SAFARI! We had a blast on our safari this weekend. We left at 7am on Saturday morning, but were very surprised to see our travel guide outside our house at 6:40. Ugandans are NEVER early, and rarely on time. Half of us were still in the shower and eating, so we had to tell him to wait for us. All 8 of us students then got into a sweet safari van, equipped with bucket seats and a roof that extended upwards so that you can stand in the van while on your safari and look at the surroundings. I got the back of the van, which ended up being a moderately poor decision because it was a VERY bumpy ride! We were told that the ride would last only 6 hours, but it ended up taking us 10 hours! Many roads were unfinished and consisted of dirt that had been eroded by rainwater. When there were cement roads, there were extremely inconveniently placed speed bumps spaced out at an awkward distance from each other. (Ugandans here apparently like having 5 speed bumps 1 foot away from each other). Needless to say, I had a pretty gurgly stomach by the time we ate lunch!
Right before we entered the park, we ended up crossing over the EQUATOR! First time in the southern hemisphere for me so we definitely made sure to stop at the road marker and get pictures! On our way into the park we passed by a big elephant and got super excited and stopped to take pictures. Little did we know we'd get much closer to more elephants later on in the trip! We ended up staying in a hostel in the middle of the park, which had pretty nice accommodations, an outdoor restaurant/bar nearby, and lots of mongooses (mongeese??) roaming the area. In the morning we began our road safari at 6:30 am. We saw warthogs, water buffalo, antelope and elephants. Around 1 we went on a boat safari and saw tons of HIPPOS! (Also an alligator). Right as we were about to turn around we saw a family of elephants standing on the shore drinking/bathing so we rode up right next to them and watched them for a while. I got some beautiful pictures that I will have to post on here when I get back home! At night we went on another safari drive because we wanted to see some lions and leopards, but unfortauntely we did not see any. However we did see 2 crested cranes (a really pretty bird that is the national bird), lots of antelope, elephants, and a really pretty rainbow. Part of the time I got to sit up on the top of the safari van (sorry dad, but i figured i could tell you now that you know im safe :-p)
the next morning we went on a walking tour of the land, led by an armed tour guide. we saw a massive cloud of bugs over the water, a hippo, and lots of birds that got boring to look at after a while. on our way out of the park in the morning, we had 3 elephants standing in the road blocking us. again, more sweet pictures.
i'm getting tired of typing for now, so more later!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
woke up late...no time to blog about the past week before we leave for the safari, so i will just have to leave ya'll waiting in suspense! we are leaving in 15 minutes and the drive to queen elizabeth park is about 6 or 7 hours. i have a feeling it is going to be a very scenic drive though so i bet it will go fast!
if i don't get eaten by a hungry-hungry hippo, i'll blog once i am back in Kampala on Monday.
fun fact we learned from our roomate: hippos, elephants etc that are in parks around here each have several individuals whose job it is to simply walk around by the animal with AK47 guns to protect the each animal from poachers. when tourists (like us) come around, the guards keep a distance.
if i don't get eaten by a hungry-hungry hippo, i'll blog once i am back in Kampala on Monday.
fun fact we learned from our roomate: hippos, elephants etc that are in parks around here each have several individuals whose job it is to simply walk around by the animal with AK47 guns to protect the each animal from poachers. when tourists (like us) come around, the guards keep a distance.
We're back...for a night!
Hey everybody! We just got back from an AMAZING week in Nkokunjaru at the Providence Home. The sisters there made us 3 meals a day, we got to work with dozens of awesome children at the orphanage there, and even got to do some home health PT! (Home health PT in Africa involves being on a bamboo mat, surrounded by 3 roosters, a stray dog, a big pig, a piglet, banana trees, and 4 naked children running around...though I will have to explain more later!) I will update more when I get a chance, but for right now we are all waiting to get on the internet, so I will keep it brief for now just to say that we made it back to Kampala.
If I don't get a chance to get back on the internet, we are leaving tomorrow morning for a SAFARI!!! We are going to Queen Elizabeth park until Monday, so once again, I won't have internet access until then.
Miss you all a lot! (Even more than I miss Chipotle, which I have been craving nonstop this week)
If I don't get a chance to get back on the internet, we are leaving tomorrow morning for a SAFARI!!! We are going to Queen Elizabeth park until Monday, so once again, I won't have internet access until then.
Miss you all a lot! (Even more than I miss Chipotle, which I have been craving nonstop this week)
Friday, May 20, 2011
last day in Kampala for a week!
Anyways I can't be long on here because we are all waiting to get online, and we need to get to bed so we can pack in the morning for Nkokunjaru. This is the village about 1 to 3 hours away (depending on the condition of the road that day haha) where we will be staying at a convent with nuns and help children in the orphanage. I am super excited about this and have been looking forward to it all week!
As an FYI, don't worry about me when I don't update this for the next week because we will not have any internet access at the convent.
Miss you all a lot! (But I'm not ready to come home yet) :)
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Emu, bbarri, ssatu...1, 2, 3!
Learned a bit more Lugandan today at clinic! We wrote down the words for "bend" and "straighten", both very important words to know in the physio dept.
Me and Kristi started in the ICU which was pretty awesome. We first saw a patient who was seriously injured in a traffic accident (surprise surprise) and was in a coma. Unfortunately, his identity was unknown so he had been in the ICU for several weeks. He was stable enough to be moved to another ward of the hospital, but since he had no family there to take care of him, he needed to remain there. In this hospital, families are taught how to do certain medical procedures such as suctioning out their mouths. With no family there to help him with this or with feeding, he would not survive, so they are keeping him in the ICU. We did some range of motion exercises, and some chest PT (!). By placing our hands on his ribcage and initiating a breathing-like pattern, we are encouraging proper airflow throughout all the lung in order to prevent things such as pneumonia and to help get out the gook.
Another patient we saw was interesting because he had suffered a brain trauma from a fall, and had also gotten tetanus. A side effect of tetanus is muscle spasms so I got to feel some cool muscle tone that I had never felt before. He was intubated, which actually surprised me because throughout the rest of the hospital I never saw any eletronic equipment. However, the ICU was actually relatively clean (no visitors allowed) and very quiet. They had vitals monitors on the patients which actually surprised me given the fact that we had gone on a tour of the entire hospital and I never once even saw a blood pressure cuff anywhere!
The last spot we went to was the post-ICU ICU. Basically the place where you go when you become stable, but still need fairly close attention (however "close" attention means maybe one nurse for 15 or 20 patients.) We saw a man with a craniotomy (a removal of part of the skull) after he was in a traffic accident (something should REALLY be done about the traffic here!). What I found interesting was that this man, with basically a chunk of his head missing, was sitting next to an open window (no screens) in a dirty corner. I can't imagine how many infections occur in this hospital...
Right now we are getting ready for a party because it is one of our professors birthday today. We are going to order pizza and have her over and play volleyball with the other med students from Madison who are visiting here.
Me and Kristi started in the ICU which was pretty awesome. We first saw a patient who was seriously injured in a traffic accident (surprise surprise) and was in a coma. Unfortunately, his identity was unknown so he had been in the ICU for several weeks. He was stable enough to be moved to another ward of the hospital, but since he had no family there to take care of him, he needed to remain there. In this hospital, families are taught how to do certain medical procedures such as suctioning out their mouths. With no family there to help him with this or with feeding, he would not survive, so they are keeping him in the ICU. We did some range of motion exercises, and some chest PT (!). By placing our hands on his ribcage and initiating a breathing-like pattern, we are encouraging proper airflow throughout all the lung in order to prevent things such as pneumonia and to help get out the gook.
Another patient we saw was interesting because he had suffered a brain trauma from a fall, and had also gotten tetanus. A side effect of tetanus is muscle spasms so I got to feel some cool muscle tone that I had never felt before. He was intubated, which actually surprised me because throughout the rest of the hospital I never saw any eletronic equipment. However, the ICU was actually relatively clean (no visitors allowed) and very quiet. They had vitals monitors on the patients which actually surprised me given the fact that we had gone on a tour of the entire hospital and I never once even saw a blood pressure cuff anywhere!
The last spot we went to was the post-ICU ICU. Basically the place where you go when you become stable, but still need fairly close attention (however "close" attention means maybe one nurse for 15 or 20 patients.) We saw a man with a craniotomy (a removal of part of the skull) after he was in a traffic accident (something should REALLY be done about the traffic here!). What I found interesting was that this man, with basically a chunk of his head missing, was sitting next to an open window (no screens) in a dirty corner. I can't imagine how many infections occur in this hospital...
Right now we are getting ready for a party because it is one of our professors birthday today. We are going to order pizza and have her over and play volleyball with the other med students from Madison who are visiting here.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
19/5/11
Oliyoteya! (that's "how are you doing"/"hello" in Lugandan)
We are learning a few new words now that we have spent a few days here, but I'm really bad at remembering them!Today me and Kristi were in the outpatient clinic gym again. Some of the patients we saw today had injuries several months ago from "boda boda" accidents (what they call motorcycles).
After we got back from the clinic we got lunch at a nice restaurant. As is normal in Kampala, there were armed guards at the door who looked into womens purses and scanned the men with metal detectors. The food was traditional Ugandan food, which included goat, a banana/mashed potato type dish, and something that vaguely looked and tasted like potato salad. I can't complain about a free lunch, but I don't think I will be ordering Ugandan food once I'm back in America!
We came back to the university and headed down to the rugby field to place some soccer, but a lot of the students here were already gearing up for a rugby match so we watched that for a while. The 8 of us glaringly-white individuals stuck out like sore thumbs, but by this point in the week we are getting used to it! (The name for a white person here is "muzungu". Kids will say it to you and wave as you walk by. It isn't meant to be derogatory)
The 8of us PTers made a homemade dinner tonight consisting of spaghetti and sauce. It was going perfectly until Dallas sprinkled some oregano he found in the kitchen on his spaghetti. He gave some to Jenelle to put on her plate and as soon as we looked at it we realized that what used to be oregano was now tiny bugs. yummmm
I'm getting less and less afriad of the gecko/lizard things that seem to like hanging out in the curtains of our house. Didn't even jump when I saw one this time :)
Need to get to bed soon because we are getting up in the morning to do some laundry. Clothes get really stinky and dirty here from all the pollution and red dirt roads. There is a few clothing lines in the back that we'll use to dry them out while we are at work. Tomorrow me and Kristi will be beginning our morning in the ICU of the hospital. It is going to be very interesting and different from what we have seen so far.
ps. mark and brian i meant to say this before but there are just a couple of super random CDs lying around this place (probably from other students who have stayed in this house) and thefirst one i saw and the only one i recognize is a King's of Leon CD.
We are learning a few new words now that we have spent a few days here, but I'm really bad at remembering them!Today me and Kristi were in the outpatient clinic gym again. Some of the patients we saw today had injuries several months ago from "boda boda" accidents (what they call motorcycles).
After we got back from the clinic we got lunch at a nice restaurant. As is normal in Kampala, there were armed guards at the door who looked into womens purses and scanned the men with metal detectors. The food was traditional Ugandan food, which included goat, a banana/mashed potato type dish, and something that vaguely looked and tasted like potato salad. I can't complain about a free lunch, but I don't think I will be ordering Ugandan food once I'm back in America!
We came back to the university and headed down to the rugby field to place some soccer, but a lot of the students here were already gearing up for a rugby match so we watched that for a while. The 8 of us glaringly-white individuals stuck out like sore thumbs, but by this point in the week we are getting used to it! (The name for a white person here is "muzungu". Kids will say it to you and wave as you walk by. It isn't meant to be derogatory)
The 8of us PTers made a homemade dinner tonight consisting of spaghetti and sauce. It was going perfectly until Dallas sprinkled some oregano he found in the kitchen on his spaghetti. He gave some to Jenelle to put on her plate and as soon as we looked at it we realized that what used to be oregano was now tiny bugs. yummmm
I'm getting less and less afriad of the gecko/lizard things that seem to like hanging out in the curtains of our house. Didn't even jump when I saw one this time :)
Need to get to bed soon because we are getting up in the morning to do some laundry. Clothes get really stinky and dirty here from all the pollution and red dirt roads. There is a few clothing lines in the back that we'll use to dry them out while we are at work. Tomorrow me and Kristi will be beginning our morning in the ICU of the hospital. It is going to be very interesting and different from what we have seen so far.
ps. mark and brian i meant to say this before but there are just a couple of super random CDs lying around this place (probably from other students who have stayed in this house) and thefirst one i saw and the only one i recognize is a King's of Leon CD.
Yesterday was awesome! We are currently waiting for day 3 in the clinic but our van isn't here yet...we have quickly come to realize that Ugandan's operate on their own time. Everything is very slow, laid back, and relaxed. Everything from conversation to walking to service at a restaurant is much slower than the US. Yesterday we were supposed to have a inservice at one, but it didn't begin until 1:45 or so.
Here's a brief description of yesterday...
Here's a brief description of yesterday...
- I got placed into the outpatient clinic, one of the easiest parts of the hospital at least in terms of how emotionally charged things were. Most people were coming in with conditions like post injection palsy (a paresis that is very common after nurses inject the trreatment for malaria into the sciatic nerve in the butt), and stroke. Conditions were just overall better than the wards, so I was kind of glad to begin there. It sounds like in the afternoons I will be headed to the wards, which I am actually looking forward to.
- I felt clonus! There was a little baby who had it. It might have been the highlight of my day haha
- I got to work with several little kids, and they were absolutely adorable.
- I met a third year PT student from Uganda who helped me out in the clinic. I was amazed at how much he knew, and how much experience they are allowed to have from the very beginning of their schooling. He was impressed with how much we knew for only being first years.
- We went to an inservice that could have been a Dr. Bill lecture straight from home. Talked about management of conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and gout. Mom- you would love it....we only dfrink soda out of bottles! ive had many cokes out of a bottle!
vans here...gotta go
Monday, May 16, 2011
Day one at Mulago Hospital
Today us PT students and our professors went to Mulago Hospital for the first time. It was an experience that I don't think I will ever forget. Although I can't say the conditions were completely unexpected, it was still very shocking to walk through the hospital.
We began by taking a tour of the physiotherapy department, a small wing off the main entrance. Upon entrance, there was a small waiting room where it appeared histories of patients were taken at a table in the middle of the room. Walking a bit further was a physio gym, a medium sized room with some mats, a few sets of stairs, a few pulleys for range of motion activities, and parallel bars. After a quick tour of the physio room, we made our way to the main hospital which was gigantic and completely overwhelming. It's nearly impossible to describe the things that we saw today and convey what it was like to someone who has never experienced a hospital in a third world country, but here are a few observations and thoughts while we were on our tour..
Miss you all!
We began by taking a tour of the physiotherapy department, a small wing off the main entrance. Upon entrance, there was a small waiting room where it appeared histories of patients were taken at a table in the middle of the room. Walking a bit further was a physio gym, a medium sized room with some mats, a few sets of stairs, a few pulleys for range of motion activities, and parallel bars. After a quick tour of the physio room, we made our way to the main hospital which was gigantic and completely overwhelming. It's nearly impossible to describe the things that we saw today and convey what it was like to someone who has never experienced a hospital in a third world country, but here are a few observations and thoughts while we were on our tour..
- Everything was in the open air. All windows were open, even when patients had open wounds. Getting from one part of the hospital to the other required being outside.
- There were no single rooms, as everyone was placed into giant wards. Each ward contained at least 90 people, and I observed at the most 3 nurses in a ward (though I'm not sure each one would be considered a nurse per se)
- The vast majority of the cares were taken care of by the patient's family. This was really shocking to me. People were scattered throughout the entire hospital, sleeping on the floor in hallways and on the floor next to the patients in between beds, eating in the hallways. There were fliers in the hallway posting ads for private hire aides to come to the hospital and help with things like feeding, dressing, personal care etc. The hospital seemed so understaffed that these things absolutely needed to be done by family or it wouldn't be done
- The wards were so full that many patients were on beds in the hallway outside of the ward.Many of the wards can only be described as shelters, with cement ground, open windows, and no lights.
- I saw several medications and injections just lying around on carts, on the floor etc. The pharmacy consisted of a glorified closet that had shelves of meds.
- I saw at least 2 or 3 stage four pressure ulcers (basically a big giant open wound) that were uncovered and in open air. Bedsores are a large problem at this hospital for many reasons. For example, our Physiotherapist told us that it is not uncommon for an individual to be in bed and in traction for 8 weeks for something such as a femur fracture. After traction, they were take another xray and if it didn't heal right, they would THEN consider surgery.
- I saw no indication of any types of sterilization procedures, and only saw someone use gloves once.
- The burns unit was probably the hardest for me to see. Patients were all together and had burns covering their hands, faces, chests and pretty much everything else in between. Acid/chemical burns are very common in Uganda, as many people clean with certain dangerous chemicals. Sadly, acid is sometimes used as a weapon and was used on several patients we saw.
- I saw surprisingly few elderly patients. Unlike hospitals in the US, a very large portion of the patients were in because of traffic accidents, mostly from motorcycle use (the traffic here is CRAZY. I'm pretty sure they don't have road rules whatsoever. It is far worse than Mexico if those of you who went to Mexico with me!)
Miss you all!
Good morning!
One of the cool things about this house is that it comes equipped with about 3 of its own chickens that Margaret uses for our breakfast eggs...On the downside, they tend to crow at 4 in the morning!
Me and 3 other people went for a jog this morning, and I observed a few things:
-Everyone here is dressed very nicely, and it is not uncommon for students to be wearing long sleeves and long pants despite the heat. (Though men don't wear shorts it seems either).
-There are MASSIVE birds here. They look like a cross between a stork and a pelican and a pterodactyl. Yesterday I took pictures of them because I thought they were so interesting, and then someone pointed out that it was probably similar to tourists in Wisconsin taking pictures of squirrels and evergreen trees haha.
-The sunrises here are beautiful! (Mom, you would love them!) The colors are so bright and it looks pretty between all the palm trees
Anyways, today is the first day of going to the hospital! It sounds like it will mostly be an orientation day, but I am still pretty excited. It's going to be interesting to see the differences between hospital settings here vs. America. Today we are getting a ride there but most days we will be making the 1 mile-ish walk to work on foot.
Hope all you other PT'ers have a good first day of clinical!
(by the way, Dallas White says hi, especially to you Dani!)
Me and 3 other people went for a jog this morning, and I observed a few things:
-Everyone here is dressed very nicely, and it is not uncommon for students to be wearing long sleeves and long pants despite the heat. (Though men don't wear shorts it seems either).
-There are MASSIVE birds here. They look like a cross between a stork and a pelican and a pterodactyl. Yesterday I took pictures of them because I thought they were so interesting, and then someone pointed out that it was probably similar to tourists in Wisconsin taking pictures of squirrels and evergreen trees haha.
-The sunrises here are beautiful! (Mom, you would love them!) The colors are so bright and it looks pretty between all the palm trees
Anyways, today is the first day of going to the hospital! It sounds like it will mostly be an orientation day, but I am still pretty excited. It's going to be interesting to see the differences between hospital settings here vs. America. Today we are getting a ride there but most days we will be making the 1 mile-ish walk to work on foot.
Hope all you other PT'ers have a good first day of clinical!
(by the way, Dallas White says hi, especially to you Dani!)
Sunday, May 15, 2011
HELLO FROM AFRICA!
Hi all!
We arrived in Entebbe last night at about 1am our time without any hitches in our travels. All suitcases accounted for, all flights went as planned! I have very limited time on the 'net here so I need to be short. They cut out the electricity for the majority of the day so we have no computer, and when we do have a computer, the 'net is spotty.
THoughts:
-It's muggy. Hair is curly!
-Lots of ants.
-BEAUTIFUL flowers all over, including our compound which has a beautiful landscape
-Had breakfast this morning made for us by Margaret, the housekeeper who lives next door
Well that's all for now...think we're going to go get some food at a restaurant! We already made a stop at a nearby store for some bread etc.
Miss you all!
We arrived in Entebbe last night at about 1am our time without any hitches in our travels. All suitcases accounted for, all flights went as planned! I have very limited time on the 'net here so I need to be short. They cut out the electricity for the majority of the day so we have no computer, and when we do have a computer, the 'net is spotty.
THoughts:
-It's muggy. Hair is curly!
-Lots of ants.
-BEAUTIFUL flowers all over, including our compound which has a beautiful landscape
-Had breakfast this morning made for us by Margaret, the housekeeper who lives next door
Well that's all for now...think we're going to go get some food at a restaurant! We already made a stop at a nearby store for some bread etc.
Miss you all!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
I think it would be an understatement to say that I am excited! I keep saying to myself, "I am leaving for Africa the day after tomorrow". It still seems a bit surreal given the fact that I still have to take one more exam and attend Tyler's graduation ceremony before I leave...On the plus side, my excitement for my trip has left me very little extra brain space to be worried over my exams, so those have been flying by pretty quickly.
I found a link to the university in Kampala that we will be staying at for the first bit of our stay.
http://www.mak.ac.ug/
and here is a link to Queen Elizabeth National Park where we will be visiting the cast and crew of The Lion King:
http://www.game-reserve.com/uganda_queen_elizabeth.html
and one final link to the hospital we will be working at in Kampala:
http://www.mulago.or.ug/index.php
I found a link to the university in Kampala that we will be staying at for the first bit of our stay.
http://www.mak.ac.ug/
and here is a link to Queen Elizabeth National Park where we will be visiting the cast and crew of The Lion King:
http://www.game-reserve.com/uganda_queen_elizabeth.html
and one final link to the hospital we will be working at in Kampala:
http://www.mulago.or.ug/index.php
Thursday, May 5, 2011
8 days...!
Only 8 more days! Went shopping for some of the most important things for the trip...FOOD! No kidding. I figure I will cherish those granola bars and beef jerky after a few weeks of strange Ugandan food!
Second, I got a package of bubbles (yep, the kind you used to play with when you were a kid) and a few packages of cheap silly bands (those rubberbands that are in fun shapes). Apparently the people who went last year said that bubbles were a HUGE hit with the children in the orphanage, and that little things like sillybands brought the biggest smiles to their faces :) I think that working with kiddos is what I am most looking forward to about this trip (besides the Safari of course!). It will be refreshing to work in a pediatric-focused environment, though might be challenging at first given my limited experience in working with kids.
Second, I got a package of bubbles (yep, the kind you used to play with when you were a kid) and a few packages of cheap silly bands (those rubberbands that are in fun shapes). Apparently the people who went last year said that bubbles were a HUGE hit with the children in the orphanage, and that little things like sillybands brought the biggest smiles to their faces :) I think that working with kiddos is what I am most looking forward to about this trip (besides the Safari of course!). It will be refreshing to work in a pediatric-focused environment, though might be challenging at first given my limited experience in working with kids.
Monday, May 2, 2011
I'm new at this...bare with me!
So I've never blogged before, but given that I am leaving for the other side of the world in 11 days (!!), I figured there's no better time than now to start! It is my understanding that our "home base" will have internet access, though it is spotty at times (and yes, it is dial-up...Mark and Brian I am sure you have no idea what I am talking about). I am going to use this blog as a way to update everybody and keep in contact with everybody back in the states.
This week I have really started getting excited about our trip! It seems like this semester has absolutely FLOWN by. I'm sure a few of you are wondering about the recent international developments and how that will affect our trip, so I'll speak to that a bit. We have received emails from our program directors who have been in contact with trusted individuals in the city we will be staying and they are confident that given the current conditions we are safe to travel. (Though I have to admit that upon hearing of Osama's death, I googled a world map to make sure that Turkey, our layover country, was not near Pakistan!) Unfortunately it seems like anytime you go abroad "these days" there is a certain amount of risk Americans take no matter where they go, but the UW is very diligent when it comes to their students studying abroad. They are giving our group several cell phones for international calls, arrange all the transportation to/from the airport, and will immediately get students out of the country should any threat arise. (Thought I would throw that in for you, Mom and Dad :-D )
Now for the fun stuff! Here is an overview of my trip!
I will be accompanied by 7 other PT students and 2 professors in our program. We are leaving O'Hare at 10:20pm on May 13th, and will arrive in Istanbul 10 hours later. After a short layover we will head down to Entebbe International Airport (the only one in Uganda) on a flight that will take 6 hours. We will then travel by road to Kampala, the nation's capital. We will be staying in a gated/locked (Mom and Dad, ahem, cough cough) community on the grounds of the main university in Kampala. The students who went last year said that there is a sweet lady who makes everyone's beds/changes the sheets and makes breakfast for us in the morning! Can't complain about that!
For the first two weeks we will be spending our days in Mulago hospital, working as "physiotherapists" (what PTs are known as by most of the world). Each of us will follow a PT in that hospital and help them do their daily rounds. As a side note, a student who went last year said that one PT they saw over 100 patients in one day! It will be very different from any PT experience I have had thus far. I am really looking forward to being in such a different setting, but am definitely a bit nervous that I will just be "thrown in" there as a real PT and will be a bit overwhelmed at first by how different a hospital in Uganda is!
After the two weeks in Mulago hospital, we will move to a rural city called Nkokunjaru (not sure if that's spelled right...). Here we will be staying at a convent with local nuns. We will be working in an orphanage here, helping children with things such as cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, etc. The atmosphere at this location sounds like it will be a little more relaxed in terms of patient care. I am really looking forward to meeting all those little kids!!
Oh yeah, and then there is the non-PT stuff, like rafting down the Nile River, going on a Safari to see lions and giraffes...no big deal... ;-)
OK, well that's a lot of writing for not having left yet! Only 11 days, 3 finals and one presentation standing in the way of me and Uganda!!
Updates to come!
This week I have really started getting excited about our trip! It seems like this semester has absolutely FLOWN by. I'm sure a few of you are wondering about the recent international developments and how that will affect our trip, so I'll speak to that a bit. We have received emails from our program directors who have been in contact with trusted individuals in the city we will be staying and they are confident that given the current conditions we are safe to travel. (Though I have to admit that upon hearing of Osama's death, I googled a world map to make sure that Turkey, our layover country, was not near Pakistan!) Unfortunately it seems like anytime you go abroad "these days" there is a certain amount of risk Americans take no matter where they go, but the UW is very diligent when it comes to their students studying abroad. They are giving our group several cell phones for international calls, arrange all the transportation to/from the airport, and will immediately get students out of the country should any threat arise. (Thought I would throw that in for you, Mom and Dad :-D )
Now for the fun stuff! Here is an overview of my trip!
I will be accompanied by 7 other PT students and 2 professors in our program. We are leaving O'Hare at 10:20pm on May 13th, and will arrive in Istanbul 10 hours later. After a short layover we will head down to Entebbe International Airport (the only one in Uganda) on a flight that will take 6 hours. We will then travel by road to Kampala, the nation's capital. We will be staying in a gated/locked (Mom and Dad, ahem, cough cough) community on the grounds of the main university in Kampala. The students who went last year said that there is a sweet lady who makes everyone's beds/changes the sheets and makes breakfast for us in the morning! Can't complain about that!
For the first two weeks we will be spending our days in Mulago hospital, working as "physiotherapists" (what PTs are known as by most of the world). Each of us will follow a PT in that hospital and help them do their daily rounds. As a side note, a student who went last year said that one PT they saw over 100 patients in one day! It will be very different from any PT experience I have had thus far. I am really looking forward to being in such a different setting, but am definitely a bit nervous that I will just be "thrown in" there as a real PT and will be a bit overwhelmed at first by how different a hospital in Uganda is!
After the two weeks in Mulago hospital, we will move to a rural city called Nkokunjaru (not sure if that's spelled right...). Here we will be staying at a convent with local nuns. We will be working in an orphanage here, helping children with things such as cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, etc. The atmosphere at this location sounds like it will be a little more relaxed in terms of patient care. I am really looking forward to meeting all those little kids!!
Oh yeah, and then there is the non-PT stuff, like rafting down the Nile River, going on a Safari to see lions and giraffes...no big deal... ;-)
OK, well that's a lot of writing for not having left yet! Only 11 days, 3 finals and one presentation standing in the way of me and Uganda!!
Updates to come!
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