Day 46: Last Day in Malawi

Woke up on my last day in Malawi. Enjoyed my last morning waking up because of the sun shining through the window instead of a blaring alarm clock. Made breakfast and made the 30 minute walk to the hospital. The house was in the more upper class of town, with the vice president's house two doors down. It was a very scenic walk. Close to the hospital, the food vendors were setting up as people swept the dirt sidewalks. There were always banana peels that I expected one day to slip on, just like the cartoons.

At handover, they went over the cases from the week. Itai, the medical student that I talked with the most, had a surprise presentation. He went over problems in the medical care in Malawi and if steroids would be of benefit. It was a very thorough and impassioned argument. It reminded me of the zeal that 1st year medical students usually start with and I was impressed that he was able to keep up the zeal, even with all the struggles in Malawi. Perhaps it is seeing all of the hardships in Malawi that keeps him driven. For example, when labs are lost and a child's life is dependent upon them, it does ignite a fire to fix the problem.

At the end of handover, there was tea and cake, as it was the Malawian students last day on the rotation. I was able to say goodbye to all the registrars and students and got a picture of 8 of the 13, 5th year students.

I went to the Moyo ward, which was the malnutrition ward. There were many kids with Kwashiorkor and Marasmus. Kwashiorkor is when kids develop edema with large bellies, whereas Marasmus is when children look emaciated. Fortunately, we were able to discharge most of the patients. Patients were improving with their packaged protein (I think it was peanut butter).

After rounds, I walked home. At home I said goodbye to Simoni (the cook) and to the guards.

We had our last dinner and packed our bags full. All 3 of us were at the max weight. We watched a movie and then went to our bunk beds for bed.



Day 47: Malawi to South Africa

I said goodbye to the 2 guys early in the morning.

I grabbed a new book that I started, "Labryinth," and sat out in the sun reading.

Went to the Blantyre airport (Chileka). XRay machine was down so they hand searched my bags. Then they did the customary pat-down.

After boarding it took me 2 hrs to get back to Jo-burg, compared to the week it took me to get from there.

I rechecked in at Jo-burg and boarded my flight to Paris



Day 48: Travel home

Slept on the plane from Jo-burg to Paris. I landed at 5am. There wasn't a long enough layover to see the Louvre :(

Fell asleep on top of bags for a couple hours and then wandered around the airport. Grabbed a croissant and some coffee.

Plane boarded that afternoon and I was pleasantly surprised to find that no one was in the seat next to me. I gained 7 hrs and so when I landed in Detoit it was 4pm, but it felt like 11pm.

Customs took awhile. As soon as I mentioned Africa, I had to take my bags through the XRay machine. Of course they found the orange that I had leftover from the plane ride. Luckily, they were understanding and let me through.

My boyfriend was there to meet me outside of customs and then my parents surprised me outside the elevators! We went out to dinner and I went home to unpack and get ready to start my urology rotation the next morning. Fell asleep in my own bed, enjoying the familiarity of my surroundings.



Day 49: Adjusting, Match Day and Valentine's Day

Woke up slightly confused on where I was and went to my rotation. I enjoyed having a cell phone and car again, but missed the weather and my morning walk. Continued to adjust throughout the day, which was a big one.

In the morning, I got a text from a friend letting me know that residency match results were posted. I checked my e-mail and found that I matched at Sparrow for their pediatric program! So I will be heading back to Lansing for the next 3 years.

The good day wrapped up with Valentine's day when I got home :)



Am still continuing to adjust. Malawi already seems like it was years ago. I'm trying to get used to the amount of sterility here and adult patients again. Hopefully, someday I will get a chance to go back to Malawi. But, as of right now, I'm glad to be home.