Nursing in Uganda = Learning Patience

Well I have been here in Uganda for almost 4 months now... how quickly the time has gone!!

Over these 4 months I have had a WIDE range of nursing experience. I wanted to expand on some of the highlights and frustrations of learning to be a nurse here in Uganda!

A few weeks ago  one of our little boys Sebastian had to have his third cleft palate surgery. We went to the best orthopedic and rehab hospital in Uganda- CoRSU. At first I wanted to be the one to stay overnight with Sebastian in the hospital. However, we decided it was best for a house mom to stay with him, and I would come during the day and help educate the house mom on being great as a hospital caregiver. Once I got to CoRSU, I was actually relieved about this decision... I knew many of the differences about Uganda hospitals, but this was even more extreme than I thought. Let me highlight some interesting parts about Ugandan hospital stays:
-Most of the time no food is provided to the patient or caregiver- caregiver is responsible for getting food
-At CoRSU, food was provided but to plates/cups/silverware, and you went and picked it up in a big line
-Most of the hospitals do no provide private rooms- it is a large ward with many beds. Sadly, the children's hospital in Jinja is so crowded that most of the patients even share a bed. This also means shared bathrooms and washrooms.
-Sheets (even for the patient) are often not provided and must be brought from home
-Nurses very rarely do assessments- only doctors
-While waiting fir Sebastian's surgery we set outside of the theater (operating room) building on a bench with about 10 other people waiting for surgery. They called patients in once someone else was out of surgery. We waited on a bench outside for over 5 hours before the surgery took place.
- In the Jinja Children's hospital (government funded) when they run out of IV tubing supplies or such, the parents actually have to leave the hospital to go buy the supplies in town on their own.

These are a few of the shocking differences we have found... Now don't get me wrong,  the American health care system is far from perfect! However, working in an amazing children's hospital in Fort Worth for over 2 years definitely set my standards for health care high! The people here are not surprised by these things either- they do not know differently.

Through this frequent struggle of learning how to operate in the health care system here in Uganda, I have grown tremendously. I am learning better patience,  grace, flexibility, reliance on God (not the healthcare system), communication in stressful/frustrating situations, and reliance on God (yes, again, I've learned a lot of it!)

If you are in America, be thankful for the parts of healthcare you take for granted. It might be frustrating waiting for an hour at the doctor or sitting for a few hours in the ER waiting on test results. But at least we are sitting on comfortable chairs, or probably have a private room with a TV. Again, not everything is perfect or even great in America healthcare... but you have no idea how extreme the difference is between the healthcare the average person in Uganda receives versus the average person in America.

All of this is to say that ultimately, our trust can not be in hospitals (Ugandan or American), doctors or nurses, medicine and treatments... God says he is bigger than all of that. All of our health and life is in His hands.

That people may know, from the rising of the sun

and from the west, that there is none besides me;

I am the LORD, and there is no other.

I form light and create darkness,

I make well-being and create calamity,

I am the LORD, who does all these things.

(Isaiah 45:6-7 ESV)

Having some fun with the adorable Sebastian before surgery

Outside of CoRSU hospital. This is where the families can dry their clothes (because many people only have outfits for a couple of days) and relax outside for the space

Sebastians hospital bed and the bed next to him (notice the urine bag of the other patient) The house mom was placing her straw mat on the floor to have somewhere to sleep at night. 

A view of the of beds next to Sebastian's