Change of Plans....

So, it appears that I’ll be ending my “African Adventure” a little early this time around…..The upcoming Referendum, which is basically a vote to implement a new Kenyan Constitution, is creating some concern about a possible repeat of the 2008 election which ended in civil unrest for several months. The “Yes” Camp, which includes the government and most of the media support here in Kenya are neck and neck with the “No” Camp, which includes the conservative majority. For the last couple of weeks you can spot supporters of either camp by the hat they are wearing. Red hats are “No” voters, while Green hats are voting “Yes”. It seems to be a very close race, which as everyone knows means the Losing party will be that much more upset. Fortunately, the majority of people are presuming that Tenwek will not be affected following the vote and that there is a really small chance of a recurrence of the 2008 violence. However, following that 08’ election, some people were apparently stuck in Kenya for several months before the violence calmed down enough to get home. Thus, since I would only be here another week following the vote, I (with Rachel’s FULL support) decided to move my flight up a couple of days to get out of Nairobi before the vote. So, long story short, I’ll be coming home in a week!
It is bittersweet because I miss everyone at home but also am enjoying Tenewk so much. Livingston, which is the GuestHouse Manager who was here for both of our trips in the 90’s, made Hon’s Eggless “Wacky Cake” for everyone the other night. I had a piece and it was pretty good. Unfortunately though, I still like his "salty chips" better (sorry Ray). Oh, and the guys of the guesthouse made a pack last week to not shave until we leave; so the GuestHouse is full of a bunch of scraggly looking guys….unfortunately, my “beard” leaves much to be desired. I’m sure I’ll shave it before anyone in the States gets to see it (Don’t let Daddy worry). My friend and next door roommate, Robbie, left this morning. He is 4th year med student at Emory and I was very sad to see him go. We were both on the Medicine Ward together and he always had a nice pot of coffee to share every morning before we left for rounds. I guess I’ll have to figure out the right Kenyan Coffee proportions for the remainder of my trip. Robbie, if you're reading this; don't worry, I wasn't JUST your friend because you made good coffee, you also shared your English Muffins too....just kidding. I am currently fighting a brutal cold that has my eyes and nose watering all day; everytime I pull my stethoscope out of my pocket about 10 used tissues fall out…..really gross. But, that is what I get for playing with every cute Kenyan kid that I pass in the hospital. I just can’t help but pick each one up and toss them into the air. I’m sure all of their parents think I’m crazy, but the children love it. Sometimes when I’m really busy, I have to go around the other side of the Chapel so I don’t pass the Pediatric ward and have 15 little kids running (and wheeling) out to me to play. Their smiles are so fun though and it makes me smile to see them so happy despite most of their terrible conditions.
As far as the medical stuff goes, I’m still learning a lot. I’ve now done about 5-6 lumbar punctures; enough so that I can keep a steady hand when I’m entering the spinal space. The interns here are so good at doing LP's (b/c of all of the bacterial meningitis) that they could probably do it blind. Thus, they are more than happy to let me try whenever one needs to be done. I’ve also got to practice a lot of Arterial Blood Gases (ABG’s). I started off pretty good at those, but I’ve missed my last couple and needed Doug to help me out. Everyone is really patient here and lets me try as much as I want to. Today I had to give up on one ABG after trying twice on this “hysterical” patient. Although she was sick, she was pretty funny. She was singing and kept trying to hug me and dance while I was trying to stick her radial artery. We think she has some kind of encephalopathy (Hypertensive or Uremic). I just kept saying “Asanti”, which means Thank-you and she would calm down long enough for me to try again. But finally I gave up since she was constantly dancing and I wasn’t getting anywhere. Unlike the first half of my trip, this last week has seen a bunch more lives being saved than lost. It always is nice to be able to help someone who comes in so sick just by finding the right medicine that will do it for them. They are so thankful and appreciative even though all we did was provide them with a medication that is completely free at all Wal-Marts across the U.S. Anyway, before I get sucked into talking about all the medical stuff I'll stop b/c I only got a few hours of sleep last night sicne I was on call so I think I’ll wrap this blog up and take to my bed. I can’t wait to see everyone soon, I should be getting home on a Tuesday night. See yall soon.