Making a Difference I get to See

A surgery in session

This past week was my hardest working week EVER since been in country. I am now a certified nurse under Senegalese standards. I spent the last week being a nurse, doctor’s assistant/translator.  YES A TRANSLATOR, who would have thought; YES after just 5 months of been in country I GET to translate for others.

These doctors from New Jersey are here for two weeks doing eye surgeries, taking out cataracts. They do these mission trips all around the globe and this is their third time in Senegal BUT their most successful mission thus far. Check them out at http://www.righttosightandhealth.org/. Usually while here they do about a 100 surgeries, in the Philippines about 29 BUT so far for week 1 they have done 102 surgeries and have 20 patients for each day remaining.

So I worked from Monday through Saturday, getting up each day at 7, the earliest I have woken up since been here, then I work till around 6pm and for the most part I am on my feet all day.

So my job was pre-up, getting patients ready for the surgery. When they come to me I had to dilate their eyes, given them surgery instructions, clean their eyes, GET THEM TO GO PEE, and prepare them to be injected with numbing solution. The getting them pee part worked for the most part, expect three times, when one of the volunteers had to hold, THREE penis in a bowl, so the men can pee, as they CANNOT get up during surgery.

cleaning an eye

This was such a rewarding week, getting to give people their sight back, something they have been missing for so long in their life. They get to see their children, they have never seen, the new addition their families, needless to say I was quite touched. Most of the patients we saw were young under their 30’s, so that was quite sad. There were some older people; it got me thinking this person could be my dad, mom, or family member.

Some other volunteers even had harder jobs of telling people that there is nothing that can be done, they would be blind for the rest of their life, they can never see again, especially to young women and men who were 25 or less. What’s interesting about this culture, that I think we can take a page from their book is they see it as God’s Will. They took it so well saying, well this is how Allah wanted it to be and there is nothing I can do about. Here we are getting emotional but they don’t even cry or show any emotions, they just take it as God’s will.

This was also a reaffirming week, that my language is improving, that I can speak Pullar just after months of being here, and that my French has improved immensely. I can communicate with people, be the voice for these American doctors, getting across important, delicate and even life changing messages to people. I also improved on my medical jargon in both French and pullar. At first, after I heard what I had to do I was nervous and even wanted to back out because I was not sure how good my language skills are, and since I had to deliver such life changing messages, I did not want to make a mistake and the ruin the life of someone forever.. SO THERE WAS SOME PRESSURE. However after talking to a few volunteers and getting a booster I decided to stay. AND I’M SOOO GALD I DID.

I am so glad I did this because I get to see the lasting effects. Unlike most work I do here, the effects are so minimal; it would take generations to ever see a true difference of what I’m doing here. Because I’m here trying to change history, change the ideas, minds, and way of life for these people that has taken years to build, that has worked for them for sooo long. A culture cannot just be changed in two years, after all Rome was not built in a day. Unlike the Agriculture volunteers, who plant tress and you can see it grow, even at that, if proper techniques are not utilized the tree will never grow.. NEEDLESS to say, I’m just here planting seeds and hoping they would be watered, and were planted on the right spot so they can grow. BUT doing this clinic, the results are immediate, people get to see, and are now part of the world moving around them. They are no long a burden to their family members they can now be useful to society once again.

It was overall a fun hanging out with some fresh Americans, that money to them is not a problem. Because now before I even spend a dollar I have to think hard, it it’s really worth it but for them not sooo much. They took us out to dinner one night and the food/drinks were all on them. Too bad I can’t drink alcohol till March due to my TB meds. Then on Saturday they had a dinner for us, all the volunteers that helped with the clinic, and some who did not. The dinner was by far the best food in country so far. It was sheep marinated overnight and slow cooked all day, scalloped potatoes, baked Zucchinis/eggplants and stuffed baked tomatoes, with and open bar, all the drinks you can have.

I got to even hung out with the nurses took them shopping, to buy material and just go the market. It was AWESOME showing off my language and barging skills.  It was splendid too because I was full every night I was there. Tamba, the city where I was for the week is bigger than mine so it has good food, Toubab stores (like a grocery store, like a mini Wal-Mart/Target) Toubab store literally means white people or foreigner’s store. I also got to materialize few new recipes that I had in my head and they were big hits at the house. I also did some baking, which I brought back for Sam, gave some to my family and my patron friends. I’m eating some of it now while writing this YUM.. Patros means rich (used as a joke to say someone has some money).

So I’m back at site now getting back to my other projects. But I slept the whole day when I returned. I missed my bed. Back to rice again YAYAYAY..

Surgery in process