Some land and a cow, sitting volleyball, and dinner with the General

This morning we got the opportunity to visit the military hospital and see the physical therapy and prosthetic departments. I had no idea what to expect going in there, but it was definitely far different than what I'm used to.

Walking around the hospital

Walking around the hospital

The LTC who oversees the hospital

Our group (minus Brian and Jacob who were taking the picture)

The hospital from the "parking lot"

We met with a Lieutenant Colonel who oversees the hospital. Although it's called a military hospital, they have opened it up to civilians and also treat them. About 50% of their patients are non-military. The biggest problem that they had is lack of equipment, both for diagnosis and for treatment. They have x-rays, but no MRI or CT scans. They have no lab. Much of the equipment that they have is broken and they have no way of fixing it. There is also a shortage of trained specialized personnel.  Right now in the physical therapy department, there are only techs that perform the work. There is no actual physical therapist. In fact, when they found out that my area of specialty is physical therapy (it was just too hard to try and explain the difference between a PT and an AT, so I went with it), I was offered some land and a cow to move here and come help them in the department. That might sound laughable to most westerners, but the LTC was completely serious in his offer, which is a very generous offer for this area. I'll admit that for a split second I thought about it, but I turned him down gently and said that I would let him know if I ever change my mind.

As a random side note, I asked him as we entered if it would be ok for me to take pictures. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Of course, this is a public hospital. Take all the pictures you want." Quite the opposite of the HIPPA guidelines that I'm used to.

From the front of the PT department - To the left there is a waiting area. The cage has a treatment table and some other equipment. The people sitting down directly in the middle had their arms under some sort of heat lamp.

The treadmill in the back has been broken for a long time and sits unused. There are parallel bars just to the right of it.

This is apparently a treatment for low back pain. I don't know how it works, but the machine distributes a wax-like substance onto the sheets.

There is an office of the techs off to the side which they also use as part of the treatment room to try to accommodate more people.

After visiting the physical therapy department, we also got the chance to see where they make the prosthetics. The number that they make varies by demand, but they can make up to 4 per week. The person in charge was trained in Thailand. We were lucky enough to see them in the process of making a prosthetic for a leg amputee. I don't know what the western procedure for making prosthetics is, but I'm pretty sure it's a little different than what I saw.

The Prosthetician showing us the prosthetic that they were currently working on.

After putting a couple of layers on (cloth and then tight plastic), they are getting ready to pour the resin into the plastic to give it color.

They spread the resin by using pantyhose to make a thin layer all around. It then has to dry for several hours.

This is the new foot that the patient is going to get. It has a moveable knee. It turns out that it is actually for one of the Soldiers in the compound.

Once we were finished at the hospital, we got the chance to go see some of the Soldiers from the compound who play sitting volleyball. They were practicing, which they do twice a week. Once again, this was a completely different reality than what I expected. Generally, when I think of sitting volleyball, or any adaptive sports, I think of what I am used to - inside playing a nice wood floor. We went to THE place in Bujumbura (the capital city of Burundi, where we are staying). This is where the national team plays basketball, and is the nicest sports arena in all of the area.

Outside the sports facility

They wore padded shorts that they replace every four months because of the rough court

This invitation was delivered as we were watching practice. I hope they do well. 

They were at a tie at this point. We left just before the final few points were scored in the tiebreaker.

Quite clearly, it's not hard to see where equipment is necessary for them to continue playing. They also do not practice often compared to most high level teams, likely because of the cost to rent the court. The guys were really good, though, and they played well together. Hopefully next time we'll be able to join in.

After watching the games, we ended up coming back to the hotel for a while of rest. I wasn't feeling very well at that point and felt a little bit of fever and chills coming on, so I forced myself to sleep for the long break (close to 5 hours) that we had. I said a little prayer before I went down and was able to get up a few hours later feeling like my body had gone through a battle, but the sickness was gone. I was quite grateful for that and have felt fine ever since.

Our table setting - this was a big deal

Around 7:00 pm we were picked up to go to dinner with the General Chaplain. This was a dinner that was not arranged before we came into the country but told that we were going to be having the dinner this week after we had arrived. It also did not come out of our funds but was paid for by the Ministry of Defense. That is a very big deal and has not been the case on trips past. The restaurant and setup was beautiful, and the food was absolutely delicious. It was a great ending to the night, and shortly after getting back to the hotel, I was out.

Awesome buffet

Tomorrow we get to sleep in a little and it will be a little more relaxing. We have a few things on the agenda, but much less than the past few days. I continue to look forward to it and find that this place and the people here are quite amazing. God Bless!