Ruth Chen’s Blog

Funny PNG Patients! (26/02/2009 2200 GMT +10)

The past few days have been eventful. Hospital
wise. The adult ward has got interesting patients
at the moment, with 2 patients with ?malignancy.
One can’t be 100% sure because we don’t have the
investigations to prove it but we are almost
certain that the lady with haemorrhagic ascites
has got some sort of abdominopelvic malignancy,
and the man with lost of weight, clubbing,
inability to first swallow food followed by
liquid probably has oesophageal cancer. Cancers
aren’t common here, but in a span of a week, I
see 2 admissions of terminal stage Ca.

Its really sad that nothing much can be done for
them here. Perhaps they presented too late? But
even if they came in earlier, what more could we
have offered them? Probably advice for them to
seek further treatment at Port Moresby. Afterall,
we are treating patients in the bush. The Xray
machine should be arriving from New Zealand soon,
and that’s about the best offer we’ve had so far.
As I saw the ascitic tap draining bloody fluid,
and the patient vomiting the little water that he
had drunk, I felt a sense of helplessness for
these patients – chemotherapy, radiotherapy,
surgery.. so totally unheard of. Its really sad
that nothing more can be done for these patients.

Yesterday, during children’s ward round, I saw a
kid with dextrocardia (heart on the right side of
the body). With cyanotic heart disease, it is a
miracle that at the age of 3, this girl is still
alive (mind you, she hasn’t had any surgery yet).
She was admitted once again for pneumonia. Option
of surgery was discussed with parents, but as
what Valerie says.. it’s a tough decision for the
parents to make. Finances is one thing.. the risk
they have to take - that surgery may not make the
child any better, if not worse.

Talking about xrays earlier, thanks to the
graduation, there was a canoe going over to
Kikori to drop the guests back there. Making full
use of the opportunity, patients who needed xrays
got onto that canoe, went to Kikori, and got
their chest films done there. Just yesterday they
all arrived back to Kapuna, and I found it
amusing how everyone (including patients)
gathered around the veranda this morning looking
at the xrays with us. They must be so curious to
actually stand there for a good hour or so
looking at all these films! I actually took a
photo of it – will try to see if I can post photos up!

I’m really enjoying hospital work now. Finally
getting into the swing of things. Plus, funny
things happen all the time. Funny as in haha
funny! Things like teaching a patient how to use
a peak flow – Valerie shows the patient how to
use it. The patient attempts it, albeit wrongly.
Then the CHW does it, and the patient tries
again, unsuccessfully. Then another patient
explains it, and the patient tries again. By this
time, everyone is laughing away, both healthcare
workers and all the other patients!
With my morning sniffles, Valerie chides me for
being the worst patient ever, for not using my
nasal spray. I’m sent away to take my med, and my patients all laugh at me!
I was taken aback to hear a patient’s dad use the
F word today (I haven’t heard it since I came
here), and apparently in Pidgin, its primary
meaning is screwed up. Not so for the English
language, Valerie explains and everyone laughs!
These PNGs, they laugh at everything! Such a happy bunch of people hehe.

I’m enjoying teaching the kids music more and
more each day too. I guess its all part of
building relationships. 2 weeks here, and with my
routine set up, I’ve settled in. We don’t know
when we’re going over to Kikori as yet, but I
don’t think either of us minds staying at Kapuna
longer! Better still if we can go on patrol
(Patrol is when we go out to the village to treat
patients out there, each trip lasting about 4-5
days). I definitely look forward to more story
telling with Grandma and Valerie and the girls in
my reminding time here. I think the time has come
for me to realise and accept the fact that I will
definitely miss Kapuna when the day comes for me to finally leave.