The last couple days at clinic have continued to be filled with new experiences. I had the opportunity to accompany our community worker at a home visit to eradicate jiggers from the home. Jiggers is a flea that burrows inside the skin and causes tissue damage and also lays eggs in dark deep cracks in the home, in clothes and other places. The first part of jiggers eradication is cleaning the feet. Follow up to this is spraying the home with disinfectant and powder to kill any of the eggs that may be waiting to burrow. This home was more like a mud box. It has a steel roof, a table and no electricity. Everything was dark. The small area of the floor that they sleep on was right next to the fire pit where the cooking happens. You can now understand why burn accidents are so common. The family was so happy they were close to having the jiggers infestation come to an end.
I also had the opportunity to accompany two patients to a hospital so they could receive further care in relation to their orthopedic injuries. One man was so embarrassed by his injuries that his infected and swollen arm was covered for months. Diagnostic imaging showed that his elbow was fractured. Becca and I were able to go to the hospital the next day to clean his wound and dress it to help promote healing. Unfortunately orthopedic surgery cannot get involved until the wound has healed, by that time the infection could seep into the blood stream and make matters worse.
Our most promising wound care story is Gloria. She suffered a wound from a motorcycle exhaust burn. She has come back two times for follow up and re-dressing over the past week. The wound still has a long time to heal so we educated her on how to complete a dressing change at home. She was so stoic and grateful it’s hard to see someone your age experiencing something that could have been avoided.
Today our clinic was outside a primary school. The children aged 4 to 13 studied in bare classrooms and learned English through repetition. During their lunch break we rewormed all 200 of them. Their names unique, some religious and some funny from Gift, Ppatience, Mercy, and Innocent. The little girl was not going to be so innocent if she didn’t take her deworming pill.
Dinners have taken a turn for the better. The vegetable samosas are fantastic and minestrone soup is not a minestrone soup at all but a puree of something that tastes amazing with fried croutons. Only 2 more days of clinic left before we make the 10 hour trip back to Niarobi!
Ciao for now!
Krista
The mountains are calling... but I still live with my parents 