Kim Blazer

Update #3

Dearest family and friends.
I hope you all are doing well.
Africa is amazing!  Everday is an adventure.
We have been keeping busy visiting hospitals and clinics.  Hospitals are very different here than in the US you might guess.  Wards are one big room with 20-30 people.  Procedures tend to be done with minimal anesthesia, and food/medicine is not provided by the hospital.  Families of the patient’s need to buy it outside the hospital and bring it in.  Most patients here suffer from HIV.  About 22% of the population has it.  Other common diseases are tuberculosis, leprosy, malaria, and malnutrition.  It’s very frustrating practicing medicine in such a poor country.  There are so many treatments available to these people that they and the country just can’t afford.
We’ve been really lucky with the weather.  It hasn’t rained the past 4 days.  This is almost unheard of during the rainy season.  I have a sunburn.  My first during the month of February I think.  We are only one latitude line away from the equator here so the sun is really intense.  A little too intense for my redheaded skin. 
Well, that’s all for now.
Miss you all.
Kim