An Update???

Yeah, med school secondary apps trump Ghana blogs.

Love Life Updates:
I’ve been pushing for Love Life to join an organization called Global Giving, which is an online community of NGOs who can be funded by individual donors. However, in order to join, Fati needs to get her organization nationally recognized and separate the organization’s finances from her own. Thus far, she’s been financing the organization entirely by her own money and she can’t really afford to expand much more, so it would be good to get some financial assistance. It’s a long and slow process working with the government agency in Accra, and unfortunately the name of our NGO may have to change (there are three Love Lifes in Ghana). I worked with Matt and Tess in creating bylaws and a constitution for the organization, channeling my inner Thomas Jefferson/Henry Robert and showing off my awesome parli-proness (FARCKERS 4EVER).

We had our first positive patient in the clinic. As part of our clinical work, we educate and screen pregnant women for HIV. Instead of lecturing to them about what HIV/AIDS is and how it spreads, we ask them questions to see what they know and fill in the gaps or correct misunderstandings. For example, HIV is not, in fact, transmittable by coughing, mosquitoes, or witchcraft. Last Tuesday, we had a patient who knew the answers to most of our questions. She is 34, is pregnant with her second child, and both she and her husband have steady jobs. She seemed to have her life in order. When we ask her hypothetically if her husband had AIDS would she stay with him, she says yes, she would take the right precautions but still live with him (many say no for fear of getting it through food, toilets, etc.)

Then we tested her and she was positive. She handled the news well, and we told her Love Life would help any way we could – provide meds, financial help, counseling, etc. We sent her to the midwife for further testing (to determine if the infection has developed to AIDS or not – not likely since she seemed pretty healthy and well).

After we finished our screenings for the day we see her again. Now, she’s anxious, crying, and panicky. She keeps wondering how she got infected, and repeats that she is contemplating suicide – quite a statement from someone who was so calm and anchored a few hours before. She accepted our offer of aid, and we will start regular meetings soon.

Later, I learned more about our patient – she is a spiritualist. Spiritualists put symbolic scars on their face and arms, usually by branding with hot knives or pricking. I noticed she had horizontal markings on her cheeks, but didn’t think much of it at the time. Often, spiritualist villages will share pricking knives – a huge opportunity for blood-borne pathogens to spread.

She has also had four ultrasound scans, without any indication of a baby, meaning she likely missed her period due to the virus. We’re afraid to tell her that she’s not pregnant, since she already seems pretty emotionally unstable. It may also be difficult to convince her to take her medicines if she doesn’t have a baby to protect from the virus. We’ll address all of these issues when we see her next.

Other news:
Apparently it’s a cultural taboo to sing in the shower; it’s believed that by singing you invite spirits to attack your digestive system. The origin of this taboo is that the chemicals in soap are easily ingested while singing, which could give you an upset stomach. So far, I’ve managed to be spirit-free despite my beautiful and inspiring daily shower performances.

The entire Pro-World group (now down to just 9 people) went to a luxury beach resort for Friday and Saturday. It was the most amazing time, filled with the most amazing luxuries – a kitchenette, air conditioning, hot water, even a bed that’s not made of straw! And there was pseudo-American food. I ordered a “steak filet” and got burger meat…but it was still a welcome and familiar taste. It was a very late night on Friday, roaming the beach until past 2 AM.

The next day I explored a nearby castle/fort with Akhil. We hiked up a hill only to find the castle, named Fort Amsterdam, was closed. Since there weren’t any signs indicating open hours, we broke in through the “door of no return” (the door used to shepherd slaves out to boats bound for the Americas). From the top of the castle, we had the most amazing view of the beach and surrounding towns! And then we were caught by an archaeologist/tour guide. He was good humored about it, and gave us a short tour around the structure. The fort was taken from the British by the Dutch a year after the Brits captured New Amsterdam, now known as New York City. Not quite an equal trade-off, but the view was pretty excellent. After conquering Fort Amsterdam, we returned to the beach to sunbathe and relax with the rest of the group.