I began this journey 4 weeks ago. I did not expect to be moved as much as I have been during this time. Never will I forget the moment when I walked in the OR and Jilac said to me “alright surgeon, get on your side” and proceeded to hand me the knife. Soon afterward, a healthy baby boy was delivered. Or about the time when the nurses came over to me and started talking in Tri and lost was written all over my face. Soon afterward we became great friends and I would always turn to them for assistance or even for a snack. Part of my curriculum was to learn about global health and healthcare in another country. But I learned so much more than that. I learned the culture, how to survive without knowing anything more than Medaase (thank you), the rich history in Cape Coast in relation to the slave trade and even how to cook some local cuisine. Everyone asks me how did I enjoy Ghana and its so hard for me to run through all of the emotions that I experienced while I was here. There were times when I came home after my hospital shift and just reflected on my blessings. Blessed in every way that you can imagine. I’m blessed to be able to train at my institution with resources to do just about anything that you can imagine. Blessed that my journey here was safe and very much so a learning experience. During these past 4 weeks, I saw physicians treat diseases that were very “rare” in the States but common here, I saw shortages of medical supplies during critical moments and somehow they were able to make do and still get the job done. There are so many emotions flowing right now that I’m looking back at my experience and thinking to myself, “you did exactly what you came here to do.” Daringly last week, I managed two patients one with infective endocarditis and another with severe anemia from multiple bleeding esophageal varices. In doing so, I became very close with my team, Team B. Every day would seem like a get together rather than coming into work. I attended all of the house-officer meetings and bonded with medical students on my team and those just on internal medicine.
I am so grateful for this experience to make new friends, broaden and enrich my medical knowledge, and to live in a culture not so much different than my own. I would like to thank the Child Family Health Informational Program for the opportunity to learn so much beyond global health but also to learn more about myself. The committee with the Loeliger 4th Year International Elective Scholarship with its assistance in my professional and academic growth. I had the pleasure of staying with my local coordinator Georgina who helped me navigate throughout Ghana without any issues. Thank you for always tending to anything that came up and also being my “big sister”. Thank you to all the vendors near my home who always took care of me with a cold Pepsi or pineapple drink, especially Mrs. Christy. Mrs. Christy lives behind us and sets up as early as 5 am and breaks down around 9 pm religiously. I want to take the time and also thank every medical student, house-officer, resident and specialist I worked with. There are a few I would love to mention by name because I can’t think about my experience here without thinking about them: Jilac, Nelson, Pinky (God bless your washing machine haha), Dr. Watson, Siaw, Elijah, my main man Edwin, Charles, Doreen, Linda, Derrick, Francisca, Priscilla, Emmanuel, and so many others. Literally writing this post at the airport has almost brought me to tears. I’m so moved and grateful. Thank you Ghana, thank you for welcoming me, protecting me and teaching me.
Until next time Ghana. ✌🏾
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