May 18th

Hi Everyone!

Greetings from Liberia .  So sorry to take so long to add to this blog.  The internet here is extremely spotty, and slow.  Tammy and I are now in an internet cafe (if you can believe they have them here) with luxuriously fast internet speed. I may even be able to upload some pictures....

This has been an amazing experience. It has taken me a few days just to get my feet on the ground here.  Liberia is a very poor country. It is amazing to see the poverty people live in.  Working in the hospital has been very hard. I cannot believe how sick the kids are that we manage, and how limited the resources are. I am seeing diseases that we never see in the US.  Malaria is rampant with half of our ward filled with malaria cases (don't worry, I am on prophylaxis).. We see babies with tetanus, which is an awful disease with a very high mortality rate. We never see it in the US because we all get vaccinated. We also saw a child die the other day from something called epiglottitis, again, a disease we never see any more because it is vaccine preventable.  I spend time on the pediatric ward, in the "NICU", where premature and sick babies go, and also in the clinics here. The clinics are just packed with kids needing to be seen, and unlike here, where a good 50% of the kids I see have colds or other minor illness, these kids are sick with malaria, malnutrition, sepsis.  It is a bit overwhelming, and I feel sorry for the few interns and residents that have to manage all of these kids when we are not here

That being said, it is an amazing experience to see all of these illnesses that we hear about but never see in the US

Despite the poverty, Liberia is also an unexpectedly beautiful country.  The beaches are among the most beautiful I have seen.  As the country stabilizes, NGOs and other expatriots are starting to show up to provide help.  A "niche market" is starting to sprout up to cater to these people, many of whom are foreigners and have money to spend.  We have gone to some restaurants that are right on the beach.  Interesting in that they tend to be frequented by the UN soldiers, many of whom carry guns.....You can drive down a street and see incredible poverty, then run into a market that is brand new and carries many American items..

This past weekend a group of us took a trip out to a small beach resort called Robertsport. They have these luxury tents that you can rent that are right on the beach....I will try to upload a couple of pictures.  The beach was just amazing.  The undertow is really strong, so hard to swim alot in the water, but many people surf there.  There are about 5 other docs here from the Univeristy of Chicago who are staffing the emergency room. We all went up as a large group.  It was truly amazing driving up to the beach.

That's all for now. I am doing really well, but miss everyone very much.  I should have some great stories for you when I return,

Love,

Trish