journal entry #7~on safari for antibiotics

We're back in Blantyre for a couple of days to buy supplies and rest up before going out to our next group of villages. The clinic today was good; we're becoming more organized each day. We saw about 300 people today.

people waiting to be seen in the clinic

sad feet

awww...

this woman brought her sick infant to the clinic. we noticed the baby was wearing a witchcraft charm and started a conversation with the mother about Jesus. she was saved right there in the clinic, and she cut the charm off her child.

After the 5 hour drive back to Blantyre, all we could think about was food. We pulled up in front of the only place in town that was open: Ali Baba's Take-Away. This place is becoming a regular stop for us during our nights in town. Ali's specialty is pizza, and they have all kinds--tuna pizza, Greek pizza, Indiana pizza...the strange thing is there is no sauce. But after days of insema, pizza of any sort is a treat. After dinner, we went back to the Nami and I ran to our room and went straight to the bath. At home, I come home from the hospital and some nights I leave my shoes on the front porch and tell Darin he can't hug me until after I've taken a shower. After seeing sick people for several days without being able to bathe, I was starting to get paranoid. I swear I have never been so dirty in all my life. I think dirt was coming out of my pores. I don't think I'll really be clean until I've taken a few baths, but it was pure bliss to soak in warm soapy water and to wash my hair!

This morning I washed my clothes in the bathtub and hung them outside to dry. Then we went into town to do a little shopping and check our emails. I was finally able to call Darin and talk to him, even though I kept getting cut off by the terrible phone service here. I think we talked for a total of 3 minutes and it cost me $12! Might be the best $12 I ever spent, though. :)

Later Doug, Paul and I went on a hunt to try and buy some antibiotics for the clinic. We went to a pharmacy and told the pharmacist what we were doing, that I was a nurse from the U.S., etc. He was not impressed and refused to sell us anything without a prescription. We asked where we could find the nearest doctor and he scribbled down an address. So we set out, and soon we were wandering lost through the streets of Blantyre. Eventually we decided to ask someone for help, so Doug approached an elderly gentleman wearing a threadbare gray suit. Doug showed him the address and to our surprise, the man exclaimed "Oh! That's my doctor! I'll take you to him." So we followed Soliman, as we came to know him, back the way we had come and he led us right to the office. He took us inside and was greeted by the staff with familiar smiles that showed they knew him. Then he introduced us, in Chichewa, and explained what we were doing (we had filled him in on the way). The staff whisked us right into the room with the doctor. I had my California RN license in my hand and I noticed the doctor checking it out as I told him what about my little clinics and the kinds of infections I was seeing. He said that he normally woulnd't give antibiotics out, but since I was a nurse and we were helping people for free he agreed to sell us some medicine. So we we purchased 10 courses of Amoxil for adults, 10 courses for children, and 41 tubes of antibiotic eye ointment. I am so excited--my meager supply of antibiotics has multiplied substantially! Things are looking good for our next round of clinics.

yep, those are rats.

malawian woman