Greetings Everyone,

Last week was a mix of different experiences.  I shadowed the nurse supervisor whose job it is to keep the hospital's bed capacity organized and problem solve.  It was interesting because I was able to check out all the different units of the hospital.  Some of the units were similar to what you would find in a US hospital, but others a little different.  They have one unit here for chronic care patients, young children born with abnormalities that will not live without ventilator support or constant care.  The next couple of days I spent working on labor and delivery.  Here the L&D unit is run primarily by midwives.  The unit was very welcoming and I had a great time.  Some of the birth stories I was a part of are quite something, a story perhaps for later.  Hard to believe my clinical experience is nearing its completion.  Really one week left!  I will be back to my unit, female surgery for that week

I just returned from a trip to the eastern shore of the UAE.  There is a small strip belonging to UAE that intersects Oman whose borders contain the northern part of the peninsula and the southern part of the Arabian coastline.  I went to a small town called Khorfakkan.  I have been trying to get here for some time, but there are no buses that travel here, taxis are expensive and organized trips are how most people go and I was trying to avoid that route.  I met a woman on L&D who was going with an organized trip and encouraged me to come.  She was going to smuggle me on as a cast away.  They were leaving the next day.  My transport was not completely working out so why not.  Well, we did get caught, but easy to ask forgiveness then permission as they say and I made it to Khorfakkan.  It was worth the effort of getting there!  Rocky, jagged mountains border the coastline here towering high above the village.  The mountain ranges are immense and show the feat it must have been to get a road through them!  Walking along the beach I scanned the mountains and could pick out small rock fortresses here and there.  It kind of reminded me of Lord of the Rings scenery.  The unfortunate landscape was the HUGE cargo ships that were coming into the eastern side of the bay where a major operation of unloading, cranes, all sorts of stuff was going on and taking up a large area.  Power lines also travel along the mountain side, how they got them up there must have been a lot of work! They can almost always be viewed from wherever you are.  Kind of too bad they didn't put underground wires in since this infrastructure is fairly recent.  As a cast away I enjoyed lovely meals and luxury of staying in a hotel.  I met some really great people.  Many from South Africa and heard some very interesting life stories.  The beach that runs for several miles and consists of Khorfakkan’s city center is public and was a full of locals.  Tents were set up, barbeques on the beach, lots of badminton and cricket.  It was very festive.

Sally's friends took me under their wing and we all had a really great time! 

Off the coast I could see many ships dotting the horizon.  The weather was beautiful and the water refreshing.

On our way we stopped at an outdoor market that lined both sides of the road with hundreds of vendors.  Lots of fresh fruit, mangos, pineapple, dates, grapes... and corn on the cob, steamed or roasted.  Plants of all kinds, essentially sitting in green houses and a plethora of carpets.  The corn was quite good, can't pass up corn on the cob!  and I stocked up on fruit.

Its back to Al Ain for a couple more work days and then off for some final adventures.  Thanks for your comments, it is great to hear from people!

Cheers

Good Evening Friends, 

Sometimes I feel like I am on an outward bound course in some respects: the group dynamics, learning, growing and seeing new things together and in different ways.  Tonight we had a fun time talking about where we are coming from, little tidbits and a few embarrassing moments....funny stuff, had to be there:)  Now I find myself typing away, while the rest of the gang have found themselves a bed and gone to sleep.

I went solo today to the Center of Hope where I worked with a great Haitian nurse doing HIV consultations and ante partum exams.  I learned a lot and got some practice at finding heart beats and measuring fundal heights.  Speaking French would have been helpful so I could have understood more of what the nurse was saying to me and the patient, but heck we did alright.  Noah, my interpreter where are you?:)  I guess I should start practicing my French a little more.  In the afternoon I shadowed the doctor at the HHF clinic.  Saw all sorts of things, lots of high blood pressure and scabies.  He was quick and often knew right away what the patient had, but also asked me what I thought.  An eye opening experience to add to the many others.

Like our trip into the mountains yesterday.  Three of us were lucky enough to catch a ride with Katy, a doctor from the states who is building a clinic in the mountains.  We went with her to some remote villages to do a resource assessment by talking with several of the village leaders.  I was amazed by how rocky the high mountain villages are.  The Toyota truck we were driving took them with stride, but a flat tire seemed inevitable!

The folks we met were very welcoming and we heard perspectives from a lot of people.  Katy always asked as her final question, if you were president what three things would you do? Any ideas?

Consistently the answers were 1. clinic 2. roads 3. schools

Keep in mind that none of these villages have electricity, running water, toilets.

Tomorrow three of us head back into the mountains and across the big river (good thing we have land rovers with their long air filter stacks!)  to go to a health clinic with some of the HHF health agents.

All the best