Choo Kubwa + Spider bite

Mon - 7/12/10

Today was my first day in the lab. I was kind of nervous because I’ve only done a blood draw once, but fortunately I was in the lab with Michael, who’s already had rotations and have drawn blood many times before. By the time the patient comes to the lab, he/she has already seen the doctor. When labs are finished, he/she will take their results to the doctor and wait to be called upon by the doctor for further consultation and any necessary prescriptions. As volunteers, we do the blood smears, blood draws, HIV tests, H. pylori tests, pregnancy tests, and urinalysis. Jimmy, the brilliant lab technician, does the widal test for typhoid, reads the blood smears for malaria, and stool examination. He also records all the results in the lab notebook.

When patients come to the in the lab, they would be asked to bring stools and/or urine if requested by the doctor. For urine, we give them a small cup and lid and for stool samples we give them the cup with a small stick and lid. Some patients come prepared and bring their stools in a small matchbox. First time a patient gave me a matchbox, I was confused. Haha. Then she said “choo kubwa” (aka poop) and I laughed and nodded. It’s funny that poop in Swahili is “choo kubwa” which literally means “large toilet”. Urine in Swahili is just “mkojo.” Not as fun, huh?
For a widal typhoid test, we draw blood, but for malaria, HIV, H. pylori tests we only have to do a finger prick. It seems like everyone that comes to the clinic has malaria, so finger sticks are common. However, typhoid is also common, so you’re guaranteed blood draws everyday. My first blood draw was on a 30 year old male, who had great veins! Yay! At the end of the day, I did another blood draw. It was quite a busy day, so I gave Michael all the blood draws, especially the ones from the little kids.

Taking a blood draw or finger prick from a child is probably the worst thing we have to do. The kids cry before you even come close to them. A crying kid while trying to take a blood draw is not a fun task at all.  Pole sana, mtoto.

Later in the day, there was a patient with clear signs of Kaposi’s sarcoma on his hands and legs. We’re not sure if he had bathed in awhile, because he reeked so much that all the medical students had to leave the room. We weren’t sure if it was him or his wounds. Without a doubt, we knew he had HIV. The guy not seemed to think his wounds were anything, though.
After the clinic, Michael, Chris, and I went to go play soccer with the Tanzanian boys at the field closeby. This was the second time I played with them, but this time I was the only girl. Fortunately for me, the other team played skins and we played shirts. It must have been a sight to see. I played right defense and wasn’t afraid to be aggressive, pushing some boys around. I guess it paid off because I was surprised that the Tanzanian boys passed me the ball a couple of times(even when I didn’t do much with it). You know that American boys would not pass you the ball because you’re a girl. There were times when I would get the ball stolen from me and they would shout, “Sista, Sista.” Haha. And there were times I would steal the ball or kick it forward. Vicent, one of the younger boys, would give me thumbs up. Fun times. Oh, how I missed playing soccer. 

Dinner these days have been interesting as we’ve been eating with the visiting family. Let’s just say interesting family.

After the long day, I fell asleep on the couch while reading. I woke up with a throbbing left index finger. Immediately, I thought it was a mosquito bite. Ironically, it reminded me to take my mefloquine. Malaria Monday!!!! The next day, the throbbing only got worse. I find out from Denny that I got a jumping black spider bite. Yay for the mefloquine reminder, boo for spider bite!