Clinic Day Two – Eagles Wings School
Today was devoted to treatment of community members, mainly from the local community. Whilst treating the various maladies presented, we have also been able to provide worming treatments and Vitamin A for all those who we have seen. Over the course of the day, our systems for recording triaging and treating patients improved substantially, and our throughput increased whilst maintaining the quality of the care offered. The significance of throughput becomes apparent when you see the crowds waiting outside the clinic. The Zambian people display levels of patience which has to be seen to be believed – they wait in the queues happily without complaint.
Our first obvious worming success today! One of the children vomited up a worm - about 12cm long. This is an early demonstration of success of the worming treatment program – a major reason for our presence here.
There is heartbreak in many of the stories we hear. One of the patients – a very elderly lady (born 1918) came to the clinic. She suffered from nothing more that the usual aches and pains associated with old age, however she had no warm clothing and was clearly freezing. This lady, who had probably outlived the rest of her family, was not even able to comfort herself with warmth on a cold day. Our hearts were gladdened by being able to provide her with a jumper, which we had brought from Australia. Her smile alone made the trip worthwhile.
The medical team is forming into a very tight and happy team – I am sure that lasting friendships are being formed through our shared experiences. The evening meal was shared at the Ndola Boating Club – a surreal place – a boating club with no boats!
