Day 2 and 3...much better!

Well, last time I wrote I know I left a lot of things hanging. To pick up...surgery did finally proceed Tuesday but the mood around the hospital was tense and somber. Everyone was affected by Roger's death. They operated on a middle aged woman and replaced her mitral valve. She came back late and was really sick all night long. The team last night worked really hard at staying on top of everything with her but compared to our previous years she was sicker than most patients we have taken care of. In general I was just left thinking what is going on this year...things are not the usual way. All around us we were witnessing death. There was Roger. Before Roger there was a patient who was ECHO-ed on Sunday as a potential candidate. They admitted him (Edwin was his name) to get tuned up a bit because his heart failure was severe...well Monday he arrested and passed away Monday night. Then last night while we were recovering our patient, Beauty, a gunshot victim came in who eventually died. Then today I briefly went by to see if they needed help on another young man who passed away. It has just brought this reality back of how much we have at home...how many resources, how many priveledges that we assume we should have. And here it is so very very different.
Back to our world..Beauty, who is a mother of 3 from Zimbabwe, turned the corner around 1 today around when I got up to the unit. We finally got her breathing tube out which was a fiasco to say the least (almost got it back because she had gotten too much morphine prior, there was some vomit that may or may not have gotten all over me, and lots of humorous situations) but she came around and is doing much better.
Then today the 2 cases have done beautifully. First there is Caroline, a 28 year old Kipsigis from around Tenwek who had work done one two valves. She got her breathing tube out after a few hours and of course was immediately asking her for water. A friend gave me some Mardi Gras beads to give out to patients so I brought some over to her and asked if she wanted them. The nurse translated for me and she replied yes, i want you to place them over my head. Ha...she is funny. I know she has atleast one child, a 7 month old girl. Our second patient was a young man who is so skinny from his heart disease. He is fifteen and weighs about 80 pounds...just these scrawny little arms and legs. His surgery started out rock but he is doing great so far. I left around 11 and he had been back for a few hours and had no bumps. After his surgery the mood has shifted and everyone is feeling much more upbeat and okay about things.
There have been some other challenges along the way but all in all today has been a very busy, but good day. I have been working a swing shift to make sure we have 3 nurses there to admit the second patient who comes out after dinner so I am on the weird time schedule. But it has been working out well.
There have been the usual enjoyable moments here of meeting patients families or other patients and receiving their warm smiles and appreciative handshakes. Of hearing funny phrases like she looks smart or instead of saying xray the man says exposing. For some reason I love that.
I wish I could post a photo but Duncan, our first patient the 62 year old had to go to the floor today. When I came in to work at noon I went over and said hi and are you feeling better today. He said no. The Kenyan nurse nearby told me he didn't want to leave the ICU and go to the floor. So on his way out tonight we wanted to take a picture with him. So here are four of us crowded around him and his face is grump-tastic. It is amazing. I will post it eventually.
They are going to try and do some cases Saturday which I think we will be able to handle. But whew I forget how busy it is here and how it is pretty much work and sleep work and sleep. Tomorrow I am going to wake up early before going in to walk around the compound some.
Sorry this is  a long one.