Rounds at the hospital is my favorite part of the day. I love walking into the Station Infirmière and going through all the greetings in French and Hausa with the nurses. Everyone also greets (asks after) Josh, my Maiguida, because he's become quite the favorite around here!
The patients and families in the morning are all smiles, a trademark of the Hausa people. There is so much cheerfulness and laughter every day even though the patients are very sick and the hospital stay can be hard on the families financially. One of my patients is a mother who is very sick with HIV. Her daughter, Nana, is about 10 years old and she is the main caretaker of her mother. I've been bringing candies in my bag every day to give to Nana to thank her for taking such good care of her mom. Now Nana follows me around and holds my hand every morning as I see my patients.
I've had to exercise my French a lot while here. Though I'm pretty comfortable conversationally, learning the medical terms has been a bit of a challenge! Even so, having French as a second language is a huge asset here as the Nigeriens who have some education are fluent. It allows me to have much more meaningful relationships with them and I don't need a translator to work in the hospital!
The first week here was emotionally very difficult. I had some very sick patients who were dying from illnesses that don't even exist in Canada because of our vaccinations, resources and climate. I lost three patients in one week, one who passed away 15 minutes after we admitted him in the middle of the night and couldn't do anything for him fast enough. The patients who come here get sicker faster because of malnutrition and also come here way too late. Many of them have seen traditional healers first who may even make things worse and complicate the picture. It's a difficult environment to practice medicine in and many of the doctors are burning out from seeing tragedy.
But there are also stories of healing and health. We had a baby graduate from the CREN (Centre for the Rehabilitation of Malnourished Children) who was on death's door and who is now healthy and thriving. We have had many children who come to us in time to get appropriate malaria treatment and leave well. Today on my rounds, all my sick and lethargic babies were smiling and interacting with me!
So despite the difficulties I am so encouraged by the fact that the hospital here is doing amazing work. I am encouraged to see the training of local nurses, midwives, surgeons and physiotherapists as well as a focus on patient education. The patients know better when to come to hospital and the hospital would be able to function at some level with the Nigerien staff if there ever was a need. The Nigerien employees are positive and hardworking; having the privilege of working alongside them is an honour!
