Back of a truck

So now that all that orientation is done and said, so much has happened in merely 2 weeks.

Let's just get right down to it. Vince and I work at an ARV clinic. I've met and spoken to HIV patients but never in this environment. Every single patient that walks through the pharmacy has been diagnosed as HIV positive. It was a bit ridiculous because the first 2 days, we just got thrown into it all. We were dispensing medication with no supervision after 2 hours of "training"... which really was just observation. I won't lie, it was daunting at first and still is after 2 weeks.


On the friday, after arriving at work early, we got into the back of a pick-up truck (... literally in the trunk) and rode 90km out into the countryside into Dordabis(sp.) with 1 doctor, 1 nurse, 1 pharmacy technician and 1 community counsellor. We drove through the desert to a small village where we dispensed ARVs to a small rural community. It was our 3rd day on the job. It was also an eye opening experience to see so many unemployed, sick individuals, unable to travel to the city clinics. This bi-weekly project is funded by PEPFAR, UNAIDS and some other governmental agencies.

To summarize this past week's work, we did pre-test counselling, testing, post-test counselling, and adherence counselling. This is from the moment the patient enters the pharmacy, to doing a rapid blood screening test, to informing them they have HIV to making sure they understand the treatment and the disease and making sure they are adherent to the medications. I watched as young couple in their 20s came in together to get tested and them were told they were positive. Their smiles disappearing from their faces with stunned silence. However, a surprising number of them are very accepting of the disease. 7 out of 8 people I saw tested were positive... something the nurses called "a bad day".

What is really sad is when the young ones come in. Today, a 5 year old girl was brought in for adherence counselling. She was escorted by whom I thought was her mom. I found out later from the counsellor that the mother refuses to see the doctor, refuses testing and refuses treatment. The child fell asleep in her aunt's arms and wakes up to her own cough. But as she walks out the door in her socks and pink sandals, you can tell that she is still unbeknownst of the whole "HIV" thing.

Our research is starting to take shape and we've luckily been able to adapt some of the work from Jess and Ruby's work (last year's interns - thanks guys). We've shown our supervisors as well as nursing students (our UNAM partners) and they seem very receptive to our ideas. I hope all will go as planned with as little hiccups as possible.

Other random things that have happened this past week: Saw a barbeque made out of a shopping cart, children getting tested for HIV, went to a poetry show for the first time (uggh - not a fan), got lost while jogging around our place and had to take a taxi home cause it got too dark, bought some street kids fried chicken and french fries, and more things that words just can't describe.

... one of these days I'll find time to post pictures.