What a week!

It's been a crazy week! Monday started out fairly normal working at the diabetes clinic during the day and heading up to the market for market day (which is absolutely insane but worth seeing all the vendors shouting and trying to convince you to buy their vegetables or dried fish or fabrics). Tuesday we went to village nearby to do another child welfare clinic. I've getting more comfortable with the language so I'm able to talk to more of the people we treat which makes the whole experience more rewarding and they get more from me I'm sure. I even gave some babies the typhoid vaccine. Wednesday another volunteer and I went to a nearby clinic on the outskirts of Ho to shadow a nurse there. She was probably the most progressive woman I've met since I've been and Ghana and I spent several hours with her discussing the major issues facing Ghana's healthcare system - mostly the fact that it lacks any sort of real infrastructure. Thursday is surgery day at the hospital so after working in the diabetes ward in the morning I went to the theatre where I watched the surgeon perform another mastectomy and a C-section. I've never seen a live birth and it was absolutely incredible (and very speedy!) The baby had stopped growing because the mother was pre-eclampsia and so the doctor was forced to do a C-section at 34 weeks. The baby was so tiny but screamed it's little head off, which we were all thankful for. Friday I returned yet again to the leprosy village which is becoming my favorite outreach. I've gotten to know some of the lepers and they have such a happy demeanor regardless of their unfortunate situation. All I can do is tend to their wounds and given them pain medication but I think they appreciate having visitors and a break from the monotony of their lives.
Friday night we also had a little party to savor the life in Ghana and each other's company before we all begin to go on our separate ways. Anna, the Swede, leaves next Thursday and then I follow suit the following Tuesday. I can not believe that I am down to almost 2 weeks left! It feels as though the past month has just flown by now that I have settle down into a life here. Had I planned to be here for longer there are quite a few projects I would like to get started on, the main one being creating a system for the hospital in which clinics in the nearby villages check up on patients and do followup appointments. However with only 2 weeks left I will try to accomplish as much as I can. I still would like to observe some traditional medicine as it is estimated that 80% of people in Ghana receive some kind of traditional medicine and some refuse Western treatment. I am trying to take in as much as I can before I have to leave and return to my normal life back in the States.