12-16-14 (Tuesday)

Today started off with a delicious French toast breakfast at Kathy’s followed by devotions at the hospital at 7:30 am. It started to downpour this morning and didn’t let up until around 1:00 pm. Our plan was to leave around 9 am to head out to Rengwe for an outreach clinic to see children in the nearby villages but decided to wait until the rain let up, and instead did inpatient rounds with Kathy and Brighton. During rounds we came across a man with epilepsy and some cognitive deficits who had been defaulted on his medication and had not walked since March. JD, Melissa, and myself did a short evaluation on him, which consisted of assessing his bed mobility, getting him up into sitting, and checking his active range of motion of the lower extremities. Because of his confusion performing manual muscle testing was very difficult. He presented with lower extremity muscle atrophy on one side compared to another and was very timid to put weight on that side once we got him up into standing. We worked on weight shifting while I provided moderate assistance and had him take a few steps forward and back to assess his walking. This man clearly needed an assistive device so we decided to try both a FWW (front wheeled walker) and a pick up walker. Both were challenging because of his cognitive deficits and confusion and he needed many verbal and manual cues. We taught his wife to walk with him safely but only with another person for assistance because he had a high risk of falling.

After rounds we had tea time with Major and enjoyed some freshly roasted peanuts and coffee then headed out with Brighton for our outreach clinic to Rengwe, but unfortunately when we got there, nobody had showed up. The weather most likely kept people from coming out today because although the rain had stopped, this was a prime time for people to work in their fields.

Upon returning we headed to work in outpatient rehab at the hospital with Brighton where we broke up into two teams to tackle treating more patients. JD and myself evaluated two middle-aged women, both with complaints of knee pain and presentation of swelling and muscle atrophy. We assessed stairs and squatting, especially since the blair toilets require a deep squat position. We helped correct squat body mechanics to decrease pressure on the knee joint and educated them on performing active range of motion and strengthening exercises after awakening. In addition we told her to use a walking stick for long distances and wrapped her knee to help with the swelling during the long workdays out in the fields. Our last patient for the day was a young boy with a left femur fracture who had just finished his one month of traction and was ready for his cast. JD, Melissa, and myself performed our first casting with the guidance of Brighton and Kendra J

After work we headed out on a short walk before dinner. It was a beautiful evening and A LOT of people were out working in their fields. I don’t think I have ever seen so many goats, cows, pigs, chickens, and donkeys in one area before!

We got to enjoy a Taco Tuesday dinner…they treat us VERY well here…followed by the beginning of the hospital’s Christmas festivities…outdoor movie night! Michael and Wayne (Major’s son and nephew) set up a projector outside of Kathy’s house and people from the community were welcome to come and enjoy “The Santa Clause” movie. Brighton came with his wife Joyful and two sons Believe and Ballad and they were so precious! The sky was clear tonight and the stars were out in full effect…possibly the prettiest stars I have seen yet! We also got to enjoy watching all of the lightening bugs that were out tonight. Our movie snacks consisted of delicious fresh mangos that we picked earlier that day…which are in abundance here and I am very jealous about! I also had brought dried mangos from back home and had Major’s kids try them for the first time and they loved them…trading dried mangos for fresh mangos J

After movie time was over it was bedtime for sure! Power is still out because of the rainstorm, so hopefully it will get back up soon…for now its headlamp time.

P.S. They also have awesome thunder and lightening storms here! (BANANANA)- Thunder in Shona :)

-Lauren, JD, and Melissa