Sunday night we attended another soccer game at the local Brikama stadium. It was an important game, because Brikama was tied for first place in the league and really needed to win to secure the lead. They were playing the Gambia Army Team, which is who our friend Kaba played for. So basically it was his alma mater versus his hometown team that all of his friends and family were cheering for. Brikama ended up winning and we went on the field for pictures again. My roommate on the trip is dating/head over heels/engaged to one of the guys who plays for Brikama so it was fun to interact with him on the field as well. I don't think any of us realized how big of a celebrity our friend Kaba is. He just got offered to play for Spain's national team and is leaving in August for that! We are so proud of him and we're all praying he ends up in the US.
Monday I spent the day cooking lunch for everyone and didn't get to go to the hospital. At Yanday's we made Chicken Benechin, my favorite! It was a longer process than I expected, but probably something I could make at home. I think we are all kind of shocked by how much oil and sodium they use in their food here! Everything is fried. It seems to be working it's ways on the stomachs of a lot of our group. Last night we bought some apples (expensive here!) and you would have thought we had died and gone to heaven. We scarfed down 5 apples between 6 of us and barely spared a core. We have really been missing our normal regimens of protein and dairy too! The continuous carb diet is taking its toll on our appetites and attitudes with food.
Tuesday, Stephanie and I went out with the RCH (peds) and public health units to a small village called Pirang. I spent most of the day weighing infants and marking them on the weight chart. Stephanie dealt with most of the antenatal checkups for pregnant women in that area. It was really nice to get out of Brikama for a day and to see a smaller, more remote area of Gambia. The health center there was extremely small, but in such a gorgeous area. After we loaded up, Stephanie and I noticed we were heading in the opposite direction of Brikama and asked where we were going. Of course we weren't given a straight answer, they just said we were going a different way back. Well it turned out we showed up in this open area where there were a bunch of women sitting in a circle underneath a tree. It's pretty common for the ambulance to take a million stops on the way home as if the vehicle isn't needed and the employees aren't supposed to be working. They fed us some lunch and before we knew it they were making a bunch of music! It was hilarious! They broke out in traditional African dance (it was chaotic/awesome) and insisted that Stephanie and I join. We were adorned with dancing beads around our necks and did our best to keep up with them. It was so awesome! We couldn't stop laughing and got some great videos of the whole thing. Can't wait to show them to everyone when I get back!
Wednesday was my first day in the Maternity unit which I was a little nervous about since it can often be the most stressful area. It was a pretty slow day, surprisingly. They didn't have any women in the postpartum area (a first) and when I got there, they only had 1 woman laboring. By the end of the day, I got to see 2 deliveries. The first was relatively easy and the baby was healthy. The second was another story. At first, the mother lied about how many children she had (I have no idea why), but we later found out this was her 10th. Hearing that, I was expecting a pretty quick and easy labor. Well it turns out the woman was exhausted and couldn't push. They attempted using the vacuum, but since we're in the middle of Africa, it was broken. They ended up having to push the baby out by putting pressure on her stomach. It looked awful, but I was impressed it actually worked! I was pleased that the day went smoothly, but Thursday wasn't so lucky.
Today the maternity ward was nuts! Within 10 minutes of arriving, a transfer came in from Pirang and needed urgent attention. It turns out Stephanie had just seen this woman on Tuesday for her antenatal checkup and determined that she was 30 weeks. She came in with intense hemorrhaging and had lost an enormous amount of blood when she arrived. Being that there is no hurry in Gambia, midwife attention was minimal at first. After a few exams, they concluded that there was no fetal heartbeat and that she had a placental abruption, where the placenta had detached from the uterine wall and was causing lots of bleeding. They decided to transfer her to Banjul to get better help. The ambulance ride was interesting. They crammed her in a car with another woman who was pregnant, but there was also no fetal heartbeat. The nurse shared a seat with the second woman, the woman's mom sat in what was left of the back seat, and I straddled the stick shift in the front seat with another woman. It was an interesting 30 minute drive as vomiting and lots of moaning occurred the whole way. We safely transported them and of course made a million stops on the way back, but finally returned around 12. When I got back, there were 7 women laboring and 3 had already given birth! I didn't get to see any births, but I did get to see them tie off a 6th finger on both hands of 2 newborns. It was pretty interesting!
Tonight we are attending a friend's son's 4th birthday party and then throwing a party for Ana's birthday at the lodge! Can't wait for an eventful night!
-Isa
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