Leap Day

So I ranted and raved about the "manana time" yesterday. Unfortunately, I will probably rant again today. I spent most of my day at the hospital waiting for Celestine to finish in her meeting so we could see patients in the ward. Since the patients are usually elderly, they do not speak English well, so I need Celestine to translate.

Her meeting was all the health care workers getting together to complain about the government not paying them on time this month. I don't think there was any actual purpose to their meeting other than to complain. She said they didn't come up with any sort of plan at the meeting.

By the time her meeting was over it was 3 pm. She was ready to go home. I wanted to at least see the little boy who has burns. By that time he was out of the hospital with his father so he did not get his therapy today. It made me a little upset. I should have just gone to see the boy by myself. However, the therapy is very painful for him, so I like Celestine there to explain to him what I'm trying to do to help calm him. I know he already thinks of me as the evil white lady so I didn't want to make that worse by coming alone.

I did see 3 patients in the gym today. That was good. I think they all found my treatments helpful. It's so hard for the patients to understand the importance of continuing exercise. That is a problem in the US too. I would say most people in the US understand the importance, but just care to ignore their doctor or therapist's advice. They always ask me if I'm going to give them a pill to get better.

I did work with a pastor today. He is 74 and had a mild stroke. His attitude is very different than many Ghanaians. He believes in hard work. He was also an entrepreneur when he was a pastor. He didn't believe in getting rich off his parishioners. He gave me good ideas to help promote health in Ghana. I do not think I will accompolish it on this trip, but maybe it can be a good project for future volunteers or on my next trip to Ghana. 

Rev. Mother, the medical director and head sister of the hospital, had a nice talk with me today. We discussed having the staff pay to use the equipment in the gym in order to maintain it properly. I'm glad some of the staff wants to use the equipment, but they often use it improperly. Throughout Ghana, they do not really perform maintenance. I think the idea of an oil change every 4000 miles is a foreign concept. Thus, if the hospital employees do not take ownership for the equipment it will break down and will not be available for patients either. I know they were not happy with this, but nothing in life is free, right?

I'm turning into a nagging mother. Haha! I hope everyone enjoys this leap day! I'm excited because it means I got an extra day in Ghana.

Love, Kari