June 16th
Hello friends!
Today our group split into two. Mama Gayle, Karly, Drew, Katelyn and Michael went to Selian Hospital and Foster and Maggie went to deliver food to hospice patients.
The Selian group started the day by meeting Doctor Elizabeth. Gayle was very impressed by her during her last visit to Tanzania and decided to sponsor her through pediatric residency to become a pediatrician!
Our morning continued in the chapel at Selian hospital and after some prayers with the staff, the choir sang a beautiful song to praise God. Soon after we met doctor Kimaro, who we would be running clinic with all day. We had a large stack of 51 referrals from our outreach clinics to see today!
The group was very impressed by Dr. Kimaro by his vast and deep knowledge and his ability to teach the students how he goes about each visit. After 51 admission assessments, we all left Selian with much more knowledge! We had a mid-day surprise from mama Gayle with some donuts and chapatis to fuel us to finish the day!
Drew was blown away by Dr. Kimaro and the professionalism and efficiency he showed. He was very impressed by how much he cared for each patents psyche. He mentioned how he was surprised by their efficiency; they had the room split into two ‘assessment stations’! It made him value patient privacy in the United States.
Karly was most impacted how willing Dr. Kimaro was to teach not only the students, but also his patients. She saw parallels of Dr Kimaro and Mama Gayle on how they value teaching. She thought it was touching on how a child remembered her and ran in to hug her! It reminded her the impact we are making to the Tanzanians.
Katelyn was most impacted by a patient who Dr. Kimaro had to inform of a lower leg amputation. Not being able to understand the spoken language but seeing the body language was a very sad moment for everyone in the room. She was explaining her excitement seeing a textbook Graves’ disease and how it is refreshing to see her hard work studying paying off in real life settings!
Michael was also most impacted by the delivery of the news of amputation. To him, most of the day was filled with joy as the patients were very excited to be able to receive healthcare and that the end of their very chronic injuries that became their new normal was finally here. However, this patient was the opposite. The whole room was emotional as the patient processed this news. Michael was impressed with Dr. Kimaro about his ability to deliver the news and be mindful of the emotions of the patient.
-Michael
Hi Everyone!
Today Maggie and I split from the group to deliver food to hospice patients with the Selian Hospice Team. We began the day introducing ourselves to the team as we travelled to pickup a volunteer and see our first patient. Our team included social workers, pastors, nurses, and volunteers, showcasing the breadth of physical, social, psychological, and spiritual care offered by the program. The first person we visited was a new patient, and it was impressive to see the depth of care each team member offered. While Mama Kweka took an extensive medical history, Augustine counseled the patient on how to get baptized, which the patient had expressed was incredibly important to him. We discussed how to get the patient a mattress, better clothes, and access to a gas stove for cooking. After saying a few prayers and singing a song with everyone, we left to visit the next patient.
After picking up another volunteer, we stopped at the home of a woman who had been seen by the hospice program for nearly 15 years. She had been diagnosed with HIV and TB, and relied on the program to receive all of her medications. Although this visit was shorter, each team member took the time to talk with the patient and discuss which areas of her life needed improvement to make her more comfortable in her day to day life. She was also fortunate enough to have moved into a new home with support from her local government and son, and seemed to be much more at peace thanks to this recent change.
Typically we see four patients per day with hospice, but Mama Kweka informed us that one of the patients she had planned to see was admitted to the hospital, so the third patient we saw was our last of the day. This patient was a woman who was diagnosed with HIV and had suffered a stroke many years ago which left her unable to walk or speak. This visit was especially difficult, because the patient desperately needed medication for her high blood pressure but the family couldn’t get it due to financial issues. After a long and complicated conversation between many family members and the team, Mama Kweka told me that we had finally reached a solution by the time we left. We sang a quick song with the patient at her request and said a tearful goodbye.
Maggie and I feel incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to visit these patients and observe the work of the Selian Hospice Program. We both resonated with the concept of treating the patient as a whole person and addressing not only their physical needs but also their psychological, social, and spiritual ones. Tomorrow we will be heading with the rest of the team to observe surgeries in the Selian operating rooms.
Blessings from Tanzania,
Foster