Meanwhile, somewhere on the Equator...

So I made it to Uganda and have started to settle into life here at the hospital! Been overwhelmed by the generosity and hospitality of foreign missionaries and Ugandans alike.

Internet is rare, and power is dodgy, so I'll be brief! (Thanks to the legendary Marina for lending me her laptop) I've been based on the female medical ward this last week and a half, and it's been a strange mix of familiar and new. Some of the diseases are the same as you'd see on any English medical ward - stroke, heart failure, pneumonia, and some is startlingly different - malaria, typhoid, sickle cell, late presentations of neurological deficits. It's challenging but really enjoyable. All the medical staff are being very patient with my mistakes and lack of knowledge!

It's been a real shock to the system to try and reconcile good medicine and keeping costs down for patients. Not to mention that often there are no supplies for tests - currently we have three patients with diabetes but no strips for the glucometer! Patients have to pay for treatment, and it's hard not to feel guilty when you write a plan containing treatment the patient really needs, but you know the family can barely afford.

The hospital has a chapel service before each work day begins, and it's fantastic to be able to spend half an hour in prayer and Bible study with staff and anyone else who comes. Every single day, the patients and staff are prayed for - how encouraging is that?

Also, I have a Ugandan phone number - +(256) 787-363-982 in case of emergency/Wimbledon scores.

There are some things I'd really appreciate prayer for - do get in touch if I can be praying for any of you:
- Continued good health (been really blessed so far with no health upsets)
- Continued energy and enthusiasm

The only things I'm really missing at this point are tea with proper milk and hot showers!
Much love
J

Waka waka I'm off to Africa!

With the joyous news that my name made it on to the 4th year pass list, I present the seamless segue into an elective blog...

In approximately 46 hours, I'll be getting on a plane to head off to Uganda for 10 weeks on my elective! I'm going to Kagando Hospital with a charity called Africa Inland Mission. Kagando is a 250(ish) bed hospital in south-western Uganda, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's a Christian mission hospital founded in 1965, providing all sorts of healthcare and community development to local (and not-so-local) people.

Right now I have a lot of feelings, ranging from excitement to nervousness to sheer Mr.T-style terror at the thought of a 9-hour flight. I'm also slowly developing a love-hate relationship with Doxycycline - I appreciate the malaria prophylaxis, but is it really necessary to start the day feeling like my oesophagus is ON FIRE?

I'm not entirely sure what these 10 weeks will comprise, and I've never been to Africa before. I'm the kind of person who has to know in advance what will happen at every minute of the day, so I know this will be a challenge for me! (Ack, this is turning into a reflection, someone stop me.)

I'm not sure how contactable I'll be whilst I'm away - I'm not taking my UK phone, and internet access will probably be patchy at best. Once I have a Ugandan number I'll try and let people know, but I mightn't be able to reply to email/facebook/texts etc.

I think Bilbo sums up my current mental state best:

(Note to self: don't grab any bits of jewellery from strange creatures in caves.)

For those of you who pray, I'd really appreciate prayer for the following:
-Travelling mercies and not freaking out on the flight
-Good health and protection from disease
-Energy to take on board everything that happens

Also please slap me down if I turn into this...

Hyperunconjugated bilirubinaemia and Sullivan

It's been too quiet around here, so here's a musical-themed twofer.

Also, advance warning, this will soon turn into an elective blog!