Playing Nurse

  

                

One of the responsibilities that has fallen upon me is to help missionaries with their medical issues. Skin rashes, ingrown toenails, athletes foot, headaches, fever, acid stomachs, pain in the stomach, flu, malaria, broken wrists (that just happened yesterday) and the list goes on and on!  This is NOT fun. I never know what to tell them and I guess I'm not very compassionate, especially when I feel that most of their problems will just go away if they give it some time. I am not one to run to the doctor with every little ache and pain; nor do I pop pills every time I'm feeling a little uncomfortable.           

 

The mission president's wife is actually suppose to take this responsibility when a mission nurse has not been specifically called. She doesn't like it any better than I do. Most of the African missionaries especially, want to go to a clinic every time they don't feel well. 

I'm getting pretty good at googling their complaints and answering accordingly, right or wrong. Number one reply is, "drink more water!"    After so much, we came up with a plan: Provide each apartment (flat) with a very basic supply of medicines. I've been working on these for awhile now. Today the first set of 8 rolled out to a Zone Conference. There will be thirty kits in all.

                                                      

After the pharmacist gave us this quote, as few days later he said that the prices quoted were his wholesale prices, not the prices that WE would be paying.  Since the products are African products I had to use google to identify the product into something I was familiar with! Then convert everything from kwacha to dollars to see if it was a feasible item to include.

I've learned something (like all good challenges make you do): According to the pharmacist we have been working with, First Aid kits do not contain medicine because when enclosed tightly the chemicals in the medicine may react to each other, lessoning there potency. This is why we drilled holes for ventilation in all of the kits. We were told these would be sufficient. 

If I try to be as the Savior, maybe I can learn compassion: "But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth."

Please pray this helps!

Boring post, I know, but it had to be said.