Livin Life

We started out this week by going to Cape Coast. There we went on a canopy walk, ate with crocodiles, and visited the St George slave castle. The little hike and canopy walk were amazing. We walked across bridges that were suspended from the trees at about 40 meters high. Our tour guide was great and told us a lot about the plants and how they have been used by the Ghanaian people. There were a lot of treatments that they have come up with throughout the years. After our nice hike we went to a little restaurant that had seating outside and around the area was a crocodile pond. While we waited for our food we went out and “played” with the crocodiles. There were a couple small ones and then we paid a guy to feed a bigger one some chicken so he would come up on shore. After he was fed we were allowed to touch it- at least we were hoping that he was done eating. The slave castle was a really neat experience. It was so sad to hear about the horrific conditions these people were put through. I really liked what our tour guide said at one point in the tour. He said, “it is not enough to feel sad right now and then leave and forget about it. We must go and change ourselves and then help others change. I know that we cannot change the history but we can certainly not let it happen again.” We were also able to go to the Accra temple this week. It is such a beautiful temple! We will be going again tomorrow as a whole group. It is so neat to see that the church is the same no matter where you go.

Then we were able to start clinical work at Ridge Hospital. The first day I was assigned to the children’s ward! I was so excited. I want to be a pediatric nurse when I grow up so I was really glad I was able to spend time in this unit. Let me just say this.. play is definitely universal, I love it. I was there on the unit while there were four Ghanaian student nurses and then two other nurses. I tried following a nurse around but I caught the eye of a little boy who was just staring at me. I went over there and then never left. This little boy was about four years old and he had a broken leg. When I first went over there he was super shy and would not look at me. But he had a little toy car and a stuffed animal and I started to play with him. Little by little he started to come out and by the end of my time I had him smiling, laughing and jumping around his crib. He was adorable. The next day I was able to work in the NICU and it was a different experience than being in an American NICU. It is amazing to see what they can do with the very little resources they have available to them. It was hard to see the very sick babies and think about how much more difficult their lives will be if they survive. I was able to have more hands on experience in this NICU than I would have in a different one. There were three babies who ranged from very preterm (1.4 kg) to babies with severe hydrocephaly and cleft palate. Today I worked in the medical ward and saw the different ways they were able to do procedures that we would do but without all the technology and resources we have. These experiences were very eye opening and I am so glad I was able to be here and working side by side with these people of Ghana.

IT’S AFRICA!!