Well it has been another exciting week as I travelled again with
ProHealth to Edo State this time for another medical outreach in a small
township called Igobazuwa (say that 3x fast!).
It was a 13-hour bus trip down to Benin City because we had to take a
round about route due to some epic flooding in the area. With only 2 toilet
breaks on the way, I was more than ready when we pulled up to the hotel that
evening at 9pm. The project site was a
good hour away from the hotel so each morning we would board the buses and have
a fun time of laughter and getting to know each other as we drove to the
village. This trip we added eye care and eye surgeries to the list of services
we were providing (which included dental, pharmacy, laboratory, health promotion,
consulting, surgical review and surgeries as well as post-operative care).
The days were slightly shorter than in Taraba, due to the increased
security risk (armed robberies are common in Edo State) and the need to leave
the site by 530pm at latest, but the work was as hot and intense as ever. I
worked with another amazing group in theatre and tried my hand at being scrub
nurse not just circulating nurse and also did some cannulation for the anaesthnitist.
Was good to try my hand at a few new things. I did have a way to go in terms of redeeming
my reputation after a rather embarrassing incident on day two of the trip…….let
me paint the picture.
I was gowned up in full sterile gown with scrubs underneath, shoes,
socks, face mask, hair net, surgical gloves - the only part of my body showing
was my eyes…and it was HOT. There was no airflow, the windows were closed,
there was no fan, and I started to feel faint. Now I know the signs, and when I
started having palpitations, blurred vision and weakness in my knees I knew it
was more than something I could breath my way through, so I politely excused
myself saying I needed to go and sit down…I made it to the small stool just
outside the theatre and sat down. The next thing I remember I was being picked
up by a huge Nigerian surgeon called Dr K, who had dropped what he was doing
mid procedure, and has scooped me up and was carrying me outside to the post op
ward! I was laid in a bed and people started stripping off the multiple layers
as I started to realize what had happened. They continued to fuss over me for
sometime, the younger doctors liking the opportunity to come to my rescue it
seemed, but I assured them all it was just the heat. Talk about embarrassing,
silly white girl can’t hack the heat! Anyway, despite trying to assure them it
wasn’t hypoglycemia, I wasn’t afraid of blood and that I do naturally have a
low blood pressure…they insisted I take it easy for the rest of the day and not
scrub again that day. It was the running joke of the OR for the next 3 days,
and it was lucky I saw the funny side.
I had my first Nigerian Football education this weekend. I made the
decision that it was finally time to invest in learning a bit more about the
English Football League since it’s such a massive deal here and everyone seems
to have a team they support. Football and politics are the most highly
discussed and debated topics in Nigeria and I decided that football was
probably somewhat easier to understand at a basic level! I’ve watched soccor
before and so know the basic rules but there was so much more to the rivellry,
the purchasing of players and the history and competition between the clubs
than I ever knew! I followed two Nigerian friends into a dark dingy smoky pub
(but felt completely safe don’t worry!) and sat down, being watched by a lot of
perplexed faces, and embraced the experience. My favorite part was the people
watching, seeing how engrossed these men were and how animated they were when a
goal was scored or a yellow card handed out.
I was thankful that Chelsea won, as my friend supports the team and his
mood was quite dark at one point in the game when they were down on goals, I
hate to think how depressed he would have been for the remainder of the day had
they lost!
Fiona and I are now in full swing organizing a bridal shower for our
Nigerian girlfriend who is getting married in 3 weeks. She will also have a
‘Send Forth’ a week before the wedding, which is like a big communal prayer and
advice session in her honor, as a way to ‘send her forth’ from her church and
home to be joined with her husband. The Send Forth is also fully catered and is
sometimes as large as the actual reception. I’m beginning to have a real
appreciation for just how much work goes into Nigerian weddings! As bridesmaids,
we also had to go shoe shopping for silver heels the other day. I found some
outrageously high ones, so I will look the part indeed, but I made sure I’d be
able to walk and dance, and comfort during the day was the only requirement
from the bride, bless her heart.
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