This is it

This will be my last post from Africa and boy I'm all churned up. I'm just nowhere near processing this experience so I don't think I have anything coherent to say. And I suppose the wine I've been drinking doesn't help in that arena. I did notice that I'd been doing an awful lot of complaining about the nursing here and I'd really like to correct that picture a bit. First of all, I see a hell of a lot of nursing that pisses me off right in my own backyard in New York. The problem here is that they haven't yet figured out how to transition the nurses from didactic to practice. To be perfectly honest, this is exactly the problem I see with the nurses in my own agency, so it's a hard nut to crack. They absolutely need a lot of help here. More than we do. Much. But there are some nurses that I have met here who are almost heroic in their ability to work with nothing and yet make a positive difference in the lives of the people they care for. I want to tell you who they are.
Khawulile Magagula - In-Service Coordinator for the hospital. My counterpart here and one of my favorite people. I plan to keep in contact with her.
Sandile Malaza - I met him in the Men's surgical ward. He is now the Infection Control Coordinator and it's scary how much they need him. (You wouldn't believe what I've seen)
Lukhele Bongani - Staff Nurse in the ART clinic. It took a while for me to get him to trust me, but once that happened, we had some wonderful talks.
Sanboy Mamba - A clinical instructor in Community Health. I went out on home visits with him and some students. He is a wonderful teacher with a truly open mind.
Hlengiwe Mohale and Love Kumi - You're not going to believe this but both these women are Maternity/labor & delivery nurses, unfortunately not there much when I was. Betty worked with them a lot and they have the potential to turn that ward around.
Simon Banda - RN lecturer. He had just the right amount of outrage over the situation along with the ability to communicate productively. I hope he comes to the States.
I'm going to miss them. I'm going to miss how open and welcoming they were to me. I'm really going to miss the work now that I know better how to do it. And I'm going to miss Africa. So much. Oh hell. I'm tipsy and I may start crying. Kevin and Sheldon, who I've grown to love in one week, are off to Mtubatuba for the weekend so I've got my final night here all by my lonesome. This leaves me way too much time for reflection. Alright. Enough. I fly out tomorrow. I'm surprised at how much I've enjoyed keeping this blog. Thanks for coming along. See you next week. Carter - you owe me dinner.