Life here in Eshowe is both uneventful and eventful at the same time... while my days all pretty much consist of the same thing, I'm learning a ton every single day.
We get up early to have breakfast at 6:45, take a 20 minute walk to the hospital and head to the doctors meeting at 7:30. From there, I head up to the labor ward and spend the day talking with and learning from the sisters. Some days are a lot more exciting than others, there have been a few that there haven't been any deliveries, but for the most part I've seen a lot! Each delivery is a little bit different, and I'm starting to learn about all the circumstances and complications the sisters have to handle. I'm so impressed about how much they know.
Last Friday I was invited down to theater (the operating rooms) to scrub in on some C-sections (or Caesers as they call them here)! I thought I would just get to see one, but the doctor who was performing them let me come to his next two as well. I was a little nervous, especially after one of the doctors said the last student passed out and needed 6 stitches when he observed a Caeser....
I was totally fine though, and thought the whole procedure was SO interesting. I never thought I'd be that interested in surgery, but it really was so cool. Each one took about 45 minutes or so, but the actual extraction of the baby took only 5 to 10, the rest of the time spent suturing. After being in theatre for 3 and a half hours on my feet I was definitely tired... I don't know how the doctors on call do it all night!
Every Wednesday Sally and I have been helping out in the pharmacy, and while it doesn't exactly relate to our projects, it's our little way of giving back and we are learning a ton. Wednesdays are diabetes day in the chronic outpatient clinic, so literally hundreds of people come to collect their meds. It's super hectic, but we got the hang of it pretty quickly. We're both confident that we could fill a diabetes scrip in our sleep at this point.
Weekends haven't been too eventful (Eshowe is a pretty residential town)but we're going to check out the George Hotel and brewery sometime and hopefully find the old fort we've heard about....
It's hard to believe that I only have one more week in Eshowe, and only about 3 weeks left in South Africa! It's been such an incredible experience so far, and even though I'm soooo excited to get home, I'll definitely miss everything here.
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