Live.Laugh.Love.

Hello everyone!!

This will most likely be the last posting while I am in Africa because we are leaving Kisii tomorrow morning. We were supposed to be leaving Kisii on Thursday morning but we have to do something in Nairobi before we leave for our safari on Friday so we need to leave tomorrow morning. So all day today we are going around Kisii saying goodbye to everyone and thanking them for all their hospitality. I’m sure I will have many tears today. I can not believe that I am coming home next week and it still has not hit me yet that we are leaving. It is going to be torture to say goodbye to our family here but it is not a goodbye, it is a see you later!

The update on the woman at the hospital with the baby that initially she did not want the child is all good news. We saw her on Friday and talked to her about everything and made sure that she understands how to be a good mother and how she should be so happy to have a healthy child. She named the baby boy Dalton, which I thought was such a good choice because she had to have thought deeply about that name. Dalton is not a name that you just come up with to name someone you don’t love. I truely believe she now loves her child. She thanked us for helping her and making her realize what she realizes now. We also got her contact information and gave her ours to tell us if she moves because we want to help her anyway we can. Even $10 a month or something goes an extremely long way here and I am willing to do what it takes to make sure that this baby boy stays safe. There is also a nurse at the hospital that lives near to her and we got her contact information as well to check up on things. We also saw some crazy things on Friday. There was a baby that was born through c/s and was born with hydrocephalis, and it had the biggest head I have ever seen. The head was filled with fluid and it has stretched so much it looked like an alien. The child did not make it. Then right after that we found out that the woman in labor right next to us was about to deliver a baby with anaencephaly. This condition is when the fetus never develops a skull. The baby was 3 months early and was breach. I knew immediately I wanted to see this so we stayed a little late that day to make sure we saw it. When it was born it looked like a frog or something and was so extremely tiny with basically no head. It had eyes and a mouth but no top…just brain. It was absolutely shocking to see and I lost my breath for a couple of minutes. This child did not make it either. So our goal for today which is our last day at the hospital is to see a good healthy baby born.

This weekend we just spend getting organized and cleaning out our room and all our stuff. I can not believe that we are leaving for home next week on Thursday. This trip has been such a learning experience that I’m sure will take me weeks to actually realize what it means and how it will change my life. The people here and the experiences we have had I would never trade for anything in this world. They will all be in my heart forever.

Well this will be the last update until I get home and I can tell you all how our safari goes and how the last few days in Nairobi are. Thank you for all your love and support, I could not have done this without you.

I love you.

Ashley

Hello everyone!! Today marks 2 more weeks until I get to see you all!! You better get ready for me! Haha I can not believe that this time has gone so fast but I will be sad to leave but ready to see you all! First of all, I am listening to Michael Jackson music here in the internet café that the radio station is playing in honor of him. I am in shock that he passed away and it’s such a shame. It’s just crazy.

This week has also been crazy. Tuesday we were able to observe the entire day in the main theatre with the general surgeon. In the morning we got to watch him repair all the tendons located in the wrist which was insane to watch. The patient was awake and just had the pain blocked from his armpit so he was like talking and moving until they had to put him to sleep because he was making it impossible to work. We also got to see a colonostomy bag be removed and the colon re-attached. We got to see in the afternoon someone who had broken his left ulna and radius get plated and repaired. It was extremely interesting to see other things being operated on other than what we are used to (the uterus). So we were done for the day and we went back to our host family’s office to get our ride home and Dolly, the girl that is my age, decided for us to ride with one of her friends home. He had this tiny VW bug that looked like it was the first one made but I was ok with it. There wasn’t really a back seat because the front seats collided with the seat in the back so I had to basically straddle Cate in the backseat to fit. We were just about a block away from the office and all of a sudden my ass started burning and I felt like a shock and spark in my pants. I bent up and was screaming ‘I’m burning! I’m burning!’ and I literally looked like a gun went off in my pants. There was smoke filling the car and I started to not be able to breathe. The driver was like oh everything is ok it was probably just a short in the wires, and I said it is not ok because I think I have a hole burnt through my pants! So we pulled over and I jumped over Cate to get out of the car and I didn’t have a hole (thank the lord) but it was like singed and smelled like I had been burnt. So Dolly got in the backseat and I rode in the front for the rest of the way. Cate could not control her laughter and was crying the entire way home because it was pretty hilarious. So when we got home we got ready to take our shower and I noticed that my underwear even had a burn mark on them!! I’m just so thankful that my cute little ass is ok! =)

So then Wednesday morning we attended the CME class at the hospital and we learned about the symptoms, diagnoses and treatment for shock which was pretty interesting and then we just went back to the maternity ward. What happened today I will never forget for the rest of my life. When we came in there was a woman who was in labor in the back and she was screaming pretty loud and seemed to be uncooperative so we went back to see what was going on. I knew immediately that the woman who was pushing was not at full term and was at least a few months early. The nurse then told us that this woman just came in about an hour ago in labor. She induced her own labor a week prior by going to a witch doctor that put herbs in her vagina to induce an abortion. She wanted to kill her baby. She was two months early. So she came into the hospital when she started getting the labor pains and then when she needed to push to get the baby out she refused because she knew the longer that baby stayed in that canal with no oxygen that it would eventually die if it was still alive. She literally would not push for anything or anyone. The nurses and students had to threaten her, they were hitting her. One student who had to come in to take over because he would be better than a small woman, smacked her across the face with his bloody glove. She still wouldn’t cooperate. So they had to then give her an episiotomy (cut her open) and had to basically pull the baby out of her. The baby was alive. I had tears in my eyes the entire time and I was praying that this child would be ok because I didn’t know if I could handle seeing that. So the baby boy was placed on her stomach and she wouldn’t even look at the child and she touched it like it was a disease. It was disgusting to see. So the baby was brought over to the table and was given the injections and everything and it was completely healthy! So the woman needed to be sutured to fix her tear and she refused to be stitched. Her reason was that she didn’t want to feel the pain when she would have local anesthesia and she wouldn’t even feel it! She was bleeding like crazy and she still refused to be repaired! She then got up and got dressed and came over to see the baby and she said to the midwife that she cheated her out of having an abortion and then no more than 10 seconds later said that she wants her baby and she loves him. WHAT!?!?!? I don’t think so. She went to go sit and rest and came back a few minutes later after Cate and I had been sitting there thinking that this woman can not take her baby home because she is just going to ditch the baby since she didn’t want it in the first place. So she came back and told us that she literally has nothing other than the clothes she had on, the blanket for the baby. No money. No family. Her mother ran away a few months ago and her father passed away. She lives in an IDP camp because of after the election violence she was dislocated. All the nurses that we spoke to confirmed our thinking that she is just going to dispose of the baby because she has no way possible to take care of herself none the less a new born baby. The nurses were asking her how she would possibly take care of this child and all she could do was to turn her head and not answer. She didn’t even have the 50 shillings needed to open up a file and she definitely did not have the money to pay for her hospital charges. So I was completely sick to my stomach over this entire situation and could not believe this is happening. We went to lunch and came back and nothing really had changed other than she was being forced to breastfeed the baby. So we came back the next day and the nurse that helped us the day before said that her priest is going to come that day and talk to her and explain to her that he would take her in and help take care of the child and that the hospital might waive her charges. I was a little skeptical and worried that this priest was actually who he said he was and that he would make sure that she did not do anything to harm this baby. We left yesterday before the priest came so we are hoping that she is still there today and we will get a chance to talk to the priest ourselves and make sure that she is monitored at all times. I almost though told her that I would take her baby and bring it home and take care of it and pay her hospital bill if she would just leave the child, but I didn’t think my mom would be happy with that. I am praying, and I ask that you all do the same with me, that this woman is able to keep her baby boy because it is never good to take a child from his mother, and that she keeps him safe and she is helped in everyway possible to be the mother she needs to be for this child. So this was quite an intense few days.

On a happier note, we went shopping yesterday in the market and got fabrics and scarves and baskets (which are the cutest things ever!!). So that was so much fun and we are going back today and Monday to get more things because we just can’t resist!! We also bought some fabric that we are getting a dress tailor made for us which we are so excited about!! They will be done Tuesday morning and we can’t wait to see them!!

Monday, Wednesday and Friday night there is this show on called ‘Storm Over Paradise’ and it is the best show in Kenya other than ‘Centre 4’ which is all about the hospitals. It is like the Grey’s Anatomy in Africa. But Storm Over Paradise is like this crazy soap opera that is so addicting and I might have to keep watching it even when I get back home. It is a Spanish show but is translated in English in Kenya, which is hard to understand why they did that. But it is so incredible and I can’t wait for tonight to see if Imar and Nicholas get back together!! Haha You all know me and my TV watching addiction!

We also came to work this morning in an ambulance. It was because Dolly had to get to town quick this morning because her aunt was waiting for her at the office and we couldn’t see a matatu coming for awhile so she waived down an ambulance that she saw one of her old classmates driving and they brought us to the office. It was so crazy coming to work at the hospital in an ambulance and we were hoping that no one was in need of one while we were inside.

Well I think that is all for now and I miss you all like crazy and I can not wait to see you!! We will be leaving for our safari a week from today and we are so crazy excited for that!! I will only be updating my blog once or twice more because we leave Kisii next week on Thursday and then will most likely not be able to get to the internet while in Nairobi because we have so much to do. I can’t wait to see you all and I am thinking of each and every one of you.

Nakupenda sana,

Ashley

Jambo sana!

How is everyone doing?? It is just hitting me that I have only a little over a week left here in Kisii and I have so many things to do and so many people to say goodbye to and thank them for their hospitality. The hardest part of this entire trip is going to be saying goodbye to the family that we are living with. The 6 year old, Allan, calls me his girlfriend and wants me to wait for 15 years to come back and marry him which is adorable. He follows me around the house and anytime I’m not around he is asking where I am. I tear up everytime I think about saying goodbye because these people are truely family and to leave is going to be extremely hard. They have all promised us that they will not forget us and they have asked for us to send back pictures of ourselves with our families and they are going to put them up in the sitting room for everyone to look at. Our host father, Reuben, leaves tomorrow morning for Arusha, Tanzania for a meeting and we will not see him before we leave so we have just one more day left with him which is sad. He is an incredible human being and I feel so fortunate to know such a man. We have met so many wonderful people here in the town of Kisii and at the hospital that we will have life long relationships with. All the students and nurses at the hospital have already expressed to us how much they are going to miss us and today we brought our contact information for everyone to have as we will be collecting theirs as well. Also the people that own this cyber cafe that we go to everytime mean a lot to us and it will be sad to say goodbye. There is also a man that works near the office of our host family and I think he might have the hardest time with me leaving. He expressed to me yesterday that he loves me and wants to marry me. Our driver, Mauti, was the one that said this boy over here asks about you all the time and he has told me that he loves you and wants to marry you. Mauti said, ‘you are now a true Kisii woman’, which I would be proud to be! =) I will be sure to not break his heart too hard…

The other big news is that I delivered my first baby last Friday!! It was such a crazy experience and such a beautiful moment. It was the woman’s second child, which helps with the vaginal birth process, and it was quite an easy delivery. It was a baby girl that weighed 3.95 kg which is about 8.7 lbs so she was a pretty big girl. The experience of encouraging the mama to push and saying ‘Sukuma mami Sukuma’. Which means ‘Push, mami push!’ in Kiswahili. It was so amazing to help the mama give birth and help her bring her child into this world. It was quite the experience that I will never forget.

The weekend was nice and relaxing and we just spend time at the house with the boys since we don’t have that much time left with them. We watched the movie The Net with the boys which was nice because we have yet to watch a movie and I was having withdrawal symptoms because that is one thing that I love to do.

Yesterday we went to visit a tea factory near Kisii but when we got there they told us that we would not be able to have a tour because Mondays are their maintanence days and to come back another day so we are hoping that we will get a chance to do that before we leave. Tea is a huge cash crop here in West Kenya and it would be a shame to leave here not seeing how it is all done. Tea is extremely popular here in Kenya and there is not a day that you go without it. I am now taking my tea with milk, which is so delicious.

Well that is all for now and I will get a chance at the end of this week to update you all again. I hope you all are doing well and I miss you all soooo much!! I am going to need a girls night immediately so get ready girls!! =)

I love you.

Ashley

Hello everyone!!

How are all of you?!?!? I miss you all so much! How crazy is it that I only have 2 weeks and 6 days until I come home!!! This trip has been long and short all at the same time. This week has been full of frightening things to witness, but at the same time it has been fascinating to see some of these things. Everyday working at the hospital is seriously like a horror movie that just keeps getting better and better as the days go on.

Monday came and we went to work a little late because we had to walk to the bank to pay for our amazing safari that we are going on in 2 weeks!!!! So we went in at about 11:00AM and we got there and there was a woman laying on the bed in the labor ward in the position to push and there was a leg hanging out. The baby was breach and they had to call the doctor to come and do the delivery because none of the nursing staff had the experience or knowledge on what to do. So in awe we watched as the doctor pulled out her manual and read how to deliver a breach baby and did it step by step. It was hard and amazing to watch because once the legs and arms were delivered the head was obviously the hardest part…the baby had to be resusitated. The shock was that no one was acting quickly or really seemed to know what they were doing when they were trying to get this baby oxygen. So after this happened we saw another sight that belonged in a horror movie. A woman came in after giving birth at home and needed some assistance. One of the nurses pulled us over and told the woman to pull up her skirt so we could see what happened. She had pushed too hard too early and her cervix literally fell out. Yes I know. It was extremely disturbing. So after all this, Cate delivered a baby that went really well and the mom seemed to beok and just got up and walked away until about 10 minutes later she came back almost bleeding to death. So she layed on the bed and waited for the doctor to come and examine her. The problem with this hospital is that there are not many doctors available and if they are there, they are most likely in surgery. So she literally had to wait there for like 15-20 minutes before anyone came to help her. No one was getting blood. No one was getting saline. Nothing. I was worried about this woman because she seemed to even be going in and out of consciousness but it didn’t seem to worry anyone else. So the doctor finally came and they realized that she had ruptured her uterus while giving birth because of a previous scar from a c-section. They then rushed and got the blood, rushed and got the saline which could have all been there about half an hour before hand!!!! It was crazy. They had to prop up the bed on top of a stool to prevent her from bleeding out and she had fainted at this point. They went to rush to prep the operating room for her to go into surgery to repair her uterus. It was such a scary, emotional roller coaster that could have been prevented if she had agreed to go for c-section in the first place. So we finally left the hospital and went home and had dinner with the family and spent time with the boys and we saw Reuben, our host father, ontv !! Reuben is a current member of the East African Parliament and he was having a meeting with the president of Kenya and he was literally sitting next to him ontv. It was crazy to see! The boys were like ‘Look! Babu is on tv!!!!’ It was adorable. Monday finally ended.

Tuesday was not as crazy but I did help prep a woman for c-section and I got to insert the catheter for surgery. It was pretty cool, but the size of the catheters they use are massive and the woman looked like she was in such pain! I also took care of many more newborns by injecting them and so on which I love doing. I also am addicted to holding the babies while we wait for their mothers to be ready to start breastfeeding or getting out of surgery.

Ok so Wednesday was the craziest day by far! So Cate and I went to the hospital kind of wanting a little break from maternity since it gets kind of crazy in there at times so we decided to go observe in the main theatre for the day and see what they were doing. We went and got changed and realized that it was the medical superintendent operating that day so we were excited to see him work. He is an ENT so he was performing a tonsilectomy first. We were watching him as he was brutally taking out a 5 year olds tonsils and Cate was standing right next to him observing. She moved away and went to go lean on the sink because she was starting to feel a little light headed…I was now right over the surgeons shoulder and was learning the anatomy of the mouth until I looked up and I didn’t see Cate anymore and I had heard a little noise. I didn’t really think anything of it other than she probably went to go sit down for a bit because standing for so long gets you tired. I wasn’t worried until I saw a nurse outside the operating room looking down at the ground and I immediately knew something happened so I walked out of the room and saw the nurses helping Cate up from the ground. She had fainted while walking out of the room to go sit down. When I saw her she had blood all down the front of her and I didn’t know where the blood was coming from, because I just thought she may have fallen in some on the ground. But as she took off her face mask which was bloody, I saw that she had busted her chin open! She looked as white as can be and so I gave money for someone to run to the cafeteria and get a bottled water. We had her sit down and I got a chance to really look at her chin, and it was small but really deep. She started to freak out because this is the last place you would want to be to have something like this happen to because the place isn’t that sanitary or sterile at a hospital in Africa but they took good care of her. One of the doctors had her lay down on a stretcher in the middle of the entrance to the operating room and she put about 10 stitches in her chin, the majority deep inside. She got bandaged up, which is huge, and we then had to go get her a tetanus shot and some antibiotics. It was absolutely crazy and scary but I am so glad that she is ok. Today I am changing the bandage for her and we are thinking about where we are going to get sterile equipment in the hospital because it is hard to find. The good thing though is that she got everything for free since we are working in the hospital. So we went for lunch and came back and went to maternity. We walked back and immediately one of the nurses wanted to show us this picture on her phone of something. She showed us and it was a picture of a set of still born twins. One having had hydrocephalis, which is where the head swells and is about twice the size of a normal head. The other twin looking pretty normal. I asked when did this happen??? and she said just about 40 minutes ago….WHAT?!?! I was so pissed that we missed it because if it was going to happen I wanted to at least be witness to it. So she then told us the whole story and a woman was referred from a rural dispensary out in the village and she came in with one leg hanging out already delivered. The dispensary told her that it was twins and that they could not hear the fetal heart rates so she came in somewhat prepared for the worst. They delivered the first twin which was breach and it came out with its head crushed…the next twin was cephalic, so head first but they noticed that it was huge so it had to have hydrocephalis. They were both still born. They think that the twin with the big head crushed the head of the other twin because the space is limited in the womb and it must have been wedged in between the head and the pelvic bone. The nurse said that the twins are just wrapped in a blanket in the back and asked us if we wanted to see them and of course we said yes…even though we were a little nervous. So we went back there and the one twin literally looked like an alien and the other you could tell had a big injury to the head. It was really shocking to see and I still can’t believe that I missed it!!!

Yesterday was nice and relaxing, which was a nice change. We went to go visit the nursery for a while which is their NICU and spent some time in the morning there. It was crazy to see the tiny tiny babies. One was abandoned at the hospital after birth and they realized later after a serology test that it was HIV positive. We were told that it is pretty common for women to come in and give birth and then just walk out and leave the baby there which is terrible. That baby has been there since April and is still receiving treatment. The nursery is crazy the way it is set up. They do not have working incubators so they just foot heaters instead. They have like 5 in the room so it feels like a sauna in there. They also have for their humidifier a pan of water on coals. The babies are then packed together in the broken incubators and one was even on a tray on the floor, this one weighed about 0.9kgs which is about 2 lbs. We then got a little bored and hot and went back to maternity for the day. I was asked to go to theatre at the end of the day and wait to receive the baby from c-section to bring back to the maternity ward. So I went and waited for the baby to be delivered and was walking back to the ward with the baby and was greeted by the grandmother half way there because she was coming to check up on her daughter. It was really exciting to show her her new grandson and she was almost in tears. She had her hand on my back and escorted me back to the ward to give the baby his injection. It was a big healthy baby boy.

So anyway we are on our way to the hospital for today and we are hoping for another exciting day without injuries!

I miss you all sooo much and I can’t wait to see you all!! Please email me any updates or just random entertaining stuff. I will see you all soon!!!

With all my love,

Ashley

Hello everyone!!!

Can you believe that I only have 3 weeks and 4 days until I can see all your beautiful faces!!! I am so excited to come home but I am having such a wonderful experience that kind of sadly just started to actually begin to enjoy without any kind of extra stress to think about.

There was a problem that we had with the organization that we went through and our host family and money problems, but the problem is solved and we never have to think about it again. It was hendering us from actually being completely useful at the hospital and not fully enjoying this experience, and now it is on! The sad thing is that we only have 13 more days at the hospital and we have a lot to do since we just became able to completely pour our entire mind into it.

This week at the hospital we were fully working in the maternity ward which I am becoming really used to the conditions and everything surprisingly. We are actually getting into a groove and now know how to make ourselves useful here. I am obsessed with holding the babies and taking care of them after they are born. The babies are brought to this small little table that is wobbly, and wrapped in a blanket that the mom has to bring. The baby is then given a Vitamin K injection to help prevent clotting and also tetracycline is applied to the eyes to prevent a bacterial infection. This is my job. I am hoping to conduct a delivery this week, but I like being on the happy end of things working with the babies rather then working with the messy screaming part. This week was pretty slow though compared to others. One interesting fact about the town and hospital I am working in though is that is has one of the highest birth rates in the WORLD!!! Literally when I say babies are popping out right and left…that is just what I mean. Since the majority of the week was slower we were able to really sit down and talk with some of the students that we are working with. They have taught us soo much about the culture here. Stories about walking with the witches, we learned about the evil eye, etc. These are long stories that I can tell later. Friday came along and we were hoping for some excitement at the hospital since it was a little down the past few days and boy we were not expecting to see what happened next.

We walked back to the labor ward and everything looked like it usually does, 3 beds filled with women prepped for a c-section. They all had their fluid drip, catheters inserted and saline ready to go. There was one woman though who was in the process of being prepped because of extreme fetal distress. The doctor that we always see in theatre (operating room) all the time, Dr. Jared, was even there checking the fetal heart rate because it was so low. So he immediately left to go get ready for surgery and they were to prep her immediately for an emergency c-section. As the student was inserting the catheter tube though she began to push and the membranes started to come out…which means the head is inside the birth canal and she is ready to push and not able to go to theatre anymore… At this point we saw someone come around the corner who seemed to be her friend who brought her to the hospital and she explained to us that she doesn’t even know her and she is just helping her because she is a visitor in this town. She is from Tanzania and her husband is a pastor and they were here on a trip. We all became extremely worried for the health of this woman and of her unborn child because everyone was running around and trying their hardest to get this baby out as soon as possible. The main problem was though that the mother was in such shock that she wasn’t able to push and was just too tired. Dr Jared had to come back and basically pull this baby out of her which was extremely hard to watch and she screamed like I have never heard anyone scream before. The baby was ok and I took care of it like it was my own until she got back from theatre because she had a cervical tear that she needed fixed. (Sorry if this is graphic but it’s real!!) Everyone was praying the entire time this woman was going through all of this and it was such an emotional roller coaster than none of us were prepared for. After the baby was born, there was so many people that know the pastor that wanted to come and visit his new son. We are hoping to go back tomorrow and go visit the mother and baby and make sure she is ok. That was for sure the most emotional moment of the experience at the hospital so far. This week we will still be in maternity since this is where we feel the most comfortable and we are now getting to know how to become useful.

This week I also donated my extra mosquito net to the maternity ward to put over the table where the babies are received because there are flies everywhere that land on the new born babies that can not happen so they should be putting that up soon. They were so thankful and we also gave them our gloves that we brought because they have a huge problem with not having enough sterile gloves available at all times.

The little boy in our house, Allan, told his grandpa that there is someone in the house that loves him…that person was me. He is the most adorable thing in this world and I can’t wait to show you all a picture of him. His grandpa told him though that he might have to wait quite a few years for me since he’s only 6 haha. But he is happy to have an american girlfriend. We even named a baby after him at the hospital.

That is another thing. Whenever we ask the mothers what the baby’s name is they always say, “you tell me.” We seem to be good luck to these babies. So we told her that her baby boy should be named Allan and she loved it!! haha

Well I think this is all I have time for now because we are going shopping in town for some skirts and some fabrics!!!

I love and miss you all like crazy and the rest of the time is going to fly by!!

We are so excited to be going on our safari to Masai Mara in about 2 1/2 weeks and we bought a bottle of wine to celebrate the 4th of July there!!!!

I will talk to you all soon!! Miss you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =)

Ashley

Hello everyone!!!!

I know I haven’t updated this in a while but last week was a week full of work and drama so I didn’t really have time. But THINGS ARE WELL!!  Last week was a lot easier to handle in the hospital because I think I am finally used to the smell, the people, the procedures, the craziness. We spent most of the time working in the maternity ward, which is the craziest place I have ever been. There are literally babies popping out left and right. Everyday in this hospital and in this place there is something that shocks me everytime. Last Monday was one of the most shocking days I think I have had ever. I witnessed a woman in the middle of labor and getting ready to push be forced to chug an entire glass bottle of Fanta Orange Soda. She needed fluids and this is what they resorted to because she didn’t bring her own saline. YES YOU HEARD ME RIGHT Everyone here has to go and buy their own saline bottles before they come to the hospital. And it doesn’t matter what the reason, giving birth or having an operation. There was a woman the week before that had to have her c-section delayed because her husband had to run out and get some saline….CRAZY!!! Then the same day, Cate and I were sitting and talking to some of the students learning about this incredible culture here and we heard this scream that was bellowing down the ward. We didn’t see what it could be until a woman came out of the bathroom (which is a disgusting mud filled space with just a hole in the ground) and had this shocked look on her face because SHE HAD JUST GIVIN BIRTH IN THE TOILET!!! Yea, she didn’t follow instructions because the women are told to not go to the bathroom even they feel the urge to go and if they have to go they will just insert a catheter to drain the bladder, and she went anyway and this is what happened. The baby was fine but I couldn’t help but call it the toilet baby the whole day. The entire hospital is basically covered with mud on the ground because it rains here in Kisii on a daily basis and there is seriously mud EVERYWHERE. I am getting used to it but I have to roll my pants up all the time. Then on the same day a woman gave birth in the examination room because the student who was doing the vaginal examination ruptured the membrance and then baby basically just slipped out because it was at least 6-7 weeks premature. The baby was then rushed to the nursery (NICU)where we will be working at for a few days next week. So that day was insane.

The next couple of days were pretty slow and we spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday dealing with another problem, but then Thursday we scrubbed in with the OB/GYN in the main theatre day and we watched him do a hysterectomy. He then preceeded to take the uterus and get down on his hands and knees on the ground with a scalpel in his hands and started to tear apart and dissect the uterus. I have never seen anything like it before. This surgeon is the coolest guy I have ever met and he is one of two OB/GYNs in the entire district…He was cracking jokes during surgery and rounds with him are hysterical.

The rest of the week went really well and we just got to know the students that are here and the interns and talked to them about the government, marriage (which it is EXTREMELY common here for men to have more than 1 wife), school, culture, etc. Talking to these young students have been so amazing getting to know what life here in Kenya and in Africa is really about.

Last weekend we didn’t do anything but play volleyball with the boys that we live with and this weekend was soooo much fun!! We went to the Kisii Soapstone Village called Tabaka. This stone is extremely rare and we went on a shopping spree..we are not sure how we are going to bring it all home because it is extremely fragile and heavy so it will be a challenge but totally worth it because the beauty of these pieces is incredible!!

This week at the hospital we will be spending the whole time in the maternity ward and our goal is to conduct a delivery on our own by the end of the week!! Then the last 2 weeks and 3 days will be spent going to each department and watching the general surgeon in theatre for at least one or two days a week and then making our way around the hospital to get a little piece of everything. The time is going fast and we can’t believe we only have a little over 4 weeks until we will be home!!!

I also wanted to ask if any of you have something special that you have always wanted from Africa for me to bring home for you. Just email me and let me know! ash1ey1207@yahoo.com

I miss you all sooooo much!!! Nakupenda sana!! =)

Kwaheri,

Ashley

Hello Everyone!!!

I just want to say that I miss every single one of you and I can’t wait to see you all soon!! Only a little over a month to go! I have been having a wonderful time both at the hospital and at our host family (who are incredible). We have been witness to shocking things at the hospital where we are working and our brains are still trying to process everything.

I first wanted to explain the title of the previous post because right after I left I realized that I never even explained it! haha I was referencing a comment I had made last Saturday at the host family’s home. Most of the people that live here in Kenya actually are Seventh Day Adventists and their day of rest is on Saturdays from 6:00pm on Friday the night before until 6:00pm on Saturday and you are supposed to use that time to pray and reflect on the previous week and thank God for everything that has been given to you. The children are not really supposed to play with things and be crazy and wild and they are supposed to be quiet and think of God the whole day…which can lead to a long day. So Cate and I, not knowing prior that they weren’t supposed to play with anything, brought out the volleyball for us and the kids to play with and Oliver, one of the older sons said that they weren’t allowed to play with it. And I said “Well God made volleyball!” Trying to make a statement that God made everything on this earth including volleyball so we can think of God while playing. haha But he didn’t really go for that too much, but this last weekend they became a little more loose and we broke out the ball which they absolutely love!!!! I can’t wait for you all to see pictures of these children…they are the most precious things on this planet.

The explanation for this post’s title is one of the treats that are extremely common here and is sold EVERYWHERE is sugarcane. Our host family grows it along with pretty much everything else, and I look forward to it and ask for it every chance I get. It looks just like bamboo and you peel back the hard shell/coating and suck on the juice in the middle…it is wonderful! haha

Well I just wanted to mainly say Hi and I really don’t have anything new to say. We are hoping to visit Tabaka next weekend which is where all the soapstone is carved and made, Kisii is famous for their soapstone carvings so I can’t wait to bring some home. Then the next weekend we are hoping to go to one of the Tea factories here. Tea is everywhere is Kenya, and it is mostly grown where we are.

The time here is going by quickly, which is good and bad because I can’t wait to get home and see all of you but it is also going to be really hard to leave this incredible family who has taken us in as one of their own. They have already invited us to come back and visit and stay with them in the future!

I love and miss you all deeply!!

Ashley

Jambo sana!

It has been a few days since we have been able to get access to the internet because we have been getting adjusted to life here in Kisii Town, which is our home town for the next 5 weeks. We arrived here last Wednesday night (a week ago) and have loved every second so far. The drive here from Nairobi was the on a pot hole filled, half constructed road we were literally bouncing all around the car the entire time while weaving in and out of other drivers and people and cows crossing the road. I am glad that we will not be on that road for sometime now when we return to Nairobi for the last week of our stay in 5 weeks. The first night in Kisii we stayed at the ‘home’ of our host family in Nairobi. It was the home that the father was born in years ago. This home had no electricity and had pit latreens to go to the bathroom in, which are these scary out-house type buildings with just a hole in the ground. We arrived to the house just as the sun was setting so we had seconds to gather our things and make it into the house before it became pitch black, they then had to rush around and try to light all the lanterns in the house so we could even walk to our ‘bedroom’. This was a night that I will never want to revisit and I just look at it as a learning experience as what rural life is here in Kenya and most of Africa. There are millions of people just in Kenya that live this way with chickens and dogs running in and our of their house with no shoes on their children. I am more and more thankful and a secondly basis of what I have and how life is in the United States.

On Thursday morning, after surviving the night, we went to visit a rural dispensary which is a very very small clinic for those living in the rural communities and no way to get to a larger city to get treatment. It was incredible to see the conditions of this place and to know that on average they see about 50-60 patients on a daily basis with only 2 working nurses. There is no doctor. They also do not have any electricity. We got a tour of the place by one of the nurses and she was telling us about their struggles and how they deal with more serious cases and deliveries which shocked us. She told us that if they had a woman come in who was in labor and was at risk of any kind, she would have to be sent to a regional hospital for treatment and observation. The woman would then have to either walk…while in labor…or ride a matatu…which are the scariest things ever…to get to the hospital. This is normal for this part of the world, and I could not even fathom what it would be like to be in labor and having to walk miles and miles to get to the nearest hospital. After the tour of the dispensary we started to walk back to the car to travel to Kisii Town to have lunch with our new host family and along the fence there were tons of school children lined up ready to meet us and just shake our hands and greet us. So we walked up closer to the fence only to see a sea of children that was filled with about 600 primary and secondary kids wanting to see Cate and I. It was the most surreal experience of my life watching hundreds of kids running towards me just wanting to touch me. These kids have never seen a white person before and have only heard of us in books. They were screaming and laughing the entire time because we were trying to communicate with them the best we could using the Swahili we knew. The main phrase they knew was ‘How are you?’ and ‘Thank you’ so that is all they kept saying to us and laughing at our response. We got to meet with the principal of the school and went into every single classroom to personally meet the children. We then walked over to the secondary school, which is like high school, and they were all in this massive hall receiving a prayer. We walked into this hall and they stopped what they were doing to let us speak which we were not prepared for at all. I turned around and saw hundeds of students just starring at me and waiting for me to say something. I just told them how important education is and how that is the seed of life and to keep striving for more and how they can do anything, they then all laughed after I was done because they were all so bashful. We finally made our way to the car and as we drove away hundreds of kids were running after the car…it was like a scene from a movie.

So we finally made it to the host family in Kisii Town. It took only a few hours until we completely felt at home. I have fallen in complete love with this family. A week ago, I couldn’t wait to come home, and now I can’t imagine leaving in only a few weeks. Our host mother is Rosebellah, who is the most amazing, compassionate woman I have ever met in my life. This family has dealt with tragedy in only the past few weeks and we were quite nervous coming into it and we had no idea what it was going to be like, but I feel now like it was a blessing in disguise with our timing being here because everyone seems to be cheering up. Our host father is Reuben, and he is a member of the East African Parliament. He comes back to Kisii tonight, so we will get to meet him after work today. Then there is Oliver, who just came back home after spending 15 years in the United States studying. He came home to take care of his mother, Rosebellah. There is Dolly who is 22, Brian who is 17, Edwin who is 11 and Allan who is 6. The kids are amazing and I can’t wait to come home from work everyday to greet them with a hug.We have become members of their family for life. We feel completely at home here with this family and I can’t imagine being any where else in the world right now. It was for sure our purpose to be here right now and spend time with these kids who have gone through more than you even know. That can be discussed at a different time because I’m am still trying to comprehend what they went through.

We started working at the hospital on Monday, two days ago, and I have seen things that shake me to my core. We will be working 3 weeks in Maternity and then 3 weeks in pediatrics. Sometimes I wonder if this can be considered as a hospital because it is pretty much an outdoor facility and has extremely minimal privacy for the patients if any at all. There are sometimes 2-3 patients sharing a bed. Unsanitary use of materials everywhere. Doctors and nurses not wearing gloves, uncleaned dressings on open wounds, flies everywhere, babies crying, patients lying in the mud hoping someone will come and help them, security guards at every entrance into a building to control the chaos. It is truly a sight that I don’t think can be described but only experienced. I will try my best to convey the shock that I have felt. We have seen 3 births while being here, and on average there is at like 10 a day. These women get minimal help and basically no privacy during any time of their stay. These are the most raw births I have ever seen, and I can not even imagine giving birth in the environment that these women do. Cate and I are just watching right now but the staff has made it very clear that we will be delivering a baby within the next few days, maybe even today. We are going into surgery today to see c-sections, which they perform at minimum four each day and night. We are actually on our way to work right now, so hopefully I will get a chance maybe tomorrow to expand more on what we are doing at the hospital. I am getting the experience of a lifetime and I miss you all ever so dearly!!! Please email me any questions about life here in Kisii or working at the hospital, ash1ey1207@yahoo.com.  I know these postings can sometimes be a bit random, but I just type as things come to me…which there are many.

I love you all,

Ashley

Jambo!

I can not even begin to explain the experience that I have had so far and it has only been a few days. If I left for home today I would be a changed person and we still have about 7 more weeks to go. I have seen the worst and the best of Nairobi so far and everything has blown my mind. I have pet a cheetah, had wild monkeys jumping on my head and have feared for my life many times while riding the matatus. Matatus are these mini buses that serve as the public transport here in Nairobi and they travel at extreme speeds and we have almost ran over at least 50 people…but for some reason I feel safe in them. They also pack them full of people so I am basically crawling into them as quickly as possible otherwise they will speed off with your foot still out the door.

I leave for Kisii Town tomorrow morning where we will be staying for most of our time here in Kenya. I am staying with a member of the parliament so I am very anxious to see how a government official lives here in Kenya.

I have picked up a good amount of Swahilli while staying here only for a few days even. I would not be able to hold a complete conversation but the simple phrases I have down.

We got to visit the location of the old US Embassy before it was bombed years ago. It was quite an experience because the next day we went to the new one to register with them and give them our contact information here. It was a very real feeling and the people here respect that place of the tragedy very much so.

I can even begin to describe the people here in Kenya. They are incredible and amazing…

When we come back to Nairobi for the last week of our visit, we are going to be visiting the largest slum in Africa called Kibera. We met someone who lives there and wants to take us there so we can see the worst of the worst. I am trying to prepare myself now for what I will see because it is going to be hard.

Today while walking in town we saw the preparation for the Kenyan holiday on June 1st, which is equivalent to their Independance Day. I have never seen anything like it where there were hundreds and hundreds of military men (Navy, Air Force, Army, etc) marching. It was like a scene of a movie where they all are marching in such a way that they look robotic. I have to admit I was a little nervous for a second because they all had guns…

A few days ago at the home where we are staying right now one of the daughters had a gathering of her Drama Club and there were about 25 people that came over for the entire day and we cooked and talked about life here in Kenya and in the United States. They asked us so many questions about how we live and what our culture is like and it was shocking how they thought Americans thought about them. They still have the perception that white and black people live separately in America, but having them talk to us I believe made them feel better and the smile on their faces was priceless.

We also got a phone yesterday!! The number is +254 0726 167 835. I am not sure how much it is for you to text or call this number, but for me it is 10 shillings a text message and 50 shillings a minute to call (which is around 10 cents a text and 50 cents a minute). I am getting used to the currency and appropriate prices for things and what to pay and what not to pay. The conversion rate is about 77 shillings to every US dollar.

If any of you have any questions email me at ash1ey1207@yahoo.com and in my next update I will try to answer them!

There is so much more to say and so many stories to tell, but I think this is a good summary of what I have experienced so far.

I miss and love you all and I can’t wait to share this all with you when I see you!!

Ashley