20100906 by Tom

To day I used my bicycle to go to the hospital. It is not far away but the wind was considerable. The route to the hospital is all downhill but the road surface is very bad so you have to be alert. I succeeded and put the bike against the outer wall of the hospital. There was only one bike parked there. As we shall see later it is obviously a very popular place. Dr Okoko was late so the morning conference was steered by dr Chipala. The report by the nurses in charge was not discernable as usual. I was very specific about the isolation ward and what had happened there during the weekend. I was told that it was the attending nurse that should tell the patient how to behave there. The round this Monday was tough as there was a lot of new patients some only kept for the night for observation some referred to the ward. I send a couple of hem home without antibiotics because they did not need any. Their parents were not too happy. I guess they go to somebody before they leave the hospital to get some. Antibiotics are good for you in Africa even if you do not need it!
The two boys in a femur-traction have lost their patience and want to go home without the traction. That of course is impossible if they are to have a usable leg. Their parents know this but the young boys do not love being in bed with a hurting traction apparatus for at least 4 to 6 weeks. A bedside x-ray on one of them showed a little callus but by far not enough to be sent home on crutches. Two new patients that had come on Saturday were still waiting for their x-ray, one arm (possibly a green-stick fracture of the radius) and a back that was aching after a fall from a tree. The burned patient was in pain and missed his mother that was out of the room. He was on clean sheets and had wet dressings on his wounds. I told the accompanying dresser how glad I was. Then we went to the isolation ward. Both the patient and the two parents were there. We learned that the patients three brothers all had had their shots at the under five but the parents did not know about themselves. The child was ok now, with no cough, rash, conjunctivitis or runny nose. They were sent home all of them.
I went to the lab to see Mike and the two Petri-dishes. He had had no time to go further yet but Maria were joining him in pursuit of the truth. As I was collecting my bike to go ome I found another about 50 bikes placed in the same place. It took me some time to get mine out as it was in the “inner layer”. As I got home for coffee the garden boys were very slowly freeing the tree opposite the veranda from dead branches. They had got a ladder and were climbing it very cautiously. The result, when it is ready, will be very nice.
The afternoon meeting in the ward was short and good. We could see from the x-rays that the little girl gad a greenstick fracture (and she was set home after a POP (plaster of Paris) meaning a not circular plaster from wrist to elbow-joint. The x-ray of the back of the boy was inconclusive and of very bad quality, so we wait and see. One of the femur tractions had o be redone as it was hurting. It was too short and agonised the skin.
I got the word from Mike that Maria was welcome to join the outing of the “Before five” team. We have decided to put some money in an infrastructure project.