Departure

It will be a sad good bye no doubt.  The people of Afghanistan offer so much of their good hearts.  The fact that their land is lodged between world super-powers has never been their fault.  They are strong and proud and have the potential for greatness...not in the way greatness is often measured by our individualistic consumerism.  Enough lamentations.

I am off to the airport in a few hours, and will be checking with Aman, the security adviser to see that it is safe to do so.  An American killed Afghan civilians this morning in the Panjwai district - my heart goes out to all of the families who are suffering.

The nights remains cold, and living in these tents has resulted in dozens of preventable deaths this month

Argh...no photos today as the system is acting silly and  won't upload
Well, I will leave it at that then.
I should be on Canadian soil in about 36 hours.

Be safe,

Jodi

Happy Women's Day

This is a land of polarities.  No balance.  No middle-ground.  No certainty.  Just wild swings of experience and emotion. 
When you speak to someone here about an event that is planned for an hour or a day or a week in the future, the response is "inshallah".  I thought that was a statement of reverence, but I am beginning to think it reflects the uncertainty of existence here.
 It was a rough morning.  The baby who I thought might recover from meningitis was extubated and carried home to die this morning.  The family has eight other children at home to be concerned about.   A patient attendant was struck and killed on the road in front of the hospital...leaving 5 children motherless.  
If you are a praying sort of person...well this might be a good time.

On a happier note, it is International Women's Day, and there was a celebration at the hospital.  The women dressed up, lots of make-up and bling!  Great food, and wonderful speeches (at least I assume they were wonderful...most were in Dari and one was in Pashto)  Here are a couple of pictures for you. 

This is Zahkro.... she is leaving for a wedding in India tomorrow and I will miss her!

Some of the nurses enjoyed having their photos taken.

This one cracks me up.  Mohammad Shah and Rahim have Jen between them.  Now these guys are pretty liberal in so many ways.  For this photo, I asked them all to stand as close as culturally permissible.  And then I had to back up several steps!

The cleft surgery program is doing beautiful and amazing things for so many Afghans. 

This little guy learned how to do thumb wars today.  I guess that is enough to make it a good day

He honestly has a beautiful and happy smile...just not for the camera.

Peace be upon you

Spring may be here!

Ah spring!  Warm days and melting snow.  It is so beautiful.  Look out front of the hospital.... the snow has melted and revealed rose bushes!

I am told they are quite spectacular when they bloom.

John, a gyne surgeon is here from the USA.  He performed 2 laparoscopic hysterectomies today, and it is speculated that it is the first time this surgery has been performed in Afghanistan!  Imagine the benefits for women with this less invasive surgery and quicker healing time!  His plan is to teach the techniques to the Afghan surgeons.  A ripple effect is set in motion.

I have been working on teaching some of the nursing supervisors to teach CPR.  Here are a couple of pictures of the group in action  (I was unsuccessful in uploading videos to this site)

That is Fahima doing "baby baby are you OK?"

Here are Tajuddin and Mohammad Rahim doing 2 rescuer CPR on an infant.  Rahim told me he likes this picture because it has a world map in the background.  I couldn't agree more.

And here Fahima and Mohammad Shah are practising 2 rescuer CPR on an infant.

Hamid (the guys nicknamed him 'Karzai') spent a lot of time reviewing the notes.  I am so impressed that they all managed the whole course in English - Hamid's fourth language!







They are all finally OK with me taking pictures of them!  I am so pleased.  They are even sharing their jokes with me....even the LIMEZ jokes  :)   I am so happy!

Feeling so good

It is amazing how quickly life here feels normal.  The daily trip to the hospital, the security check by armed men, the mirror looking under the truck.  Marathon hellos to everyone.  The warmth and the welcome.  The whispered "salaam" from beneath burquas.  Visiting patients.  Patient rounds with the nurses and then with the doctors.  The really interesting questions from the doctors regarding the differences between our countries.  The occasional handshake from a man.  Teaching a group of interested and motivated students.  Downloading information to feed appetites hungry for knowledge. ( I will never again take our access to books for granted).  Meeting the doctors and nurses from neighbouring provinces who have come to learn from the staff at Cure.  The pride of being a small part of something so good.
The stories of loss.  Being in country that, after decades of invasion, doesn't have the resources to take care of everyone.  Being here means looking into the eyes of a young man at the clinic who is having a heart attack and learning that no hospital has room for him.  Seeing the pain in the eyes of the doctor who tells him the bad news. 
OK, I don't want to dwell on the sad stuff right now.

We were invited to the home of one of the surgeons for a traditional Afghan dinner.  The food was delicious, and the room was shockingly cold. 


 

The K Love guys were exhausted and jet lagged and had a bit of a snooze

We were assured that this is perfectly normal at an Afghan dinner - a room full of men eat, dance, then fall asleep.  What was not normal was having women in the room.  Ah the challenge of mixing up cultures!