Day 9 - 12
That’s another week in the hospital complete! This week has been a bit of a strange one as it’s been relatively quiet in ED. Thursday was a national holiday in Tanzania called Saba Saba Day which commemorates an important date in Tanzania's journey to statehood in 1954. Therefore, there were hardly any patients in the ED Wednesday/Thursday and also a reduced workforce.
We did however have some interesting cases this week; suspected anaphylaxis / severe swelling to face due to an road traffic accident a couple of weeks prior (the history and treatment plan was a bit vague from the staff, the patient was also unable to verbalise due to the swelling but we were more inclined to think the swelling was due to mandible fracture rather than allergic reaction and encouraged staff to do further investigations). We also had a patient who came in with chest pain and had travelled about 10 hours to get to the hospital, in which time the pain has subsided. The patient could speak good English, so Jennie ran through the SOCRATES acronym which we use to help gain a good history from patients experiencing pain. A healthcare worker performed an ECG and we spotted ST elevation in the anterior septal leads which is indicative of a Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack) and discussed this with the Doctor. The patient was given asprin and the cardiology team were assigned to assess the patient and some point during that day.
Laura also spent some time with a English speaking Doctor in the minor injury / illness ward which was extremely interesting as you can follow a patients journey from initial consultation, to treatment or referral to other services within the hospital. One young adult was suffering with symptoms that were typical of a range of common infections in the UK but had notable anorexia and jaundice which sparked interest. Further testing indicated that they had contracted Hepatitis B, which we have never had exposure to before when working in the UK (don’t worry we’re fully vaccinated!). Another patient had known Diverticulitis and came to the hospital after experiencing a flare up. Via thorough communication and social background investigation we were able to distinguish that the patient had started drinking high levels of alcohol due to the loss of his wife and this was the trigger. By delving into events leading up to the flare up it meant treatment could be tailored around his dependence.
Aside from the hospital we have had two more Swahili lessons with Mwalimu Jacob, Karaoke Night which was an absolute laugh a minute and BBQ at the house last night. We also visited an orphanage called Umra Orphanage Centre who have 41 children in their care. We’re still reflecting on this experience, if we’re being completely honest something didn’t quite sit right with us so it’s not something we want to go into too much detail about.
Today we’re jetting off on a 20 minute plane ride to Zanzibar and we cannot wait! We’re going to spend time on the beach, laying on actual sunloungers as they only have deck chairs around the pool at Masaki House. We’ve also booked a snorkelling trip and to hopefully swim with dolphins on Sunday… the sea looks incredible for it!
There will be lots of photos on our return.
Asante sana for reading.
Jennie & Laura x
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