Go together well

On Valentine’s Day, as I was walking back toward the hospital after buying a Coke from the Red Cross canteen (a little shop adjacent to the hospital “car park” where they sell snacks, soft drinks, and sadza ), a man about my age walked briskly toward me, saying, “Hi doc, I’m sorry to interrupt you but can I ask a personal question?” My mind jumped to: where’s the rash? Instead, he continued, “It’s about my wife. She was admitted to the labour ward for an induction today, but now they’re sending her back to the antepartum ward because she isn’t having contractions.” (The labour ward has a strict no visitors policy, which also means no husbands.Throughout the rest of the hospital, visitors are only allowed for two hour-long periods each day.)  He went on to tell me about the recent course of his wife’s pregnancy, and I was becoming curious about what the “personal question” would be. After a few minutes, he asked simply, “Do you think she’ll be okay? Do you think the baby will be ...

After a couple of weeks of rounds with "the Zvandasara firm" (they refer to teams of doctors as firms, which makes me feel like I'm in a John Grisham novel) and delivering babies with the midwives, Dave and I are hitting our stride and understanding (at least at a basic level) how things work here. We continue to be amazed by the number of babies born at Harare Central Hospital every single day, and we are relishing the opportunities and experiences we’re gaining. {Me with a baby I just delivered and dressed in a very warm outfit!} Although it is no surprise that there is significant poverty in Zimbabwe (after all, it is a developing nation ), I have been struck by the dramatic ways in which the scarcity of jobs and resources affect people’s health. A recurring theme in gynecology clinic is: woman diagnosed with cancer (or probable cancer) a year ago, did not have the recommended treatment at that time because of inability to pay for it, now returning after havi...

It’s been a week since we (my fellow UVM resident, Dave, and I) arrived via a bumpy landing at Harare International Airport to start a month-long obstetrics rotation at one of Zimbabwe’s tertiary medical centers. At times cautiously navigating a foreign system and at others readily integrating into seemingly universal medical practices (daily rounds, admissions, systematic gathering of patient data), we are learning that being a doctor in Zimbabwe is in some ways unrecognizably distinct and in others comfortable, familiar.  Before I go further, I want to clarify something: throughout my preparations for this trip, I received a lot of undue praise from friends, family, and patients about how great it is that I would travel to Zimbabwe for a "medical trip," with the assumption being that I am somehow going to accomplish something great or to "save" people from death or illness. While I would love to be able to end vertical HIV transmission or to vaccinate eve...

The past few months have been full of long work days and as much skiing as we could squeeze in on days off. Over the course of this ski season, Chris has had more opportunities to ski than I have--and he has gone from being nervous on the bunny hill to cruising down black diamond runs. I'm very proud of his progress and excited that he's providing me with a new ski buddy! {View from the top! Lincoln Peak ; A spring skiing day in early April} Over the past month, whenever I haven't been out skiing (i.e. most of the time), I have been catching babies on labor & delivery.  I have been fascinated by the degree to which expectant parents try to plan their respective birth experiences. They arrive to the labor & delivery unit bearing detailed outlines of how they want the process to unfold. The bullet points vary widely: We would like to listen to music ,  I want to experience an orgasmic birth , we would like to bring the placenta home , I want a water birth...

I've had two "golden" weekends in a row (i.e. both Saturday and Sunday off), and it's been really lovely. Labor and delivery is fun, but it can be stressful too...so it's nice to have the weekend to relax and regroup. Yesterday, we went to the Burlington Farmers' Market  and bought some purple carrots , stopped by a cute garage-turned-coffee shop  for cappuccino and a delicious " coffee toffee bar ," then picked up a baguette at a local bakery  before heading home to read my new  Vanity Fair and watch a few episodes of the extremely addictive  Orange is the New Black  on Netflix before dinner. Today, we hiked Camel's Hump Mountain --Tessie's first real mountain hike!  Tomorrow morning, I'll be back on L&D...I've been getting a bit more confident with my cervical checks, which makes life a lot easier! Chris is still on the hunt for a teaching job...we've been very surprised by the difficult job market for teachers i...