A word from the front lines... 04 (Anita Hege)

Our team (Right to left)
Anita Hege, Kayla Kauffman, Jared Stump

CTC Schedule

 

   First of all I'll introduce my team to you;  There are 3 of us in each of 3 teams.  My team is Jared Stump, Kayla Kauffman, and myself.  We take turns working 8 hour shifts.  We change around so that we don't always have the same shift each day; this makes for some shorter breaks and some longer.  It works well.  In our off time we then help with responsibilities around the compound such as maintenance, cooking, cleaning, and laundry. 

 

   My team and I (and I think I can speak for all of us!) enjoy working together.  I'll give you a little run down of what a shifts consist of.  

   In all of the shifts we need to do our rounds, getting people to drink, changing IVs, and fixing them if we let them run out, dumping pails of diarrhea and vomit, charting intake and output, cleaning up after accidents, and doing laundry.  

Putting in an IV

   Of course when anyone new comes in we first see what their condition is.  If they are critical, we admit them right away.  If they aren't, we have them sit in a little tent next to the CTC for observation.  From there we decide whether they need to be admitted, or just sent home with some ORS (oral rehydration solution). 

 

   Now for a little detail on each shift.  On the 8am-4pm shift we try to get everyone up and out a little.  There are several reasons for this.  For one thing, it's  good for them to get up and out.  Another very important reason is because they can acquire pneumonia from a combination of having all so many fluids, and just laying down all the time.  While we have them out, we do a more thorough cleaning inside--spray down beds and walls with bleach solution, clean the floor, and change bedding as needed.  This of course give us some extra laundry so it's a good time of day to get that washed and on the line.  We do all the laundry by hand, first soaking it in bleach water, and then scrubbing it a bit, rinsing it, wringing it out, and up to the roof to hang it up. 

Charting...

 

   In the 4pm-12am shift the garbage is to be hauled to the disposal area.  The trash gets burned, and the liquid waste gets dumped in a pit.  It has already been treated with bleach so it's no longer "contaminated".  

   On the 12am-8am shift we give the buckets and dishpans an extra scrub as needed so they don't get cruddy. 

 

   The cleaning all gets done with varying percentages of bleach solution.  Yes, we get tired of smelling bleach.  If you were to come to our houses, you'd likely smell bleach on some of us.  

   At least we know that's better than getting- or spreading- cholera.

 

Ready to head to the roof
with some laundry

   It does seem to be creeping closer home.  Yesterday we had a man come in who lives just down the road from the clinic, and last night a young man came in who we know well.  His brother-in-law is one of our gardeners on the compound.  Numbers really vary at the CTC.  We were down to 3 the other day, but now it's back up to 9. 

  

   Thankfully most of our patients who come in are still conscious.  If they've progressed enough to be unconscious, finding a vein to get an IV is going to be much more challenging. 

 

Do keep us in your prayers.  We are doing well, but we need your support!!!!!  It does get wearying at moments...

 

 

~Anita Hege