Assessment Room Part 2
It's sad to find out that some people can't be helped at all. Due to bad eye services (no opticians, etc) problems go undetected and some people have lost the communication between their eyes and their brain, or the cateract is too thick and nothing can be done because of it, except to can give them an injection in the eye nerve connectiong to the brain so it will at least kill the pain. The poor patients says:
"Give me a drug so I can see." And it's hard to say (as Dr Eric did to one poor man),
"No, we can't do anything".
It's a shame because normally all it takes is vitamin pills, or eye drops, or even an injection (*shudder* I hate them) at an early stage to prevent this kind of blindness.
Wednesday 24 October 2012
Assessment Room (Part 1)
Assessment Room (part 1)
When I was observing what was going on I learnt that, some eye problems can trigger other problems such as cateracts. Cateracts cannot be removed util they have "matured" (reached a certain thickness), if they take them off too soon then the eyes will probably be damaged - let's use an orange as a sort-of-example:
If the skin on the orange isn't ripe and is too tight then you will probably damage the orange eg. the juice comes out, (please not the eye wouldn't do that, but it would be damaged). However if the cateracts are too thick, like the skin on an orange it will come off easily but lots of "pith" (you know that weird, tasteless white suff?) is left behind, it's like that...
When I was observing what was going on I learnt that, some eye problems can trigger other problems such as cateracts. Cateracts cannot be removed util they have "matured" (reached a certain thickness), if they take them off too soon then the eyes will probably be damaged - let's use an orange as a sort-of-example:
If the skin on the orange isn't ripe and is too tight then you will probably damage the orange eg. the juice comes out, (please not the eye wouldn't do that, but it would be damaged). However if the cateracts are too thick, like the skin on an orange it will come off easily but lots of "pith" (you know that weird, tasteless white suff?) is left behind, it's like that...
Entry 2
Sorry I didn't update yesterday (internet problems) so here's what happened yesterday!
We arrived at the clinic at 3:00pm (Roughly... Well it was the conclusion we finally reached). Soon after we arrived they started the assessments, the waiting room was FULL! There were so many people (and the nurses had already assessed that they needed treatment).
First we sat and watched in the Surgery Assessment room. (I think it's overwhelming reading it all in a big chunk, so its gonna be in smaller chunks)
Alright, what happens in the Assessment room will be in the next few blogs - "stay tuned folks!" :D
We arrived at the clinic at 3:00pm (Roughly... Well it was the conclusion we finally reached). Soon after we arrived they started the assessments, the waiting room was FULL! There were so many people (and the nurses had already assessed that they needed treatment).
First we sat and watched in the Surgery Assessment room. (I think it's overwhelming reading it all in a big chunk, so its gonna be in smaller chunks)
Alright, what happens in the Assessment room will be in the next few blogs - "stay tuned folks!" :D
Monday 22 October 2012
The First Entry- Introductions
Alright the first entry of my blog ... (unnecessary suspense!)
We all know we have to get the nitty-gritties over and done with, so here goes:
My name is Emma-Lee, and I've come with my parents (Lesley and Nic Taaffe) and we're from Amptill, Bedfordfordshire in England.
We go to Ampthill Baptist Church, and I am a student at Wootton Upper School.
We are here in Tanzania to see MAF in action (http://www.maf-uk.org/) MAF has organised a group of doctors to come out here on an "eye-safari" which means they will be removing cataracts, and helping with other eye problems (which will allow people to see again). This is going to be very interesting - to see Africa with my own eyes, to really experience it and see if it is anything like what I have read and heard about it - and I am really excited! (Woo!)
We are going to a town called Mtwara, Tanzania (On the south coast of the country, on the Mozambique border). The locals speak KiSwahili and English. Tanzania has a pleasent tropical climate (25C - 30C) (yes, pleasant indeed! *puts on sunglasses* oh yeah!)
Well that wasn't too difficult *puts down book -"The Idiot's Guide to Blogging"*
We all know we have to get the nitty-gritties over and done with, so here goes:
My name is Emma-Lee, and I've come with my parents (Lesley and Nic Taaffe) and we're from Amptill, Bedfordfordshire in England.
We go to Ampthill Baptist Church, and I am a student at Wootton Upper School.
We are here in Tanzania to see MAF in action (http://www.maf-uk.org/) MAF has organised a group of doctors to come out here on an "eye-safari" which means they will be removing cataracts, and helping with other eye problems (which will allow people to see again). This is going to be very interesting - to see Africa with my own eyes, to really experience it and see if it is anything like what I have read and heard about it - and I am really excited! (Woo!)
We are going to a town called Mtwara, Tanzania (On the south coast of the country, on the Mozambique border). The locals speak KiSwahili and English. Tanzania has a pleasent tropical climate (25C - 30C) (yes, pleasant indeed! *puts on sunglasses* oh yeah!)
Well that wasn't too difficult *puts down book -"The Idiot's Guide to Blogging"*
Thursday 19 April 2012
So to the Three of Three
International travel requires patience – which is not my best attribute! So I arrive at Nairobi airport even more well ahead of time than the recommended 3 hours to find the flight is delayed for 2 hours. But I bump into MAF pilot Brad Sinclair who is on his way to the MAF South Africa programme for flight orientation prior to starting flying in the Kenya programme. His flight was delayed even more than mine so we end up in Java House, the airport restaurant, and the hours passed by quickly as we engage in conversation. One of those God spots. Arriving in Uganda I am struck by how green it is.
With a late arrival I was more than happy to meet my hosts for the week - Laurie and Emma Nason. Laurie is the IT Manager.
During the week I have been made to feel very welcome and to be invited to the homes of many of the international staff. It has given me the opportunity to be a listening ear and to bring some perspective to the challenges of life. I have also attended many of the sessions of the RMC (Regional Managers Conference). The RMC gives the Country Managers, based in Africa with MAF International, the opportunity to pray and to discuss various topics. I led a couple of sessions on Relationship Management which looks at the various factors that contribute to good working relationships as well as exploring areas that need developing. The session below was led by Annie Russell the MAFI HR Manager based in Ashford.
On Wednesday we joined all the staff to celebrate the opening of the new hangar in Kajjansi which is the airport where MAF Uganda operates. The building of the hangar has been an incredible achievement which has been hindered by a seemingly endless number of setbacks. Steve Forsyth (Programme Manager) is giving thanks to Kees Barendse (Maintenance Director) and Martijn Verboom (Engineer) for their tremendous commitment and hard work in the hangar building project.
A stark difference between the cramped conditions of the old hangar and the new.
As I prepare to leave from my visit to Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda I am thankful for all that I have learnt, experienced, the staff I have met, and for the amazing work that MAF does as followers of Jesus.
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