Mambo, habari!!!!!
Sorry for the time delay in writing the next chapter. Life in Africa is busy, busy, busy!! I have found it hard to get to the Internet place this week. Michaela and I have spent the last week in casualty at Mt Meru hospital. Anthony, Zu (med students from London) and Anna (adult branch nursing student) were also spending time there with us. We could tell it was going to be an eventful week when just after the first few hours the crazy consultant (Dr Farrah) dubbed us the new trauma team for the hospital!!! There is a paediatric section in a and e but we decided to spend the majority of our time in majors which meant we not only had to deal with children but adults also.

The first day went by without anything too major coming in while we were on shift. The 'trauma team' worked amazing together, it was quite liberating treating patients while loco Dr Farrah sat at the sidelines, barely paying attention.

The second day however was not so good. A mama (lady) was rushed in with bleeding, after she had given birth too twins at home. While Anna the adult nurse was helping to assess mama, Anthony and myself found ourselves in a horrible situation............... After glancing at the babies we realised they were very pale. We each took a baby but it became very clear that the pupils were fixed and dilated and there had not been cardiac output for some time. The babies felt so so cold. The babies were then pronounced dead. As mama had just given birth she needed to be admitted onto the post natal ward to receive treatment. A ward that was full of mums nursing there freshly born babies. This poor mama had just lost not one but two babies, and the thought of taking her here broke my heart. Never the less Michaela and I each carried a baby to the ward were mum was being treated (they deal with neonatal deaths) on arrival lots of staff members were shouting hongera mama- which means congratulations mama. The language barrier was so bad the staff had not understood the babies had died. The only way we could get over this was to show the nurse the babies, after doing so she then huffed and puffed muttered something in Swahili and took the babies from us. She then unwrapped the babies and began tugging and them and prodding at them trying to get a response, it was at this point mama released her babies had died and began to cry historically. I must admit at this point it became too much for me and I had to leave the room, this lady had been through so much and there was no compassion towards her at all. On returning to the room we suggested maybe mama would like to hold her babies to say goodbye. The nurse the abruptly said hapana (no!!!!) they are dead. The lady wasn't even given a chance to hold her beautiful twins.

By now obviously I had had enough for one day and was ready to finish my shift, however on returning to casualty I had just managed to wash my hands when a 4 year old boy was rushed in by his uncle. On examination the child was also without cardiac input and the pupils were fixed. He has choked on a peanut and aspirated on his own vomit. The sad thing is he was still warm and we have no idea how long he had been in the waiting room maybe just a minute sooner and we could have saved a life, I guess we will never know.

There is a saying here in Africa that sums up the good, the bad and the ugly. T.I.A this is Africa. I must hear it at least ten times a day.

So after a hard couple of days at work and nothing but rain everyone was excited when via via and family BBQ night arrived, without a cloud in sight!!! What a night, brilliant as always and just what everyone needed to blow off some steam. Brian really is the kareoke and dance floor king!!!!

I'm getting to be a pro at hand washing my clothes now, there is something quite rustic about having the Africa sun on your back while you song along to the radio whilst washing your bits and bats. Having said that all my clothes smell, they have lost their shape and they don't exactly look the cleanest anymore!!! Oh well T.I.A!!!!!

Even after 3 weeks away from home, some rubbish shifts at work and weather that leaves me with goose pimples I am still so in love with Arusha. I hope that I'm going to spend alot more time here over the next few years.