The Jackson Clinics

6/18/11

I arrived home at 8:53am on Saturday morning. My boyfriend picked me up from the airport and it was so good to see him. As soon as I stepped foot in my house, I ran to take a much needed shower. It was AMAZING to feel the hot water and to use fresh soap. I emptied my luggage into the washing machine and started to feel cleaner by the minute.

As I look back at the last two weeks, it is amazing to see the difference that I made in the residents’ knowledge and care for patients. It was also amazing to see how my perspective has changed too. I greatly value the cleanliness of our health system, the advantages that we have as physical therapists with the knowledge that we have, and the opportunities that we have with today’s technology.

6/16-17

When I laid down to rest last night, I immediately felt like something was wrong. Unfortunately, I was right and I was up all night long, the sickest I have ever felt. I had no energy or desire to move in the morning and I sent Lili to teach without me. I couldn’t keep anything down, not even water, so I spent the morning either in my bed or the bathroom. By noon, I had run out of water and none of it had stayed down. I really thought I might die if I tried to stay all afternoon in that apartment by myself, without water. I found strength somewhere and managed to dress myself and get out the front door. The driver took me to the hospital where I almost crawled into the department. Tigist found me within minutes and was very kind to run out and purchase a bottle of water for me. (more…)

6/15/11

Another rainy afternoon in Addis Ababa. This morning and early afternoon were actually quite nice, sunny and warm. But the clouds rolled in around 2:30 and it’s going to be wet the rest of the evening. Thank goodness for my rainboots!

I had the most amazing chocolate frosted donut for breakfast this morning at the hospital cafeteria. It was D-licious! (more…)

6/14/11

Today was a really long day. I got up and went running again around the neighborhood, but the elevation is a killer! We had our routine breakfast at the cafeteria in the hospital. They have the most amazing croissants! I am going to miss them. (more…)

Today was the beginning of my second week at Black Lion Hospital and I was ready! I actually got 10 hours of sleep last night and got up at 6 for a quick run around the block. I may be more adventurous tomorrow and try for longer, but I still uncomfortable with the area, even though it is safe. I saw some pretty amazing mansions along the way. It is sad that there can be such a difference between the rich and poor class, only blocks away from one another. (more…)

6/10/2011

What an exciting day! We started off at the cafeteria and I was able to try one of their croissants, which was delicious! We headed up to the classroom where I was surprised to find that my presentation did not make it onto my thumb drive, so I would have to do the lesson from memory… yikes! It turned out just fine and we discussed frozen shoulder quickly and thoroughly. Then we started our special test lab, where I had them practice and quizzed on all of the special tests for instability, rotator cuff tears, biceps pathology and impingement. I was quite surprised at how fast they were learning, but by the time lunch came around, I could tell both the residents and I were getting fatigued as we completed our 20th special test and quiz. (more…)

6/9/2011

Today I woke up to another beautiful morning with clear skies. It is consistently about 70-80 degrees and nice in the morning with afternoon torrential downpours, and then nice again in the evening. I can handle this!

Today was the first grand rounds presentation and the students were visibly nervous and shy to present to their peers. I had each group sit in front to present their case while I made notes on the board. As we went through the case, it was clear that the students were starting to catch on to the vocabulary that Ben had introduced and I have been reinforcing. However, we came to a screeching halt when we got to the Non Patient Identified Problem and they continued to demonstrate difficulty with prioritizing and identifying the important factors. This challenge continued while establishing the list of tactics for each impairment. To better gauge their understanding, as well as their interest, I had each of them come to the board with the marker and outline treatments techniques to address each tactic. It was interesting to see how easy this was for some residents, and yet so difficult for others. My favorite tactic today was modalities for pain management because the list continued to grow and grow, and before I knew it, they were listing off items that I had never even heard of! We talked for a few minutes about discharge criteria before ending with a very good discussion and practice for establishing goals. By the end of the first case, three residents were able to verbalize a goal that was measurable, attainable, time sensitive, patient specific, and addressed level of assistance. (more…)

6/8/11

I didn’t think I was going to make it out the door this morning, but somehow I found the strength and survived the whole day without food and still feeling pretty icky… and I am so glad that I did!

As we drove to the hospital this morning, we were in the middle of the world’s worst traffic jam as pedestrians EVERYWHERE made their way to the church for the morning service. It still amazes me that cars, cabs, mini vans and SUVs can all try to drive without lanes, honking their horns every ten seconds, and avoiding pedestrians and not get into any fights! (more…)