Safrica Day 3

We woke up early this morning to the smell of fried eggs and warm bread in the toaster. This hostel is simply amazing. It blows my mind that we are staying here for only sixty Rand, or US $10 each night. The beds bunked, but comfortable and the rooms are just warm enough. As everyone rolled out of bed this morning, it was surprising to find us all eager to get to work despite the obvious jet lag that had followed us from the US. We sat down and savored every bite of breakfast before our ride to Atlantis arrived.

We piled into the van and retraced our route to Atlantis. After about ten minutes, we arrived in the Atlantis area and pulled into the school that serves as one of the offices for Atlantis ADP and WorldVision. We were introduced to the staff and were ushered into a conference room where we received the final bits of information before heading out to the rural clinics and schools. We met with Dr. Petersen, the medical director for the Atlantis ADP program and he carefully detailed his expectations for this mission. It was thrilling to hear that he expected us to see patients in each township and provide assessments to people who desperately needed medical care. We would then return our evaluations to him and devise a treatment strategy that would be comprehensive, effective and be easily accessible to the citizens in each area. This seemed nearly identical to my preceptorship and I was eager to get to work.

Despite being freshly energized by the morning talk, it didn’t prepare me for the patients that we began seeing in Chatsworth. Even before we arrived, people were lining up outside the clinic. Within the first hour, we had twenty-one kids signed in to be seen. Jenny and I started seeing patients together and we realized how limited our care was as medical students. We were still being stumped by rashes and swollen lymph nodes. We saw an inordinate amount of ear infections. We saw some really sick children. We started to worry about the possibility that we could miss something. One year of medical school is a lot to rely on when you are charged with formulating a differential diagnosis for children who may be dying from HIV or AIDS. We had no medical records to rely on and a limited patient history that we could decipher from the translators. However, even when we were not able offer a definitive diagnosis, the patients and families seemed so grateful for whatever we could provide.

It was exhausting. We finished around 4pm local time and headed back to Atlantis for a quick debriefing. After planning tomorrow’s follow-ups with Dr. Petersen, we returned back to the hostel. Upon our arrival, we were instantly treated to the aroma of fresh-cooked dinner. I feel the necessity to reiterate, this hostel is amazing. After being thoroughly stuffed, several resigned themselves to bed while others walked to the beach. The beach is a mere five-minute walk and has an amazing concentration of moonlight. Tonight is the full moon and it is hanging above my head, casting light upon our group as we each scribe our thoughts of the day’s events. The beach is empty and it is just the six of us under moonlight with the ocean waves breaking in the background.