Ray of Hope

Easter in Ghana… Friday March 25 was Good Friday while Sunday March 27 was Easter Sunday. In Ghana, 4 days marking the death and resurrection of Christ (good Friday – Easter Monday) are celebrated as national holidays. Thus, government workers get those days off to celebrate Easter, schools close and kids get to spend time with family.. Because of the long break and weekend, most people travel to see family and also do some sightseeing. I came home to my parent’s house on Friday after my shift at the Ankaase hospital to spend the Easter holidays with my family. This is the first time in almost 12 years of celebrating Easter with my Ghanaian family. It’s been an amazing experience of re-witnessing the Ghanaian way of celebrating Easter. On Good Friday, some people wear black in remembrance of Christ’s death on the cross. Traditionally, Ghanaians wear black or red to attend funerals. This is the reason behind the black attire on Good Friday. On Easter Sunday, church services...

First Week On Monday March 14, I began working at the ER at Ankaase. I worked the 8am to 2pm shift. The shift system at this location is different from what I am used to in the US. They have 8am-2pm shift, 2pm-8am shift and an 8pm -8am shift. Nurses who work the 6 hour shifts work 5 days with a day or 2 off. Those working the 12 hour shifts get 4 days off. The staff are then rotated through all the shifts. About 2 hours into my first day, an unresponsive patient in cardiac arrest was brought in by his friends. We began chest compressions on the patient only to realize that we didn’t have any resuscitation drugs or equipment in the department. Unfortunately, this patient didn’t survive. With the help of some guys rotating through the hospital as part of their paramedic training, we discovered that the emergency drugs had been locked in a cabinet. The key was nowhere to be found. The charge nurse found someone to break the cabinet and we discovered a bag valve mask (BVM) dev...

Starting work… On Thursday March 10, I participated in the hospital’s orientation.  Considering that this hospital hasn’t received any reimbursement from the government in about 8 months, it is doing very well in managing its meager resources. They even provided a small lunch and dinner for attendees. They also provide a monthly incentive (about $3) for workers who have a savings account. This is added to their savings. The goal is to encourage financial planning for the workers. Today (Monday March 14) marked my first day at the Methodist hospital in Ankaase. I moved into my apartment yesterday (Sunday March 13) with help from my mom and sister. They were very helpful and even prepared my meals for the weak. I am very blessed and thankful for their help. Of course, the meals were delicious and have been a life saver:) The hospital is about a 10-minute walk from my house. Thankfully, it was a cooler morning and afternoon (mid 70s) with scattered thunderstorms therefore m...

And the beard disappeared… Last week’s post included a section about my adventures as a bearded man in Ghana. Due to all the fun I was having, I decided to shave off the beard. But I am just as warm now as I was before the beard came off. But if a clean shaven face keeps the cops from getting too excited each time they see me, then I’m all in J JJ On Wednesday March 2, Drs. Cameron and Curtis Gongwer including Dr. James Blechl and I traveled from Ankaase to Kumasi for the Methodist Health Conference. This was a 2-day conference aimed at providing networking opportunities and continuing education for participants. Participants were employees from the Methodist health system and included lab technicians, nurses, physician assistants, physicians and hospital administrators. Presentations included living a missional life, praying with patients, childhood anemia, gestational diabetes, type II diabetes, management of stroke, leadership and management and a few case studies. It was...

The Beard must go…. The past week has been very busy albeit interesting. Esther (my sister) visited on Wednesday and advised me to shave the beard I’ve been growing. Apparently, having a beard in Ghana is associated with being a Muslim. She is scared of men with beards. Nevertheless, she hugged me so that was nice. We had a good visit and it was good to see her again. Esther and I at the mission guest house in Tanoso. She says the beard must go ;)  The team spent 4 days (Thursday – Sunday) at Agona Swedro (Central Region) with clinics and crusades held at Beseadze (about 30-minute drive from Agona). Agona Swedro is in the Central region and about a 2.5 hour from Kumasi (Ashanti region). The location of the clinics and crusades was between a shrine and a mosque. In Ghana, shrines are used by traditional believers (they worship tress, stones, rivers and animals). Therefore, we found it interesting that such a location was approved by the chief. But, the chief has aut...