not be able to give them any medications? There is a budget for this mobile medical clinic program in northern Uganda, but it is hard for nurses from the U.S. to think budget when these people desperately need help. This past week, we had several patients that needed to be brought in to the referral hospital, and they had no money to pay for any expenses. So Elaine, Sally and I have been contributing out of pocket for these people's healthcare expenses. It is usually $30-70 for a hospitalization, depending on what needs to be done. If you have a desire to help in this endeavor of providing healthcare to the people here, please go to Northwest Medical Teams website at www.nwmti.org and make a tax deductible donation. Your contributions go a long way to buy medications over here!
Tired and ready for the weekend! Blessings to you, Brenda
I do not feel like blogging today. It is Friday afternoon, May 5, and it has been a long week. It is hot, must be at least in the 90's. The power is off at the hotel and my room always catches the afternoon sun and heat. The internet cafe is boiling, they generally have A/C running so it is a cool refuge, but not today. And to add to the heat, the server is running at snail's pace.
We went to a new camp today, Barr. They have an established health unit there, so we had to only put up one tent to work out of, as we had several exam rooms available to us in the couple of buildings that house the health unit. We also had the two health officers seeing patients with us for a total of 7. The crowds were big and continued through the morning. I heard at lunch time that we were already out of all the children's medications, and starting to run low on many of the tablets and capsules. The pharmacy staff was overwhelmed with all the patients we were seeing, and it was decided to just see a few more of the registered patients. In all we saw 470 patients in just 4 hours! Yes, that sounds impressive, but if you could only have seen the hundreds turned away once again. And, I am glad to not know the numbers, but I am sure there were many that were seen but unable to get the medications needed to treat their conditions.
Both Sally and I had feelings of futility, as we wanted to help the people, but why even see them to not be able to give them any medications? There is a budget for this mobile medical clinic program in northern Uganda, but it is hard for nurses from the U.S. to think budget when these people desperately need help. This past week, we had several patients that needed to be brought in to the referral hospital, and they had no money to pay for any expenses. So Elaine, Sally and I have been contributing out of pocket for these people's healthcare expenses. It is usually $30-70 for a hospitalization, depending on what needs to be done. If you have a desire to help in this endeavor of providing healthcare to the people here, please go to Northwest Medical Teams website at www.nwmti.org and make a tax deductible donation. Your contributions go a long way to buy medications over here!
Tired and ready for the weekend! Blessings to you, Brenda
posted by BrendaTravels | 8:04 AM
3 Comments:
It is helpful to read about your trip. I am on my way to Uganda in August, and feel inspired and reassured by your caring.
Thank you Brenda for posting these. It's information like this that brings awareness to people who might not otherwise hear about it with our media. It's starting to change through sources like yourself and we're praying that something will done soon to help address the LRA problem. These people deserve better and we'll do everything possible to help on this side. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Safe returns. We love you.
Tony, Dalia and Milla
Thank you for your kind comments. It really is nice to know that "someone" out there is reading my blog.
Great to hear from the Zuniga's!
Blessings, Brenda
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