Mawenzi Hospital

Yesterday (Monday) went by fairly smoothly. It was actually a little cloudy and not as hot so Melissa, Randy, Jay and I walked all around town running errands. We walked to the Mama who has done all my skirts and I dropped off material for her to make me another shorter (knee-length) skirt, a pair of sleep shorts and a headband. Then we did a little shopping and went to a coffee shop for some beverages. I got an iced coffee, which was really good, except a little too sweet. I wish I had told them I would add the sugar myself, I don't like that much in my coffee. Tanzanians put quite a lot of sugar even in a small cup of coffee. Our walk took us a couple of hours. Once we got home Melissa and I cuddled up with our books (we are both at really exciting points in them) until dinner. After dinner we went across the street with the boys to Mzungu Bar. Freddy and some of the other boys were there. They didn't have a lot of work to do during the day and football (soccer) was on tv so they had been drinking for awhile by the time we got there. I just had a soda water and we all chatted for awhile until we got tired and headed to bed. Today was a good but chaotic day with the kids. I left early to go get a tour of Mawenzi Hospital where Randy, one of our group, is helping the administration to get their records in order so that their funding will continue. The hospital is pretty big, there are several wards, each building is a separate and you walk the grounds outside to get from one to the other. It is nothing like hospitals at home, and pretty graphic. We saw the pediatric ward, it was hard seeing the little kids hooked up to tubes and some had severe burns on most of their bodies. We saw the clinic strictly for HIV/AIDS patients (which was unfortunately extremely full with patients waiting to be seen). Then we went to the maternity ward, which I think affected me the most. There were about 30 women in there who were in the beginning stages of labor. In the labor room there were three women. When the women are about to give birth they are stripped down naked and laid on hard tables (sanitation purposes). One woman was very close to giving birth, and her contractions looked so painful. They are on their own most of the time right up until the baby is about to come. Right after birth they often have to walk themselves out of the room to the beds in the ward because another woman in labor needs the delivery room. They are not given epidurals or pain medication. Another woman had just given birth. She was still lying on the table, still in pain, alone because husbands or family are not allowed inside, and there was a nurse in the corner holding her baby. The baby was premature, and since they don't have the necessary equipment to handle premature births, they were just keeping the baby warm under a heat lamp and had an oxygen mask on her waiting for her to pass away, trying to keep her comfortable. It's quite a culture shock, so different from home. They just simply do not have the necessary tools to deal with such things in countries like Tanzania. After the labor ward we saw various recovery rooms, and we saw those who are in quarantine with communicable diseases. We also saw the psychiatric ward, they have separated men and women as they do with all the other wards in the hospital. This was also very difficult to see. There were two sides to each building. One side had beds with patients who have psychological issues but are still functioning enough to be allowed out of the ward to walk the grounds. The other side is where the patients are locked in. There aren't beds (no metal or sharp objects for their safety) but just foam mattresses on the floor. Most of the patients are chanting, babbling or yelling out as if they're in pain. The hospital doesn't have the resources to treat things like schizophrenia with medication so there isn't much they can do with these people except make sure they can't hurt themselves or others. The hospital is really doing great work but needs more funding so eventually they can get the resources to treat these patients. Randy is helping get their records in order so funding continues, because although they do give the treatment and medication most patients need, it's not documented, often because they are so short staffed. The doctors are constantly running around with patients to see, and with so many the first thing that goes is paperwork. So, Randy is trying to find a balance that will help them with this. They've gotten some computer programs that should really help them out. Melissa and I are planning on going in the afternoons this week or next week to help them get their records in order. Overall it was very difficult to see but I think it's really important to really see first hand how this country is struggling and be able to tell about it to others. I will definitely never forget that first trip to Mawenzi, but am so grateful I got the chance to see it.