Greetings! Sorry this blog is once again overdue. This week has been a very fun week! I have been working the medical laboratory here this week. Before coming here I would have guessed that I would find the laboratory more enjoyable than dispensary, but it is actually just the opposite. However, I still have learned a lot. In the laboratory patients come for us to draw blood samples, test blood sugar, test urine and stool samples, and receive some vaccinations. I have spent time this week pricking fingers to test for malaria—even little babies! I have found that sometimes I don’t prick deep enough to really get enough blood which probably comes from not wanting to make them wail. Sadly, the babies with severe malaria don’t care half the time. I also drew some larger blood samples from the arm using a syringe. These samples can be used to test for sickling (Sickle Cell Anemia is more prevalent in African communities because it helps with resistance to malaria.) . They can also be used to look for protozoans in the blood (which I have seen this week!), and to group the blood and test for STD’s such as syphilis, hepatitis B and C, and HIV. I have had at least one patient who tested positive for HIV. The test involves using serum from the blood, and if someone is found to be positive, then they are sent on for further testing in a larger hospital.  On Tuesday we went to the ward to get a blood sample from a 2 month old baby girl. Her mother sat beside her on her bed crying, and even though I couldn’t  understand what they were saying, I could tell that everyone in the room was yelling at the mother. It sounded like the mother had not brought the child in until the child was severely anemic and pale. Priscilla and I pricked the little baby over twenty times in her fingers, toes, and heel trying to get just four large drops of blood to check for malaria and group her blood.  We finally got enough blood to test her, and she received a blood transfusion. I kept checking her ward throughout the day, and even that night to see if she was still alive. The next morning when I returned to her ward to take samples of more sick kids she was gone. This is not a rare event, but rather a weekly event. These things are rare where I live. If a child dies it is because of an accident, cancer, or genetic abnormality, but not just because the family didn’t bring in a sick child soon enough.  Another exciting thing was seeing strongulitis of the liver. In other words, the stool sample was full of little worms crawling back and forth under the microscope…yuck! The people in the lab were very nice though, and I really have enjoyed their company. They have a wonderful new laboratory room that will soon be complete! This will help them to be more sanitary, and they cannot wait to use their new machines! They do a great job, but because of limitations of supplies and budget, they are unable to have the type of sterilization that would be found in an American hospital laboratory. This was something they knew, but the reality was it just couldn’t be that way. I appreciated their work, and the way they did the best with what they had because I do not think I would be able to be as frugal as they were.

The other highlights of my week included playing volleyball in the red African dirt in the middle of a downpour, and going to the school!! I cannot put into words what it was like to see so many kids from the small village of Kasei. Jerry and Loyce from BASIC ministry partner with the Kasei village to help improve the educations. They have a scholarship program to eligible students which helps them attend the high school in Ejura. This year their first scholarship recipients will finish high school. Some of them will still not receive their diploma because you must pass the national tests in all subjects first. English can be a struggle for these students as they have grown up in homes where their parents do not know English. I think I have mentioned this before, but English isn’t prevalent here. Yes, English is the national language, but like many African countries English is only prominent in the big cities such as Accra and Kumasi. Today Loyce presented new books for the primary and junior high school in Kasei. The village chief, queen mother, and archbishop of Kumasi were present for the ceremony, and I was able to sit right in front next to them! Afterwards, the kids ran up to us, and we shook countless hands. The kids were fighting over the right to touch our white hands—what a strange feeling! Dr. John introduced us as soon to be doctors, and I pray with all of my heart that might come true! I trust that God knows what is best for me though, and I am willing to follow His leading. If I do not get into medical school for fall 2014, then this experience has still solidified to me that the healthcare field is where I want to be. This weekend I will be traveling to Kumasi, and tomorrow I will be attired and in attendance for a Ghanaian funeral. One story as I close up: Yesterday an elderly man was hit and killed in Ejura by a passenger van. Many young men from the city were angry, and they were trying to attack all of the passenger van drivers because they wanted justice. There are even rumors they attacked the policeman. In the end, the passenger driver turned himself in at a different town because he feared his safety in the Ejura Police Station. Also, the Ghana Newspaper Association was at the school today for the ceremony, so maybe you will see a video or article online! It would be something about BASIC ministry and Kasei schools. Hope all is well. I enjoy hearing from you all! Abby