Photos of HELP! (Hôpital Evangelique Le Pionnier)

So I realized I haven't posted many photos of what things look like here. I finally took the time to post some photos here. Hope you all enjoy! It gives a little idea of what things are like. There are more photos I can post, but perhaps another day.

The toiletes-they build pit toiletes because the
patients didn't know how to use the flushing toilets.

The clothesline...I believe also a fruit tree.

Some of the kids of patients/visiters sitting in the shade.
Note the Colt's fan!

The courtyard of the BiBi Star.

One of the few restaurants in town.

Christine with one of the burn patients from the boat that exploded.
She was cooking on a kerosene cooker, with some tanks of gas nearby. The gas exploded, her cooker exploded, and she was severely burned.
She's made quite a bit of progress, but still has more to go before returning to her home in Central African Republic.

Hippotherapy with a boy who lost the lower part of his leg due to gangrene.
He has a ways to go, but we may be able to make a prosthesis for him out of
bamboo, plaster, and saw dust...

The daughter of one of our nurses trying to play frisbee.

Tortillas, Jempy (like Nutella), and Diet Coke. Such a treat!!

Our team on rounds. Karen was the chosen scribe because her
handwriting was most legible. 

Ginny (Chaplain) and Kyria (Physical therapist).
Also aunt and niece.

Me with Emma, one of the nurses. She keeps trying to teach me Lingala.
I'm a little slow at it. And a visual, not auditory, learner.

Appollinaire (one of the nurses) and I outside Salle de Consultation,
with a patient standing at the door to Salle de Triage

Me inside one of the containers here that we use for storage.
The right side is in the process of being sorted, the left side already sorted.

The building with the mural is the chapel.
It's a mural of the story of the men lowering the paraplegic through the roof to see Jesus.
It's the symbol for our hospital.

Me in surgery. I had just repaired a cervical and vaginal tear after a "normal vaginal delivery." 

Buildings from left to right-Pediatrie,
Medicine Men, Medicine Women's wards

Left-Post-Partum and "NICU"; Right, Maternity

One of the vehicles we use for transportation. I haven't learned to drive it yet.

"The Bloc"-Surgery (we have three operating rooms, two we really use, the third is mostly storage)

Me checking out one of the pediatric patients here...

Looking down from Surgery Men towards Surgery Mixed.
The folks at the end of the sidewalk are patients and visiters.

Looking from the back side of chapel (on left). The building on the right has
the Lab, Pharmacy, Radiology, "ER", triage, and "ICU".

A better photo of the mural on the chapel wall.

Donkey-he does our hippotherapy with some of the patients.
I've seen quite a change in the demeanor of the patients after getting to
sit on his back or ride on him. He likes to bray alot...so glad he's here and
not at the mission!!! =)

Standing outside Surgery Women and looking at the backside of
Medicine wards. The tent is no longer used for anything but trapping
heat, which it does very well.

Patients and families sitting around making meals, eating, etc.
There are several places set up as shelters for families to make food
for the patients, as well as a place to wash clothes and clothes lines,
though the trees and grass work well for drying clothes too. There are several
places where the patients can obtain clean water as well.

Jungle Walk

One of our guides-Albert

Claire and Karen leading the way through the forrest

Can't go over it, can't go under it, gotta go through it...

Our two guides picking some leaves to sell in the market-it's the thinner vine leaves they are picking.

Cutting the vine to get the water out

Me drinking some of the water

Christine hanging from the vine-the guide pulled himself up the vine to her left-about the height of the top of the photo.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go on a jungle walk with several other missionaries and two pygmies as our guides. It was fantastic. The forrest was much cooler under the canopy of tree limbs than out in the open sun. We are fortunate to have gone at the beginning of rainy season, as there were several areas we used as paths that will be under several feet of water come end of rainy season. Our guides stopped at various points along the way to show or talk about certain plants. For example, there is one plant they will eat the leaves if they have a stomachache. Another that is good for getting rid of worms (but only eat a little bit because it's very strong!) There were several they use for poison on their arrow tips when hunting animals or fish. There is one that you can crush up and throw into water and it will kill all the fish within seconds. Then you can scoop them up with your net, and have them to eat or sell. There was a type of vine that grows there that when you cut it open, there is water inside you can drink! It tasted pretty good! Our guides also demonstrated calls for attracting crocodiles, monkeys, and antelope. All of these they kill to eat or take to market. We didn't see any of these animals after they called for them; it was too late in the morning and we weren't deep enough in the forrest. On our way back we passed this fantastic vine and some of us couldn't resist swinging on it. Christine was able to pull herself up to a seated position on the vine! We thought we were doing pretty good until one of our guides jumped on and pulled himself up the vine  several feet above our heads, with just his hands!

Karen between two termite mounds

Physics & Arts and Crafts

Among the first week or two I was here, Stephen (another physician here) told me "being a medical missionary is not so much what you learned in medical school or residency as it is about Physics and Arts and Crafts."
You know what I've found? He's right.

• Want to do a lumbar puncture? Ask for the LP tray. Go ahead, we'll get a chuckle out of it. Now go find a 21 G needle, a syringe, sterile gloves, betadine, and some gauze. If it's an adult, we do have spinal needles.
• Want to do a thoracentesis or paracentesis? Go find a 16 G IV needle, IV tubing, and a foley bag. And a syringe if you want labs. No pigtail catheter, no vacu-tainer. If the effusion or ascites is big enough, it actually drains pretty fast.
• Want to do surgery? Has it been sunny? Is there enough solar power for the whole surgery? Do you need a generator for more power? Who do you call to turn it on and how long will it take for him to get here? Do you need the generator that supplies 110V or 220V power?  Which oxygen concentrator goes with which power supply? If the fuse blows, how do you reset it? 

Stephen explained all these things to me when I first got here. Being as physics was my least favorite course in college, all I can remember of the electrical information is this:

"Blah blah blah...flux capacitor...blah blah blah...80 mph...blah blah blah...time travel...blah blah blah...Delorian."

Perhaps I should take a refresher course before the next time I'm on call...