A Great Day

Today was a great day! It not only kept me busy, but I got to do things I’ve never done before. First thing after rounds, the doctor asked me to do a one-on-one talk with a patient because she seemed very anxious with so many people in the room with her. Me and another nurse who could help me understand the patient’s Krio better sat with her and I asked her some questions. She had been having nightmares for several years and every time afterwards she would have chest and stomach pains, dizziness, and start vomiting. All of this is a sign of anxiety or a panic attack Back in the States, I had many young people who would be experiencing anxiety in the hospital setting, so I would teach them some methods on how to manage that anxiety. It doesn’t make it go away completely, but it at least helps. She seemed grateful when I taught her.

 

We also had an emergency code on the inpatient unit. That wasn’t a good thing that happened, but the good part was I felt like I knew what to do and how to help in a code situation. The patient was fine; they just fell on the way to the bathroom. But I knew what interventions we had to perform.

 

The best part of today was I successfully placed an IV today without the help of an ultrasound! I used the patient’s anatomy to find a vein! It was awesome! I gave patients their medications and monitored them afterwards, I charted everything. I finally felt like today was a productive day and that I’m finally able to start helping more at the hospital!

 

I’ve also been having a lot of fun hanging out with the ex-pats that live around here. We had a nice dinner together and the person who hosted it was able to make brownies and managed to find some chocolate ice cream. We couldn’t believe it! Everyone started cheering when our host brought out the treats. It had been so long since we had been able to have ice cream! The day after that, we all got together again with some of the locals we know around the area and had a game night! We played Uno and Codenames and had a great time! I keep forgetting to take pictures of these events, but I keep having too much fun to stop and think about getting out my phone. I feel like I’m making so many wonderful memories here and meeting so many interesting and nice and kind people from all over the world! I’m so happy to be back in Sierra Leone!