Mary in Malawi

1. The building where we were supposed to start the emergency ward in, has not yet been built......

2. We have instead been given a room, but this room is in full use.  And there is no where to move the acticvity that now goes on in this room

3. The equipment we need has been ordered according to some people, and not acording to others.

4. The doctor who is responsible for the project in Malawi is on vacation, will be back in august.

Yes, we have som problems.... But nothing crucial, nothing we can't solve. We will try to push things forward as much as we can, and we will try to improvise and start doing whatever we can. I guess that's kind of why we are here. I have some good ideas, and i think it will work out fine in the end.. After all, it is afrika, and things are not always going according to the plans.

What have happend today then? Well I witnessed my first cesaerian section! It was amazing, but before today I have always said that I would prefer c-section before normal delevery.... Weel, I have changed my mind. No way anyone is cutting up my abdomen like that!!!

And also I had to keep up the resucitation of the premature baby from yesterday... She comes bacl to life ffor a while, and thhen she stops breathing againg... She has now been diagnosed with Malaria, and she has seizures... Probobly she is allready brain damaged.. =(

And I witnessed a shoulder drain.... It is a precodure where they cut open the shoulder to train from puss. It was done by a clinical officer (nurse woth right to do some surgical precedures and the prescribe some medications). Tha patient was a 17 year old girl, but she more likely looked like 10... She was so tiny. And the anesthetics that was usen was called ”general anesthetics”, and it only paralyzed the body so she couldn't move, but she would still feel everything. It was horrific. She couldn't move a muscle, but she could move her eyes and som muscles in her face... We saw how painful it was, and how scared she was... The drug was called something like Kemitidin or so...

Luckily, the drug would do so she wouldn't remember anything afterwards... but anyway, lying there, paralysed, feeling someone cutting in to your shoulder... Not so pleasant.

Tomorrow we are going to the norweigan ambassy too try to get our working permits.... It might take up til 7 months, we have heard..... Well well.

Bye for now! =)