We woke up at 4:30 am on Wednesday for an early drive to Edendale Hospital, where we would be meeting with Joy and taking off to Creighton, a rural area in the mountains. As we arrived at the hospital, we realized that the government strike, which includes nurses, had finally reached the gates of Edendale. The access road we use to drive up to the hospital had two burning tires on it. We waited until the flames went down before driving up to the gates and gaining access to the grounds. By the time we met up with Joy and the iTeache team, there was a small group of peaceful protestors outside the hospital grounds. We made it out of the grounds without incident and started our two hour trek up to Creighton. "The girls" slept for most of the trip but Inge informed us it was a beautiful drive; switchbacking up the mountains, overlooking tiny housing settlements and the wide variety of livestock that lined the roads. We stayed at a small, yet peaceful bed and breakfast that suited us all nicely. We all felt right at home in the cozy cottage complete with a large dining room table, a warm fireplace and our very own (and very large) mascot Fabio. Fabio was a large mastiff that we instantly nicknamed Bruce. He followed us around and slobbered all over us, but never took to his new name.
After settling in we headed about a half hour through the mountains to St. Apollinaris Hospital. We got a tour of the various wards (male, female and peds) and stopped to talk with one of the medical doctors, who was impressed with our desire to learn from this hospital, but encouraged us not only to take something away, but to leave some knowledge behind.
Joy then brought us to meet Mr. Zuma and Cresentia, the two team members we would be traveling with to our first ARV outreach clinic. Mr. Zuma is a professional nurse, and we have learned that the treatment of HIV in Africa is becoming more nurse driven because there is such a shortage of doctors. Mr. Zuma was the perfect example of how this approach can work.
The people in this area live across great distances. It is difficult for them to travel the many miles to the hospital to get the ARV and TB treatment they need, so Mr. Zuma and Cresentia take the clinic to them. They are very efficient, bringing all the files and drugs packaged together in alphabetical order. We saw about 50 clients that day. Each one was weighed and had their vital signs taken and their pills counted (to ensure adherence) then came in to meet with Zuma. He was so wonderful with his clients. He was kind and warm, yet full of life and energy. The clients responded so well to him. We learned that he has been doing this for two years and has built great relationships with all of his clients. Mr. Zuma then interviewed them to make sure they were healthy and were not experiencing any side effects of the medications. He would take blood if it was needed (every six months), give them their medications and send them on their way. We all really enjoyed today, meeting this wonderful man and seeing how he works so hard to bring HIV treatment to the people of this rural area.
After we finished and packed up the clinic we headed back to the bed and breakfast, where a lovely meal awaited us. We realized we were not the only guests staying there and enjoyed a delicious dinner with our new friends.
The Girls
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