How did you get into nursing? Decide to pursue your BSN?

I was volunteering at Kaiser Hospital AIDS ward and Bridge for Kids in 1993 and found that caring for people came naturally to me.

The technology of hospital nursing was not as frightening as I had thought. A few of the nurses gave me the ‘nudge’ to try out nursing and I haven’t stopped since.

Nursing was a new career for me, so I decided to start slow — LVN first, further education later. My long-range plan is to become a nurse practitioner.

Where are you working now?

I am at the Mother of Peace Orphanage in Zimbabwe, a place for children affected by HIV/AIDS.

I am educating mothers on when to bring children to the clinic, because we often see fungal infections running rampant before a child gets to the clinic. We had a couple children pass away in the local hospital due to lack of resources — no IV solution for dehydration was available.

One of my projects has been to have all the children get tested for HIV. We ran out of official paperwork, so we’ve halted testing temporarily.

I am also working to build a stronger relationship with the local hospitals. One made a very generous donation of amoxicillin, so I took some boxes to them. Not all clinics and hospitals are stocked the same — some clinics have meds, some don’t. Patients have to hunt around until they find their meds.

Most clinics and hospitals do not have access to clean water (for mixing powdered suspension); refrigeration (no fridge meds or ice packs); and basic sanitation (most people have pits, but I have seen people urinate on the side of a walking path).

Most patients spend the day at the hospital when they are sick — treatment is often delayed and acuity often increases. Our patients are willing to walk for hours and wait for hours for a doctor. Because there is a critical shortage of nurses, many family members provide adjunct care at night in the hospital.

In terms of providing health care, improvisation is the key; you find what you can to provide treatment safely. At the local hospital I have seen gloves rotting and no soap while a doctor was trying to dress a complicated wound.

If there is no petrol, the ambulance doesn’t go out. If there is no medication available there is not much more than prayer. Underlying all of this is the fact that people here are focused on trying to eat.

There is also the language barrier. I have to rely on translators, and patients don't want to admit it when they don’t understand. Eventually it works out, but I have given a few chickens back to clients.

What are the majority of illnesses you are seeing?

I’m seeing HIV, malnutrition, TB, meningitis, and malaria. The illnesses here are severe. Most do not come to the clinic unless they can barely walk. The cost of coming to a clinic is staggering when the patient barely makes enough money to feed a family. People are brought in on ox-driven carts, human-driven carts, and wheelbarrows.

Are you still washing your clothes by hand and ironing them?

Yes. There are no washing machines. I launder my own clothes because I don’t want to burden people who are already working very hard for $15 U.S. per month.

Clothes must be ironed because there is a fly that lands on clothing and deposits eggs. Ironing kills the eggs; otherwise, the eggs burrow into the skin and fly larvae (maggots) come up as boils.

The irons do not have regulators, a lesson I relive every time I put on my holey socks.