Snapshots from our day - 3

A large part of our day is spent seeing patients in clinic. HBB has an excellent reputation and many patients come from far away, often travelling for hours over poor roads to get here. Since patients are seen in the order they register, folks start coming in at 7 AM, usually by car or motorcycle taxis. After they are checked in and waiting to have their vital signs taken, they sit in a large waiting area where Christian videos are played on a small tv; one of the pastors shares the Gospel each day, as well. From there, each patient is assigned to one of the clinic rooms - they patiently wait outside the room until it is their turn and they are called in. After their visit, they may go to the lab for tests or just to the pharmacy to pick up their meds. Each patient carries a small booklet called a "carnet" in which we write their prescriptions and when they should come back.

Common illnesses seen in the children are malaria, gastroenteritis, and bronchitis. Children (and adults) need a "worm treatment" every 6 months or so and we try to take care of that. Thankfully, there is very little malnutrition here. HBB has an active vaccination clinic and there is also a prenatal clinic run by nurses and midwives.

Adult problems are a bit more varied. Malaria is very common and we often treat without doing the test since the symptoms are so typical. Illnesses seen in the US that we see often are high blood pressure (people walk in frequently with pressures that would cause us to send the patient to the hospital back home - here, they seem to do ok with aggressive outpatient oral treatment), back pain (due to the hard physical work most folks here do), and gastritis. Congestive heart failure is common here and often due to a combination of untreated hypertension and heart valve dysfunction related to past rheumatic fever. HIV is becoming more common here; treatment is centralized by the government and thankfully, there is an HIV/AIDS Clinic less than 3 miles away in Adeta. A common problem is infertility which is often due to previous pelvic infection. Amebiasis is common and usually present with lower abdominal pain and diarrhea that may have blood - thankfully the treatment is very effective.We see occasional cases of cervical cancer since there is no Pap smear screening - cases usually present late and advanced to the point that surgery can not be done; often, all we can do is offer pain control. Liver disease is fairly common and often due to the parasite schistosomiasis that people contract while swimming or bathing in contaminated water. And, as mentioned above, worms (roundworms, hookworms, etc) are everywhere (from contaminated food and water) and we try to treat people once every 6-12 months.



The action starts early in the morning at the front of clinic.
Many people have arrived on motorcycles (either their own or taxis)
and are waiting to be checked in.



Pastor George greets the waiting room and shares the Gospel.

Patients wait PATIENTLY outside their assigned clinic exam room.

A closer view of people waiting - note the large overhangs that offer
some protection during the torrential rains of the rainy season.



David's translator Sylvie interviewing a patient in the exam room.
Sylvie speaks tribal languages Ewe and Kabiye as well as excellent French and English.



The new clinic building at the end of the day !!

The nursing school is located just across from clinic and is run by Sharon Rahilly,
 a PhD level nurse from the US, and visiting nurses. We have been
very impressed with the nurses here !!