Friday, June 26, 2009

Goats, Curtis, Long Drives, Ghanaian Hospitals and More

Really been slacking on the blog I know. Days are flying by and it seems like there is never enough time to make it to the internet cafe. The past couple days we have experienced many different things. Most importantly we had a meeting with the founder of the orphanage and figured out all the necessities that they will be needing. Everything from rice, beans and tomato paste to soap and toiletries.

We finally figured out how we will accomplish everything in the last weeks we have here. We are planning a day trip to visit villages outside Obuasi; this is where poverty has its strongest hold. Furthermore we will be visiting an orphanage in the Volta Region about 8 hours away by car. The orphanage is called Hardt Haven and specializes in orphans with AIDS.

Today was very busy. We woke up extremely early to meet everyone at Adullam where we left for Kumasi to visit Curtis and speak to the Doctors. He was moved to the pulmonary/cardiac unit of the hospital because they believe he has a heart condition. However, they still have not ruled out Tuberculosis.

The Doctor said they haven't done the further heart scans because there is only one machine and one Doctor capable of using it. They were able to do an abdominal ultrasound and x-ray which they said came back normal--other than the fluid and gas buildup which they said was caused from malnutrition.

They confirmed he had an infection from his blood tests and gave him a prescription and he is feeling much better. They also prescribed a strong vitamin to help him gain strength since he is rejecting almost all the food they have given him. The good news is that Monday they will be sending a nutritionist to visit Curtis and go over a meal plan with the doctors so they can ease him into consuming full meals.

As always, whatever we find out we will let everyone know immediately. The next couple days should be extremely exciting and we can't wait to see what is in store for us.

Michael, Genna, Janie, John, Kerri, and Laine

1 comment:

Kimberlee said...

Great news about Curtis! Glad he's getting the help he needs from you all and from the medical community over there!

Love to you all,
Kimberlee