Sarah Cooper’s Blog

Crocodiles

Hello everyone!  Thank you for your kind words and emails.  They pick up my spirits.  The satelite went down on the compound and it is very difficult to find time to walk the mile plus to the dial-up internet cafe.  We have been very busy at work, but it is rewarding.  I apologize that my posts will be much less frequent.

Kristin and I took our first call on Thursday.  This was the first time that we had ever been on call by ourselves (even in the States).  It was a very challenging day both intellectually and emotionally.  It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone with the care I provided to the patients.  We are also working on our own in clinic now.  I know that this will be very good training for residency next summer. 

I spent a lot of the day and night taking care of a little boy with meningitis.  I tried several progressive steps over the course of the day to improve his respiratory status.  I got to the end of my knowledge at about 10pm and I went to Dr. Hewitt’s house for direction.  He gave me advice, but by the time that I walked back, the little boy was dead.  I don’t think that I will ever forget the sight of that mother grieving her little boy that night.  Later that evening, we had another boy who had fallen off of a donkey cart a few days proir.  His abdomen was very distended and he needed surgery.  The surgery was uneventful, but Dr. Faile couldn’t find the reason for all of his pain and poor status.  He also died later that night. 

Ysterday was a fun day yesterday.  I sat on a crocodile and picked up its tail.  We went into Burkina Faso for just a little bit and we saw this really pretty cathedral with lots of cool African art. The walls were made of crushed herbs and they looked like concrete but weren’t.  We had local food which was good and went to a slave camp.  We also hit a basket shop really quick.  It is the basket headquarters in Ghana. 

The people here are so funny.  They are freezing because it is their winter, although it is still in the high 80’s to 90’s everyday.  They layer on the clothes and some have coats and put crochet hats on their babies!

Thanks again for all of your prayers and support.  They are definitely needed.  I am doing much better since the day we took call and I am healthy as well.