Friday 21 February 2014

Tears Over Ten Pounds


Although I had scribbled down a few thoughts to write here before we left Sierra Leone for a short break to the UK in January, I somehow felt I would be committing literary fraud had I uploaded such ramblings via an ultra-fast broadband connection in London.  Now back in Segbwema, sitting with my head torch and the frustration of watching the percentage on my laptop battery rapidly reduce as the mobile internet modem repeatedly flashes ‘unable to connect’, I’m beginning to think perhaps my need for authenticity was over-valued.
Having returned less than 2 weeks ago, the memory of sitting in a pub near London Bridge certainly feels more than a 6 hour flight away. Incidentally the said pub was the place where some of the events of the past 6 months caught up with me and I did the almost inexcusable act for a (relatively) grown man of leaking a tear or two in public. The barman may have ascribed my sadness to the realisation that a ten pound note is no longer deemed sufficient funds to guarantee the purchase of two pints in London, and whilst this almost constitutes a valid reason for not returning to the UK, my thoughts were elsewhere, with a patient I hoped I could have done more for. Still I’m sure we proved a talking point for the couple on an awkward first date next to us.
Whilst there were many welcoming familiar faces to return to at the hospital, sadly one of those that was not among them was Evelyn, the lady we were caring for on the TB ward, who, after several months of ups and downs (and breaks in her TB medication) had sadly passed away.  Another loss to report, although of several thousand magnitudes less significance, is that of the final tomato plant grown from seed in August which finally succumbed to the January heat. Perhaps if I was a detached journalist I’d feel comfortable making some comparison about the odds being stacked against both the tomatoes and my patient in a difficult harsh environment, but when that patient is also a person whose daily interactions and exchanges considerably brightened up your day, such comparisons seem coarse and inappropriate for a very human situation. Initially I thought about cutting my losses altogether with my micro- agricultural endeavours, or else trying to grow something slightly more instantaneous like cress. However, after remembering that I’ve never been one to see the point of cress, I’ve settled on quick grow lettuce as the middle way. (Updates to follow…)
Despite perhaps some of the aforementioned gloomy news there are signs of progress at the hospital and much to be looking forward to. The hospital is functioning reasonably with access to essential medicines and happily another junior doctor with an interest in paediatrics arrived with us at the end of January, increasing our medical staffing by 50%! The maternity ward is reassuringly full and the proportion of women with new babies in cots at the end of their beds is the highest I’ve ever seen, including twins that arrived a couple of nights ago. The number of children at Janna’s impromptu  ‘door step’ school seems to be growing by the day (sometimes it can be a challenge to get to the door as you have to wade through a mass of young bodies lying drawing on the floor) and the chunky chalks we brought back have been an instant success with the floor and walls outside our house now being covered with colourful letters, numbers and pictures which certainly makes for a prettier sight than the remnants of the rebel's ‘RUF’ graffiti that despite being over 10 years old, still remain.
Now all we need is that broadband connection…..




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