Transformer (homemade?) inside the lamp.
On Fridays, we go to Mt. Meru Hospital to get some practice with the equipment. If you’re imagining a nice big workshop or office space for us to work in, well… you’re wrong. We pretty much just pick our way through a crowded storage shed in the back of the hospital area (all the hospital “hallways” are outside, so it’s not like the giant hospital complexes we’re used to), drag out some rusted equipment from the top of the pile, and set to work outside. It’s pretty dirty work! If you want a good image, and you’ve been to my family’s property in Banks, Arkansas, imagine that shed at the back of MaEase’s lot. Same giant pile of junk, except instead of plows and wheelbarrows it’s oxygen concentrators and autoclaves. Our first week, we fixed 2 oxygen concentrators, 2 beds, 3 wheelchairs, 3 blood pressure cuffs, 1 stethoscope, and a surgical lamp. I know you might be thinking, “Wait, you know how to fix oxygen concentrators?” Well, yes, the basic stuff, cause I’ve learned about it in class by now. But you also have to understand that unlike in the developed world, very little attention is paid to cleaning or regular maintenance. Therefore, the majority of problems in any of this equipment is due to user error. Virtually everything is coated in a layer of dirt or dust, even the equipment still being used on patients. The stuff from the shed is worse—a family of rats scurried out of the autoclave when it was opened! (Oh yeah, and there aren’t Swahili words for thing like autoclave. The term literally translates to “a machine which is used to kill bugs with steam.”) A lot of the times, simply cleaning and oiling all of the parts will return the machine to working order. In the case of electrical equipment, the power supply and old wires are the first suspects. Since a lot of equipment is donated from the US (which uses 110 Volts), and Tanzania uses the same voltage as Europe (220 V), transformers might be needed. The rats ate all the wires in the autoclave, so those just need to be replaced.
Laura, Ray, and Rishab working on the lamp.
I mainly worked on the blood pressure cuffs and the beds. Juan and I had to go out and find a hardware store for replacement bolts on the beds, and it took us almost all afternoon! We ended up taking a lunch break in this little alleyway, where we ate barbecued some-kind-of-meat. I’m really not sure what it was, except that it definitely included both tongue and brain, but it was really tasty! Tongue’s not my favorite texture though. My first thought was, “I feel like I’m kissing a dead cow!” In the end we finally found a good hardware store, and now we know how to find it for next time.
The second week (last Friday), was less successful. We fixed one bed, a scale, and two centrifuges. I worked on another oxygen concentrator, and while we were able to fix the problem with the motor (dirt had clogged the valves, so the pump couldn’t produce the pressure needed), it’s still not working ideally. I think this day was more like what our daily work will be like at the hospitals next month. Not everything will work everyday. Sometimes, you spend all afternoon cleaning a 5-ft tall autoclave, or replacing wires in a blood-bag sealer, but in the end there’s just nothing you can do to salvage it. The hospital also doesn’t necessarily need or want everything you fix. I think we learned that lesson with the giant autoclave; it turned out Mt. Meru had just purchased 2 new ones! It’s all definitely good practice though, and hospital Fridays are something we all look forward to.
The second week (last Friday), was less successful. We fixed one bed, a scale, and two centrifuges. I worked on another oxygen concentrator, and while we were able to fix the problem with the motor (dirt had clogged the valves, so the pump couldn’t produce the pressure needed), it’s still not working ideally. I think this day was more like what our daily work will be like at the hospitals next month. Not everything will work everyday. Sometimes, you spend all afternoon cleaning a 5-ft tall autoclave, or replacing wires in a blood-bag sealer, but in the end there’s just nothing you can do to salvage it. The hospital also doesn’t necessarily need or want everything you fix. I think we learned that lesson with the giant autoclave; it turned out Mt. Meru had just purchased 2 new ones! It’s all definitely good practice though, and hospital Fridays are something we all look forward to.
Upcoming Plans
This weekend is a 3-day, as we will have Monday off. The original plan was to go to Zanzibar, but that fell through because the group was too big and we couldn't all get on one plane for a reasonable price. Now we have two trip options: Tanga, a beach town about 7 hours away by bus; and Mt. Meru, a 3 day climb to the summit of the 3rd highest peak in Subsaharan Africa (though the usual recommendation is 4 days). I'm planning on climbing Meru, which is 4,565 metres (14,977 ft) tall. I'm a little nervous cause I didn't come fully prepared, but still excited! I'm just kicking myself for not bringing all of my hiking gear: collapsible stove, sleeping bag, therma-rest sleeping pad, etc. You can rent gear in town, but all my top-of-the-line stuff would be much nicer in -5°C weather! Right now we have 2 planning groups of 6 people each and are currently trying to find somewhere to rent sleeping backs, backpacks, and cooking gear without hiring a guide.This week is going to be full of planning everyday, so I'll keep you updated!