Today in the Female Medical Unit

It is brutally hot here today. I'm feeling kind of oppressed by it. I spent the morning in the Female medical ward and it was an emotional experience. The women are so frail, some frankly skeletal, laying naked on their cots (because of the heat - no air conditioning). When I would come up to a woman she would look at me with pleading eyes but there was no energy to speak. I tried to make some contact, and had some success with one woman in particular who's diaper I changed (I'm not actually supposed to do that but help was needed). I helped to reposition her in the bed and she communicated with me regarding her comfort. But they were all just too weak and decompensated to speak more than just a word. The women in the section where I spent the majority of my time were all there with respiratory illnesses ranging from PCP to other pneumonias to TB. A cough would make their bodies absolutely quake. The staff were trying to treat for pain but they don't have a lot of options. They would use sort of a cocktail of diclofenac and valium. When I first walked into the ward it looked almost like a scene from a movie. But, of course, it wasn't. It was heartbreaking.
Tomorrow I teach Prevention for 2 hours to the 3rd year students, 80 of them. This is a minefield. This is a VERY Christian environment. I'm talking prayers before and after each class. This is my Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll talk. I spoke with the Principal and asked her outright how explicit I could get. She said to go for it. I hope she knows what she's getting into. I hope I do. I'm terrified.