Kenyan medicine

So today i thought i would write about how different kenyan medicine is from what we are used to in america.  It is something that you really need to learn to change your thinking about when you come here. It all started with my meltdown yesterday when one of my patients who is 7 days post partum ( just had a baby 7 days ago) died from complications of her delivery.  She was the 10th maternal death in the last 3 months.  Her baby was perfect, healthy and a robust baby boy. Her sister took him home to raise after her death.  Also, the gentleman who lost his leg from the witchdoctor infection died last night.  I am just not used to the average of 30-40 deaths per month on the medical service.  The permanent doctors accept that we have done our best given the resources we have but i just am not used to that degree of mortality. I feel alot better today and realize that kenyans accept sickness and death much more readily than we do.  The families barely cried when they were told they had lost their loved one.  It is a very different way to look at life; accepting  the end of life in such a comfortable fashion.  The question the Kenyan doctors ask is whether the patient believed in God and had heard the message of Christ.  In this setting, it brings comfort. On a lighter note,
Kevin (writing under Kim)- i do agree the picture of me is very frumpy - katie and i debated about even posting it but kenyans do not wear pants, only skirts so my wardrobe was somewhat limited when i packed as last time i ended up throwing away some of my clothes as they get so gross so that dress is not one of my favorites and i am wearing for a reason. The sneakers are a necessity and i wish i had high tops for obvious reasons.  Kelly, tell mom and dad i got their email to katies address, no worries i know they were singing to me on birthday like they always do.