Another Saturday

Every Saturday morning,they have a praise and worship time in chapel. This Saturday was the physical therapy department's turn to lead the songs and perform the African church dance. Initially, they were going to have me lead one of the songs. Me being a tad type A told them that I would do it if they wrote out the words and we practiced it a few times. Cameroonians are NOT known for their planing ahead skills. They decided that it would be too much work to actually write out the songs, so I could just be a backup dancer. It was fun to sing and dance to the drums. No one laughed at me (that I saw) so I think I did pretty good.
Went for another hike with Phil and Dennis. Went over a 'bridge' pictured above that I thought would break beneath me as I went over it. We almost got to our destination when it started to rain again. With rainy season, it can be perfectly blue skies at one moment and then pouring 30 minutes later! We were in the middle of the bush (wilderness) with no trail along the side of the mountain when it started to pour. We sat down on the grass with umbrellas and when the rain didn't lift for 45 minutes, worked our way back in the rain. We didn't reach our destination, but it was a memorable hike none-the-less.

FuFu and JamaJama

Huckleberry leaves



Water FuFu


The traditional dish of Cameroon is called FuFu and JamaJama. FuFu is a cornmeal based ball that really has no flavor at all and JamaJama is Pigeon for Huckleberry leaves. You take your fingers and scoop up the FuFu and squish it together with the JamaJama. I made the mistake of eating the whole ball of FUFu and I felt like I had a bowling ball in my stomach the rest of the day! My favorite Cameroonian food so far are puff puffs. They are basically fried balls of dough and they taste so good.

Hope

My mom is doing some women's retreats on the topic of hope and asked me how hope is viewed differently in Cameroon or how my view of hope has changed. In Cameroon, you never hear someone 'hope' for a material thing. No one ever says "I hope to get enough money to make a bigger house". Even the much-to-do people of the hospital live in little village-type houses like everyone else and there is not the need or want to have something bigger. Values are placed in people, enough food, and getting a good education (it costs them money to send their children to school).
People take accidents and death as a natural part of life. There is no anger at God for pain. Nobody that I have talked to ever asks "Why is God doing this to me?" Pain is a fact of life and they are so grateful that you are trying to help even if it doesn't seem to make a difference. I was talking to a patient to has become dear to me about pain. She is in the hospital and might not have enough money to stay in a hospital bed, but she might be able to sleep on a mat on the cement floor. Every time I talk to her, she tells me how good God is. That he has given her life and a wonderful family and loves her. If God chooses to humble her by having her sleep on the floor, then she will gladly be humbled by God, she said. How many people in the States say that. Working in the U.S. health care system, I hear people trying to get the most out of things and angry if they can't get the best of a certain service or demanding sometihng else. If God chooses to humble you, would you joyfully take in it. Would I delight and rejoice in suffering for my Savior? Or would I complain, be angry or try to demand people to help. Would my pride overcome me? The testimonies that have stirred my heart have always been the ones of people who are in such pain or difficulties and yet, are full of joy and love and thankfulness to God. Hope that God will bring them to healing. Hope that if not, God will not leave them even so. Hope that they will be truly reunited with God in the end. Every time someone dies in the hospital, their caregiver and family scream and wail for at least 5-10 minutes. You can hear their screams echo throughout the halls. All other noise seems to stand still.
I would say that I still have my different hopes in this life, that hasn't changed. But the way I view my hope for the eternal has a little bit. I still remember going to London with John Samuel to visit a church and try to start a missions trip over there. The service that day was full of missionaries from all over the world. We sang songs praising God in worship in some Indian language. 30 some different primary languages singing in unison, harmonizing with one another. From all over the world, so many different stories and cultures, but we were one. We all had Jesus. Just think of how heaven will really be like. So many different people from different places and ages-all in unison and harmony at the same time. God is good. I hope to be able to see the people I have met here and grown to love again in heaven. My goodbyes to them aren't really goodbyes as much as 'see you later'. God is Good.

Some rest and relaxation

Dr. Sparkes and his family are from San Diego and have been in Cameroon for over 4 years now. He designed and helped build their family house which is beautiful. The above pic is the view from their veranda. They asked me to house sit and watch their dog while they went to Younde for a few days. Needless to say from my previously stressful week, I really needed to get away from my little room connected to the hospital. I've realized how many 'little' things about the States that I have missed here. Like being able to have a good hot shower for more than 3 minutes, sleeping in a bed where you don't have to move around in order to not feel the wooden boards beneath you, just being able to sit in an actual couch and watch a movie, holding a big mug with tea, and walking my dog. The Sparkes even have a trampoline that I can jump on! It was so amazing to sit on the veranda with a cup of tea and just have some truly alone time and look at the scenery. It was a much needed weekend of resting and relaxing. I went to a wedding on Sunday. It was incorporated into the service. Church here usually lasts about 2-3 hours (unheard of at a church in the States!), but with the wedding it lasted just short of 4 hours. The Cameroonians laughed at me when I said the wedding was long compared to the States because they thought that the wedding was really short! I guess their weddings can last from 9 AM to 4 or 5 PM!! The church was decorated with balloons and paper chains. The bride was wearing a western wedding dress with poofy sleeves. There's the bridal procession, the actual wedding and vows, about an hour of music, then another hour of the church sermon, followed by all the toasts and cutting of the cake and then more music. Not that I'm complaining-it was a beautiful wedding- but 4 hours on a wooden bench gets to be really long. The wedding reception and food is open to anyone. Sometimes around a thousand people show up to eat. Cameroonian men sometimes don't get married until they are in their 30s because it costs so much and they have to save up.

Say hello to my little friend

This little guy was sitting on a flower outside my room. I've decided to name him Kermit.

The Rizzuti Family

A few days after I fist came to Cameroon, the Rizzuti family flew from North Carolina for a 3 week medical mission. It was so nice having them around. I didn't have to eat my meals by myself and they had me over to their house for games and campfires. I've gotten pretty close to Rich, Meredith and their two girls (Emma and Nyah). Today, they are making their trek back to North Carolina. I'm going to miss them! Phil is a radiologist from Mayo who came last week and is here for another 2 weeks. I've found that there are many hellos and goodbyes with this lifestyle. I have been meeting people from around the world- some in a short passing by and others who I have gotten very close to and have become so dear to me. The last full day for the Rizzuti's, we went for a hike up the mountains behind the hospital and had a beautiful 360 degree view of the place.

The culture shock may be finally setting in...

This week has been a hard week. I am very glad that it's the weekend and I can just relax. I have been trying not to think "why can't you just think like me?" I will evaluate a patient only to have the other physical therapist tell me I am wrong- and I know I'm not! But not being from here- I just do as he says. If I were in the States, a lot of therapy treatment here would be considered unneeded/unwarranted. It's frustrating! I delivered a talk on Cerebral Palsy today which I think went well. My mouth got so dry because I have to over enunciate each word so that they can understand my accent.
On the other hand, I really do like the other staff I am working with. The other day during work we had some down-time and they were teaching me how to do the African church dance. Most of the time during the dance lesson was spent laughing at me, but it was really fun. Next Saturday during chapel, the physical therapy department is in charge of music and they think that I should lead it with dancing and singing. I'm thinking it will probably be more of a laugh fest than worship fest-but I'm up to it :)

Prosthetics!

The prosthetics department have some metal below knee and above knee amputee prothetics, but not everyone can afford to buy one. Therefore they make some below knee prosthetic legs out of bamboo. The bamboo is hollow and they just weave a basket inside for the stump to fit in. How cool is that?

And the rain rain rain came down down down....

This week has been incredible rainy. On Thursday, it rained a total of 4 and a half inches (2 of those inches were in one hour's time span). Usually I love a rainy day, but I have really been missing blue skies lately. When it rains here, there is really nothing to do but read and stay inside and sometimes the rain lasts all day. I have learned to appreciate a patch of blue sky or a dry day. Yesterday, I went on a hike with Christine (a missionary anesthesiologist from Canada) up behind Mbingo hill. We had a herd of horses we walked through along the way. It was just so peaceful and beautiful. There seems to be never ending hills upon hills when looking into the distance.

Pulmonary Physical Therapy

So, most of us physical therapists have been taught pulmonary physical therapy, but not many of us use it in the States. In essence, pulmonary PT has to do with expanding the chest wall, breaking up mucous by means of percussion and breathing techniques. This lady has some congenital anomaly and is very small. She came into the hospital after her stomach kept expanding for two years and she figured she wasn't pregnant. They surgically removed a 19 pound ovarian cyst! (the sugeon said he once removed a 50 pound tumor from somebody here) Because of the cyst was so big, it impinged her diaphragm's ability to fully expand and she was not able to have a productive cough. I came in and did some gentle percussion to break up the mucous in her lungs. The day before she left, she requested me and told me that she is able to breath so much better and she thinks she would've died from inability to breathe without my help.

A Day in the Life...

So I thought that I’d talk about a day in the life of a physal therapist in Cameroon. I wake up at 6:00 AM (12:00AM central time) and take a look at the ground before getting out of bed as to avoid ants, spiders, crickets or cochroaches. All-employee chapel is at 6:40 which includes song and a quick devotional. Worship is so fun here because one person will start a song and then more people will join in in harmony-they don’t use instruments and yet everyone still keeps to the same pitch and pace. Mornings are usually spent going to one of the different wards to check on patients. I’m still not comfortable with writing pain medicine prescriptions or telling a patient how much weight they can really put on their leg as that is not considered within my scope of practice in the States. Each patient has their own caregiver from home with them to bring them food and take care of the patient. We try to see each patient with the caregiver, so they both know the exercises or proper way to walk. Patients still have some difficulty saying things and I have to remember to attempt Cameroonian English- like asking ‘where you feel de heat?’ aka ‘where are you feeling the pain?’ There are also a lot of outpatients coming in for physical therapy. There are so many interesting cases due to a lot of reasons like AIDS, TB, and the fact that most people wait til things are really severe before coming to the hospital. I had a patient who waited 5 months with a broken leg before going to the hospital! Some patients went to a traditional African healer first and have infections from that. I see most patients with one of the other physical therapy staff members so they can translate and that we can both learn from each other in treatment. My goal with the physical therapy department is to emphasize exercises and educate manual therapy skills as these seem to be what they are most lacking. I've also been asked to do some radio broadcasts on various topics such as cerebral palsy and dizziness for the public to recognize symptoms and that they are not in fact, being 'bewitched' and when they need to go to a physician.

Work days get done at about 3. If it's not raining, I go for walks through the villages or hills. Most days during the rainy season- downpours begin around 3 or 3:30 and last for hours! Therefore, I've been doing a LOT of reading to pass the time. Dinner is at 5:30 with another short term missionary physician and his family. They are so nice and make me feel at home. They leave in two weeks and I'm going to miss them!! It usually gets dark around 7, so I usually go to bed early. I'm starting to get semi-comfortable with the hospital system and am brainstorming ways that I can further advance the PT department and patient care.

Views of America

When I first came to Cameroon, I thought that the Cameroonian’s views towards Americans would be that we are rich and spoiled. Well, they do think we are all rich and that America is like the land of milk and honey-but they also consider us generous because of the people who have come here to help out and others who have donated money to build up their church and hospital. Whenever I tell patients or other Cameroonians that I am from the United States, they all get a big smile on their face and say “you now have a black man for President! You have one of us as President!” I don’t know how they compared themselves to Americans before Obama, but there is this joy of unity- of equality. The face of America is not a middle aged white man, it’s a man that resembles them! Someone like them can do big things!

Bamenda

Yesterday I worked for a couple of hours and then went to Bamenda with two other missionary women to do some shopping. Bamenda is the largest city nearby (about 45 minutes away from Mbingo). The streets were crazier than usual today as they blocked off some roads for a political gathering or party. This picture was taken at an area with lower traffic. Usually there were 2 cars and a couple motor bikes across. Due to the traffic, we weren’t able to go to some of the craft shops I wanted to, but we did make it to the market for fruit and the grocery store. I was able to get some gouda, crackers, bread and chocolate/peanut butter spread. Yum….

Isn't this beautiful?

The sunsets here only last about 5-10 minutes, but aren't they gorgeous?

Mbingo Baptist Hospital

Here's a pic of the front of Mbingo Baptist Hospital. I will post more up soon. The missionaries tell me that every time they leave for the States and come back, a new building or unit has gone up. It is actually more advanced than I had expected the hospital to be. The therapy department consists of an exercise gym, treatment rooms, an shoe repair store (for orthotic shoes and feet of those with leprosy), and prosthetic lab for amputations. My favorite co-workers are the prosthetic guys who are so funny and let me hang out with them during down-time to teach me how they make the prosthetic legs. There's another physical therapist who was trained in Nigeria and 4-5 other PT assistants or aides. I am very grateful that I did traveling physical therapy for a year because it really prepared me to jump right in and learn different systems.
There is a men, women, children, maternity, orthopedic and wound/leprosy ward. Each ward has about 50 beds lined up next to each other and a family member usually stays to take care of the patient. There are also private rooms for the richer people who do not want to associate with the 'lower' people in the hospital and for those with infectious diseases. I am seeing a lot of people with fractures, TB of the spine, and a WHOLE lot of neuropathy. A lot of patients claim they woke up one day and had no muscle activation in the left side of their face or no wrist extension. Very interesting.
More to come, but I wanted to write a tidbit about the hospital today :)