Thoughts from Shannon, What Works

I meant for the last blog to be the completion of my thoughts on Bahir Dar, but alas, I have come back to the computer to write a few more.

-While we were in a surgical case, I asked the doctors if they had been able to see the clowns while they were here. After each answered negatively, although regretfully, the nurse anesthetist piped up from his corner of the room. “We have our own circus here in the OR.” Ha! If you could see it, you would know just how true that statement feels!!!

-A German girl, Anita, came to the Fistula Hospital to do research on the social aspects of coming to be healed of the fistula, perceptions of the cause of fistula before and after treatment, effects of the education provided by the Fistula Hospital while they are being treated, etc. Anita had difficulty finding a translator, so I suggested she call Rekik, a girl who had been translating for the English classes which Ryan taught at KHChurch. I’m happy to say that it was a near perfect match! Rekik has a degree in sociology and needed a job with steady income to supplement her volunteer work at the church. Anita told me she was able to sit back and simply watch Rekik compassionately and effectively interview the patients. I was so glad to hear this as Rekik has been very dear to us during our time here. We would love to help her obtain her MPH (Masters in Public Health) in the future because she is intelligent, innovative, a committed Christian wanting to serve her country, and she comes from a very poor background and would be unable to pay for her continued education. She did not broadcast her desire for money, but she simply shared her dreams with us when asked. We are praying about this possibility. It is only about $3-5000 for her to get the degree. Many experts say the key to the development of a country in a peaceful way is the education of women. Bingo. Rekik may just be the perfect way to start.

-I had a long conversation with an OB/GYN who was training for a short time at the fistula hospital. Here are some numbers quoted to me:
80-90 million people. A few thousand doctors, about 500 specialists.
1 doctor for 46,000 people. 1 radiologist for 250,000 people.
General practitioners see 50-70 patients a day in the outpatient setting
Specialists see about 30 patients in addition to the ~40 inpatients they care for 24/7 plus their lecturing duties
Nurses care for up to 80-90 patients apiece!

He said the following:
“I just do what I can and leave the rest to God.”
“If I thought of the big picture, I would probably have to quit or leave Ethiopia at least.”
“If I save 1 mother from dying, I have to hold onto that- that I did something good. I know I cannot give good care to 40 patients at once.”

From this conversation, I have realized that people here have to rely on blocking things out, refusing to think of what they are not able to do and instead focusing on what they can do. This is the only way that they survive. Some say that different practices/behaviors may be deemed acceptable in that culture only if those cultural practices are working (i.e. people are not dying or suffering). In a strange way, this IS working to a certain degree, and until significant change comes to Ethiopia, this HAS to do. It is working in the sense that this doctor continues to serve his people and has not left the country. It is working in the sense that people have vastly different expectations regarding their optimism of getting out of the hospital alive and different expectations regarding how much they will be served at the hospital. Some may argue that it isn’t working because people are dying, but I think perhaps their method of delivering healthcare works because they are making a difference for some people, albeit smaller than one would aspire to.