Exodus, Dirt Peas and Sharing Tears

It's been a while since I last wrote because we've been very busy.  We've moved out of the old Maternity Center and into the renovated hospital (or "Europe" as the patients and staff call it). The move was not a minute too soon.  We've actually been waiting to move since I arrived here a few months ago.  The renovated facility is so much better than what we had.  Patients are no longer housed in wards but in rooms with 4 beds to a room.  At first some of the patients wanted to go back because they were used to being with a lot of other people and enjoyed the company.  They've gotten used to the luxuries of "Europe" now though.  The actual move was a sight to see.  We packed everyone up with their belongings and walked through the hospital compound to the renovated Memorial Center.  It looked like a group of refugees with all their things bundled up and placed on their heads or backs.  It was a bit disorganized and in my efforts to keep the orthopaedic patients organized I began leading the move and instructing the nurses where to put all of the patients (I really felt like Moses for a minute).  In order to get to the surgical ward on the 2nd floor the patients and their families had to take the elevator.  That took a lot of coaxing because none of them had ever been in an elevator before!  Many of them were terrified to go into the little room.  This was exacerbated when one of the 2 elevators got stuck with people in it. Fortunately it was 2 hospital maintenance workers and they remained calm, although the people outside the elevator panicked knowing people were trapped inside.

I've "adopted" a young girl, Yamah, and she has been having a hard time.  She comes from the interior and recently was brought to Monrovia to live with her Auntie and attend school.  Last month her Auntie's brother was killed by armed robbers.  Yamah's auntie left her with a cousin and went to see about her murdered brother.  Yamah was confused and left the house after some time to go find her auntie.  She's not used to all the traffic and was struck by a speeding truck.  She came into the hospital with a severely crushed leg.  I had to amputate it above the knee.  To make things worse she got infected and I've had to take her to the OR everyday to wash out her wound.  We don't have the proper labs or medicines so I've been using what's available but nothing seemed to work.  I decided to use honey and went to the market and found some "country honey."  I've been using that for the last fews days and the infection is resolving.  She has also been getting stronger.  She had a bout with malaria again, to make things worse, but I've treated her for that and she has improved.  She's a very shy 7 year old girl and she's very worried about the loss of her leg.  She speaks Kpele and for a long time none of us knew she could speak English.  We were surprised on day when after surgery she began speaking English under the influence of anesthesia.  She asked me not the put "rags on her foot" (she was asking me not to put the gauze around her stump).   Her family shows up very infrequently and so I've come to care about her a lot.  Some days she feels better than others and she talks more.  She's started moving herself around from her hospital bed to the stretcher or into a chair.  She's a very picky eater and half the time she won't eat the hospital food so I give her "small" money and the nurses go out and buy food that she'll eat.  I've also found protein drinks in the supermarket and I get her to drink one-a-day now.  She's introduced me to some new Liberian foods and she shared "dirt peas" (peanuts) with me the other day. I've started putting her in a wheelchair and taking her outside, which she enjoys.  We sit outside and talk and people come up to us and encourage her.  I was able to take her over to the Rehab Center the other day and introduce her to Josephine, the woman that runs the Rehab Center. They make "false legs" there and I thought it would be good for her to see one since she was constantly asking if she would ever walk again, if I would really make her a new leg, and if she "could wear slipper."  She looked afraid at first when she saw the prosthetic leg but I encouraged her to touch it and Josephine was very good with her. Today, she was mad at me because I traveled over the weekend to one of the counties bordering Guinea and didn't make it back today until late.  I asked one of the other surgeons to do her dressing change and when I arrived the nurses told me she was very upset and wouldn't eat because I hadn't come.   I took her outside and I think she forgave me.  She even asked me to take her back to see the "false legs" so I think she's been thinking about it ever since.  It takes a second to get hurt but years to heal wounds.  She'll heal but it will take time. 

I spent the weekend in Nimba County, one of the larger counties in the country.  The ministry of youth and sport was kicking off the All County Sports Meet to help unify the country through sport.  A football (soccer) match between Nimba and neighboring Grand Gedeh was the highlight.  This was significant because these 2 counties were engaged in war for many recent years.  The game was very exciting and it ended in a tie, which I think may have been a good thing.  People from both sides celebrated together.  I traveled there as part of the medical team from JFK.  I took along with me a physician assistant, Joe, and our driver Alvin.  The trip brought back a lot of memories for them and we talked a lot about the war times and what they had to do to survive.  Alvin told us how he was forced to flee into the interior and live in the bush for a month and a few days.  He told me how little boy soldiers would come up to him and say "big brotha, give me your shoes."  Many time the guns they carried were too heavy for them to really carry correctly but these child soldiers were dangerous and killed many people.  Alvin told us that he survived that ordeal with one slipper and a watch and he has those items packed away to this day as reminders of what he lived through.  I spoke with many other people and heard their stories of survival.  I also saw the consequences of war: devastated villages, impoverish people, and frightened children.  I also saw however, people happy to be at peace and longing for security and stability.  The opportunity for that is exciting and cause for celebration.  On part of the trip I found myself at a rally and cultural dance.  It was a lot of fun, and not just because I got the equivalent of a Liberian lap dance.  Ok an explanation is in order I know - "so what had happened was" one of the women began dancing in front of people, making the crowd laugh and the person she danced in front of share money.  She of course made her way over to me and danced and I shared my money with them and the crowd cheered. Later a frisky "Ole Ma" came over a danced in front of me too.  Her friends were chuckling as she did it and she made me laugh and the crowd laughed and then I dug in my pocket and pulled out money.  Her friends, the ones that had been snickering, led the cheer.  

This, too, is Liberia.