Abdou and Evette

Abdou after a blood transfusion

Abdou after a blood transfusion

Many of our patients consult with the Native Doctors before ever coming to see us.  One has to accept this as a cultural thing and not get upset about it.

Evette

 2 nights ago I was called to see a child bleeding after a tonsillectomy.  As I walked up to the hospital I wondered why the nurse had called me rather than the surgeon.  When I arrived at the hospital it became clear.  The tonsillectomy was a uvulectomy (remove the hangy down thing in the back of your throat) and it was performed at home by one of the Traditionalists.  It appears many of the Moslem children are subjected to this procedure done at home without anesthesia.  After a blood transfusion this child is doing well.  I hope this practice dies out soon.
 
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of seeing Evette.  She left the hospital 4 months after a stormy course of abdominal TB and HIV.  Today she is doing well and has only 1 more month of TB treatment.  She has gained 42 pounds since discharge, proving Slim's disease can be controlled.