tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42926954763012755672024-02-21T05:55:34.813-08:00Gyasi JohnAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-6509522630953552162014-12-23T06:23:00.000-08:002014-12-23T06:23:35.833-08:00Grateful Christmas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span lang="EN-US">An attitude of
gratefulness is a requisite for greatness.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Being grateful for the little things of this
life open doors for greater things to happen to us. The most successful people
in this world required some help at some point in their lives. There’s no such
thing as self-made riches. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">‘What have you that you did not receive?’ If we
received everything we own, then we should be grateful for everything. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In this life, I have seen many tragedies. In my
short practice as a medical doctor, I have come to appreciate the brute
mortality of man. I cannot describe in words how heartbreaking it is to watch
on helplessly while life slips from somebody. Utterly distressing to see a
newborn baby expire despite your best efforts. It is such that I cannot put it
into words, this sickening feeling. How tragic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We should be thankful on an hourly basis for
the gift of life. I am thankful to God for this precious gift we call life. It
is in Him we live and move and have our being. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To be able to do the routine daily activities
is such a blessing we shouldn’t take for granted. The ability to talk and be
understood, move from one place to the other and to do as your free will tells
you to. Tis’ such a blessing to be conscious and fully aware of what is going
on around you and to decide on what you want to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Let’s not lose sight of the love of God for
all. God’s love for those less fortunate than we are. We have all been blessed in various ways. Even
unto the dying, God’s love remains undiminished for both the sinner and the
saint. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">God’s love for the sinner is the reason for
this season thus the sinner cannot be ungrateful. The sinner must show
appreciation for this love by embracing the salvation that Jesus brings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">[John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes on Him should have eternal
life]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The saint should rejoice for the gift of
eternal life and the fulfilling promise of a victorious life here on earth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Merry Christmas – God has blessed us. Let us be
thankful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-36393213161489773002013-12-10T02:29:00.002-08:002013-12-10T02:29:34.124-08:00THANKFUL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I thank God for the gift of love and what it means even
though we have not a full understanding of what it means to love here on earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I thank God for the promise of love eternal, unconditional
and unfailing here on earth; none can grant such graces – faithful and ever
sure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I thank God for the opportunity to experience and also share
in His love daily through the people around me; these were created in His
image. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I thank God for His love and promise of a second chance
everyday even though I deserve not these more often than not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I thank God for the sunshine after the dark clouds and rain.
It reminds me daily to have hope in the midst of adversity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I thank God for His love daily; I could never do anything to
merit such. I can never understand why He loves me so much even though I still
falter and fail in my daily walk. I can never comprehend neither the height nor
depth, neither the extent nor reach of His love for me. I can never love Him
back in an appreciable manner as I ought to yet He sustains me by His unfailing
love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While I am thankful daily, I am mindful of the fact that I
can never thank Him enough for all that He’s done for me and what His promises
are for me. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-45468745604322251822013-06-30T16:48:00.002-07:002013-06-30T16:48:40.767-07:00Looking ahead<br />
I choose to move on! I choose to look on the brighter side<br />
I choose to put on that positive attitude as if nothing ever happened yesterday<br />
If yesterday's past catches up with me,<br />
I will confidently face it and overrun it.<br />
Cos' what lies ahead of me is far greater than what is behind.<br />
Oliver Wendel says...What lies behind us, and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us!<br />
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There's something inside so strong! I'm gonna make it!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-1206705344192772692013-04-16T12:07:00.002-07:002013-04-16T12:07:29.949-07:00'Virtually social'<br />
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Me: Good day (I make a waving gesture to great a ‘friend’)</span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘Friend’: No response.</span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I take my seat beside this senior colleague. His eyes intently fixed on his 3.5’ screen with fingers scrolling down on his touch screen. Was he absent minded? Had he noticed my greeting but disregarded it as a random person greeting him? I started having these thoughts because this was the second time I was meeting this colleague who seems to have no idea who I am. Not that I was offended for thinking myself important to him while I was not. But I was perplexed! I was at a loss as to how my ‘friend’ could simply ‘know’ me so well in the digitalized world and have no clue who I am in the real world. Never mind, he was busy on his iPhone checking his Facebook comments and now I could see him smile reading some comments or whatever pleasant thing he was reading on his ‘wall’.</span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But this is a colleague known to me very well, okay at least very well known to me in the social world and whiles he was in school too! He is a friend on Facebook, a follower on twitter and a fellow in some groups we both belong to on Facebook!! He had made comments on my ‘wallpost’ in Facebook before. I ‘follow’ him on twitter and he follows me back. I have in the past ‘re-tweeted’ some of his tweets even! Of course I knew him personally too! As my senior colleague, I remember having this encounter with him whiles he was in his final year in medical school. For obvious reasons, I won’t divulge information on this encounter with my colleague here.</span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I mulled over these thoughts, I began to contemplate the possible impacts social media might be having on our generation with particular emphasis on our relationships with others; what I call our <strong><em>real social connection</em></strong>. I share my perspective on this matter in this article. In a sense, these are largely shaped by my personal experiences as a heavy user of social media particularly of Facebook.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I am on Facebook, have a twitter account, Google+ account in addition to the two blog sites I manage both on google blogger and wordpress. I use applications like tweetdeck and hootsuite which brings these social networking sites together. And yes, I have forgotten some sites I signed up for something like Facebook created by Ghanaians – I think two of them or so. I belong to uncountable groups on Facebook having created and managing a lot of these and I have a BranchOut account on Facebook too. Quite a lot huh? Some of them, either I have forgotten the name of the site or I have forgotten the password or even the username for such.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In this information age, you must be connected so you can make the best use of technology around you productively.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But just when is social connection, especially an impersonal one like these online connections too much? Just how many of these can be considered one too many? How personal or how impersonal should it be? How much information should we give out publicly or how secured and safe can we be on a daily basis with the current proliferation of spam messages on these sites and the impuned invasion of our privacy. The price to pay for our free usage? Interesting observation; these days you can have a conversation with someone on a daily basis without ever seeing or meeting the person! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On the productive side, you can plan and organize events, have meetings and raise funds for projects. Social media has increasingly become the portal for news delivery – most of us having to feed on news stories from these sites. I particularly have found it useful in these past weeks when I have had to rely on it for making announcements to medical students in Africa and also for reading announcements/ notices from my class wall on Facebook. People share news about events both blissful and mournful. Conversations/ discussions about topics ranging from politics, sports, religion and other social issues are held on such sites with news channels taking advantage of this to reach out to their listeners.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can share photos of memorable events with loved ones on these sites (albeit you may not know most of your friends on Facebook). ‘Prominent’ people have Fan pages. Politicians are taking advantage of this too likewise the ministers and evangelists.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Seems to me people have rather become quite philosophical churning out volumes of wise sayings on daily and sometimes on hourly basis! Never mind the blatant plagiarism or the frequent infringement of copyright laws. People have rather become very expressive and confident in a sense.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Question still remains, what are the limits? What is considered too much?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some of us have thousands of friends and we barely know 40% of people on our friends’ list! I have known a lot of people from within the IFMSA and also during my term as a FAMSA official and even from my exchange program and numerous conferences attended worldwide. I am not quite sure I know up to 50 percent of the 1,345 people on my friends’ list! Even more compelling, I am not sure I know on a personal basis up to 20 percent of my 'friends'. For ‘fanatics’ like me, we just click the ‘accept friendship request’ button anytime we see that red notification on our page. Some of us even have anonymous profiles on these social sites and only God knows the intention of such sketches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Going back to the opening story, is it possible that I might I have considered many of my ‘friends’ as random people I met on the streets or on a bus? Is it possible I sat next to one of them at a place and never opened my mouth to say hi cos' I has no clue who they were just like my 'friend'? Did someone start wondering where they knew me? Was my face seemingly familiar? The affirmative to these are all possible and I don’t know what effects these may have but certainly these are not connections you would give thought to or expect positive outcomes from. At best, they make us appear sociable when in fact, we <em>really</em> are not. I have been culprit a number of times cutting conversation short and continuing essential discussion online via chat or email. Seems to me real friends are becoming distant even though they are so close on these social networking sites. We can have long chats with our friends online and only visit their room which is only four doors away from us occasionally. We so much want to get inside our rooms and switch on the PC and see what people are saying, doing or to put it in a more apt way, posting. We want to comment on their post, join in the celebration, sympathize, advise or comfort and yes, share God’s word with our friends. We want to do all these but on a digitally social platform! Makes me sometimes feel we are heading for an era like in one of those sci-fi thrillers where computers take over human race and control everything – in this case our communication and relationships (which is everything actually). I sometimes get the sense we are just sitting back watching the computers do all the communication for us. We shouldn’t forget communication is more than just words. What about the smileys you may argue now. Well, I think they are just characters typed out. Nothing can replace the smile on a human face or the warmth of an embrace or the pleasure of a kiss. Nothing can take away the tears on a face, or the moans and groans of an ailing friend. Nothing can take away that touch of healing. The soothing touch of a loved one, the nudge or shove or the poke of a friend – these are human and cannot be replaced. Action indeed speaks louder than words. Video massaging you may now say. But hey, it's just an image (it being a moving image of a person) but not the person. There is something ritual about having the person in person to communicate with. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My dear reader make no mistake, I am not against social networking but what I am highlighting here and advocating against is the dehumanization of these relationships. When we remove the element of humanity from these connections so it seems we have another life out there encrypted and encoded in computer messages or even multimedia. We seem to have that sociable and expressive personality only he cannot touch or be touched. Only he cannot see, hug, kiss or dry our tears no matter what sweet words he may write. I have heard action speaks louder than words.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The social profile we create out there must of necessity conform to our very own personality. What we represent out there must also represent us indeed. For safety reasons it is not wise to give out so much information about ourselves out there but whatever we choose to give must reflect our being – religious, Christian, or whatever creed we profess to believe in. That is the challenge for us. We may not know all the people in our digital social domain, but we must value personal relationships above these. These must not supersede the personal relationships we have with people. Sometimes it's practically impossible to communicate with people without the aid of social networks and that is fine. After all, you have in mind that the network is just an aid to the relationship you have with A PERSON! That is fine and good reasoning. What I am against is the removal of the person element in this relationship. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For other purposes, we may reach out impersonally to people sometimes but to wallow in the virtual world of socialization is to deceive ourselves of our social well-being. That is not healthy according to the WHO.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Easily the adage that the devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know comes to mind. We must mend our broken physical relationships, consolidate the good ones we have already with people and then build genuine virtual relationships to our benefit and that of those around us. We must reach out purposefully and as widely as we can through social media to achieve the best we could possibly achieve and help our generation. We must put back humanity into social media and make it more relevant to our human relationships. <em>My thoughts to you via social media!</em></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-57902291433271083802013-04-16T11:44:00.005-07:002013-04-16T11:44:34.590-07:00Safe in the arms of His love<br />
He was amongst us as one of us<br />
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He showed us the way to victory and beckons us<br />
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He loved us and died for us<br />
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He defeated life’s most feared foe and gave us hope<br />
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He was glorified and seeks glory for us in Heaven<br />
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One day, He will welcome us,<br />
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Sinners turned Saints into His Father’s house<br />
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He saved us so we may live for Him!<br />
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Lift His royal banner high.<br />
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His name is Jesus!!!<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-46245737224789336512012-06-06T16:39:00.001-07:002013-04-16T11:36:11.689-07:00Faith, Hope and Love: Conversations from my ward<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga;">Some stories from CRH Ward 9...</span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">The author is a medical doctor sworn to protect secrets of his patients even after their death... Nothing shared in this violates this sacred oath.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga;">This is a story about a 26 year old man and his family and of course me, his doctor! It's a story about fighting to survive. It's about Hoping against hope and staying strong despite agonizing reality. When doom looms and hope elopes, when all you do seems pointless and you feel helpless and the odds are against you, it is then that you must have faith and hope! You have to have hope and the courage. </span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga;">So I mustered courage and with the diaphragm of my stethoscope placed on his frail chest - barely any skin to cushion my tool, I listened to his chest and the heart sounds and satisfied myself he was not in heart failure. What was intriguing and satisfying was his smile and what came out of his mouth; "What you listened to, is it okay?" Even more intriguing are the next two words and the accompanying smile I'll never forget, "My doctor". </span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga;">Here was a man confined to his bed and barely of any flesh. With fistula big enough to admit my glove size 8 fitting hands on his abdomen. Here was a man barely alive yet smiling with pride as he called me his doctor. I can never forget that smile. </span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga;">I had been called to see him the night before as he was bleeding from this huge ulcer on his abdomen which communicates with the outside draining faeces and anything the bowel wanted to extrude out. He had a bad enterocutaneous fistula after an operation for perforated bowel from another hospital. His days in the hospital outnumbered my entire stay in Cape Coast. </span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga;">It's another day and I had been called to see him again because the nurse on duty who wanted to dress his ulcer saw this huge haematoma that would likely cause profuse bleeding and probably lead to exsanguination should it be evacuated. </span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga;">I smile back hiding my disappointment that we had not been able to do much for him. He's so frail he probable wouldn't even last the journey from our center to Accra where he'd probably receive same treatment as we're giving him - Nutritional support, adequate hydration, anaemia treatment and other supportive treatments in addition to the daily wound dressing for the ulcer on his abdomen.</span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga;">Everything around him seems hopeless and within my heart I feel sorrowful. Sometimes we are reminded of our humanity as doctors by such cases. We are reminded of our empathy, emotional frailty and our own mortality. I laugh uncontrollably whenever the chance for laughter presents itself, ask him irrelevant questions just to take my mind off his sorry state. Yet on this particular day, I'm touched by his smile. As I reflect on him whilst I recline in my bed to rest my hurting back, I feel more touched by the support of his mother and father. This must be the meaning of the expression; 'nothing like a mother's love'. The parents of this 26 year old man have practically abandoned the comforts of their bed for their son. They live with him, watch over him, nurse him and care for him like nothing I have seen before. The will is so strong and hopes high that their son will live. They're illiterate too! They can't understand a word of what the doctors discuss each day; about the dwindling hopes, the frustration and anything dooming the doctors say sometimes. probably a blessing to be illiterate on such occasions because in their 'ignorance', they have kept this boy alive in hope and in enthusiasm and a joyful expectation that he'll soon get well and be out of the place. Such is their blessing - an unwavering faith and an expectant heart. </span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga;">I comfort myself with the words that in his misfortune, he's been blessed with such loving parents. In his misfortune, he's enjoyed a mother's love and a father's care as I have never seen before. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga;">I'm also encouraged in my faith and in my profession - give your best no matter what and you'll be blessed with a smile in the least. How comforting it is to give your all to the patients you have been entrusted with. How fulfilling it is to find that your care and profession is appreciated. On yet another day, this ailing man told his parents in a frail shaky voice, "anytime I see doctor then I get happy". I guess I won your heart with the many smiles and encouragement and the 'conversations' we have. Not so much with the blood samples I take or the Iv lines I set and the drugs I prescribe to relieve your symptoms. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Kalinga; text-align: justify;">One night I wrote down these words fearing you'll leave that day; "If you should leave your doctor today, I know you're going to a better place where the Master Physician Himself will be your doctor! I'll comfort myself with the truth that in Heaven, there are no sorrows, no tears, no disease nor death. In His arms you'll be safe forever! God bless you Isaac! You and your family have touched my heart forever!</span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Kalinga;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Kalinga;">Now I'm beginning to have a strong feeling that you'll live through this and get out of the hospital soon. Today you asked me if you can start taking soup and fish cos' you miss it so much. Of course anything you want Isaac! I'll be praying for you. I have faith in a God who heals. </span><span style="font-family: Kalinga;">I'm hopeful you'll get better. And that God loves us all so much that he answers us!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Kalinga;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Kalinga;">Two weeks after, you are gone to your maker and I know you are in Heaven. God bless and keep you Isaac. RIP.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-74352102838624311402012-05-30T18:24:00.002-07:002013-06-30T16:52:49.028-07:00Houseman on call; Life at the Regional Hospital, Cape Coast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Maybe I'll summarize earlier weeks and add it later but for now, I'm just itching to let this out in my third week as an intern at the Central Regional Hospital in Cape Coast. Here it goes...</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Yesterday (Sunday, 27/05/2012) I did my first suturing! yay! I'm obviously excited about this cos' it gives me hope that I'll be justified in my decision not to stay in Korle Bu for my first year in House job. Having hid behind numbers most time (cos' we had a large class in Medical School), I decided it was time I stood on my own. A hard decision that has seen me even part ways with my best friend from school even though he also opted to stay outside Korle Bu for first year. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Anyway, I have to get that off my mind and simply focus on gaining as much as I can gain from this experience.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQciwIqwtR6XoONBfzHA0xkCVIko0l3U2fLsyPG1YeyEKvLGWl8y58MYq6XDEV8RTMu3dSISeoMqDwCNRWnWBS6vBgYH9T5Li0QBPiQzYA5t27WL4AhZ8s7knmk0Tkkf6_4siacwY-XI9b/s1600/SAM_0038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQciwIqwtR6XoONBfzHA0xkCVIko0l3U2fLsyPG1YeyEKvLGWl8y58MYq6XDEV8RTMu3dSISeoMqDwCNRWnWBS6vBgYH9T5Li0QBPiQzYA5t27WL4AhZ8s7knmk0Tkkf6_4siacwY-XI9b/s320/SAM_0038.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">It's now 1:48am on 28-05-2012 and I have a crazy schedule ahead of me;</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">- I'm the only house officer on call 24 Hours at the Department of Surgery here in CRH. That means I'm in charge of both male and female wards, I review cases on both wards every morning, I do OPD work, prepare patients for surgery and also assist in theatre, sometimes review surgical cases at the ER and in addition, do ER work almost every other day! That translates into about 15 hours of work/ day every other day and also means my short sleep hours can (and actually is) interrupted at any time of the day! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">So much for my personality which is the kind that wants to do things at its own pace, be in charge and control how events unfold. Not anymore! The times are set for me and I must follow through and come out clean if I am going to be a good doctor (or so I have come to believe).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">As I realized, my day typically begins few minutes before 6am and by 7:30am, I should be by my patients side and reviewing cases already. By 9:30am/ 10am, ward work including reviews and taking samples and doing other procedures should be done. Then depending on the day, I set off for the OPD to see patients. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">By 2pm/ 3pm, I should be done here and really my day should end there if I don't have ER duties. But no! Theatre calls and I must answer. Emergency or elective cases, I must answer the call.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">As I have realized also, there are good sides to being an overworked intern;</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I get to do so many things that I would have otherwise missed. I get to be more responsible and also get more opportunities at practice.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">But later today as I would realize, my responsibilities just got a little bit overboard! I will be running the department of surgery alone tomorrow the 29th of May 2012!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">None of my 5 superiors will be around in the day and the onus lies on me to keep the department sane and running smoothly. God help me.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">So it turned out I have worked for 20 hours non-stop! I had duties at the ER and my night started at 10pm on 28/05/2012 and ER duty ended next day at 7am. So much for the night already and I must get ready and move straight to the ward and review cases. Little did I know know I was going to be in the hospital premises for the next 11 hours or so! Hey! I don't even know if my new American friend was around. I simply didn't notice this. First year medical student from University of North Carolina here in Cape Coast. So much for the girl in my opinion. I had a good time at the ER with my colleague and classmate helping me out. The only problem I had with the night was this baby with Malaria and gastroenteritis with dehydration. I had a hard time finding an IV line for him to get the fluids in. He needed these IV fluids and his inexperienced doctor couldn't find his tiny little veins buried in his thick skin. Days you wish not all 14 months babies were not that well fed and dehydrated with collapsed veins. There was also this teenager who for strange reasons had drank some liquid soap and fallen unconscious! Thank God he was revived after a lot of IV fluids! I guess it was a good experience for me. I'm learning everyday and I count myslf blessed under these circumstances. Today itself would have been a good one if not for the emergency cases we had to operate on. I had anticipated it to be a crazy one cos' I was going to be alone but the H.O.D for surgery at the UCCSMS came around to do the emergency cases. So I reviewed all the ER cases, and the ward cases as well and did the labs for the patients whiles I waited for Prof. to prepare for the cases. He let me do my second skin suturing! The case we did in theatre included a 9 year old girl who was initially thought to have perforated her bowel from typhoid fever. It turned out to be a perforated gallbladder! Cholecystectomy it was then. The youngest Prof. had done in his many years of work both in the UK and in Ghana.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">It's 12:33am on 31/05/2012- Awake and listening to good country music. I really should be sleeping but I simply can't! Not with the thoughts of the demise of my colleague and friend under bizarre circumstances at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. I'm starting to have thoughts of seeing a psychologist cos' I simply can't sleep with these thoughts. Sometimes just blank thoughts and at other times, memories of the many nights I walked the lonely dark road to my late colleague's room to play video games with him. I remember the excitement in his eyes, sometimes the shock at my incredible comebacks in FIFA12. Oh, I can remember one game he scored 3-0 in first half and I equalized in second half to 3-3. eventually, he had the last laugh when he won in extra time but he congratulated me all the same. He would really laugh loud and tease hard when he won against me. I had my revenge on some days but truth be told, he won more than I did. Now I remember also one time he had asked me to go for a ride with him in his brand new Nissan Primera. Just so much occupying my mind now. So young, so full of life and enjoying his new status as a medical doctor. Just murdered coldly in your own room at the doctors' flat without a clue. Desmond, Rest In Peace!</span></div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-44305365190902913752012-04-15T17:39:00.002-07:002012-04-15T17:52:55.044-07:00Youth; Gather to work!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; text-align: justify;">So it is that time of your life when almost anything is possible
to you. Life is before you like an open book with no prints. What story is told
is totally dependent on you. Like a vast fertile land in the forests, so also
is the story of your life now. What fruits shall be, is dependent on what is
planted today. It is also dependent on how the crops are tendered and cared
for. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">So
gather then what you have, roll up your sleeves and put your foot to the mud.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">"Do
not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." - Gal
6:7</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Such
is the delicate nature of even a time as this when you have all the
youthfulness, energy and passion to make a meaning out of your life. It is the
time you'll also face some of the most faith-challenging situations and the
greatest of temptations - all of this while you are still in the prime of your
youth!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">But
do not fear. It is a time to prepare you for the greater things ahead the best
of times yet to come! It is to prepare you for the time when you shall reap
bountifully if you sowed well whiles you labored. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Gather
therefore, the spade or hand trowel, digging fork, cutlass or machete, hoe and
rake. It's time to work! What work you do is dependent on what plans the garden
owner has and what purpose He called you into this garden for. The garden owner
supplies these tools as He knows you'd have need of them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Take
time; reflect on what gifts you have been blessed with. Thank the Lord for
such gifts. If you are finding difficulty knowing what is required of you, ask
Him in prayer through faith. Be fervent, persistent and consistent in this
matter and He shall direct you. It's easier said than done I know cos' I
experience it too. But consider this; the good book says "<i><span style="color: #001320;">If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives
generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." -
James 1: 5</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #001320; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">It's a great thing to have life and even greater to be young and
free. True freedom comes from Jesus who is the only way, the truth and the life.
"<i>So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."</i> -
John 8:36</span><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #001320; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Every day is a gift to be a better version of you. Make good use
of this gift. Don't live without purpose. If you made a mistake yesterday, now
is the time to right those wrongs. You have a gift; Plan, Pray and Play
too! </span><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #001320; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">You shall do great if you learn to live and love what you do.
You'll do great if you have faith and hope in God and if you have love for one
greater than you who has given you work to do. Don't be afraid to take on the
world, the one who created the world is with you!</span><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 8.5pt;">Note: As a Christian, this short piece is largely influenced by my
faith. I believe what I share holds true for any young man or woman
reading this short piece though.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 7pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0Accra, Ghana5.5557169 -0.1963065.4292844 -0.3542345 5.6821494 -0.038377500000000009tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-24537752460281599382011-09-28T05:36:00.001-07:002011-09-28T05:39:10.526-07:00DREAMS ABANDONED<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
POEM<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Sitting on the beach<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Basking in the sun </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Relishing naught <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Head full of thoughts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">The usual crowd moving up and down<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Bustling, hustling amounting to nothing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Same old stories told over and over again<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Yet making no sense and none seeming to care<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Emptiness, dejection, frustration and regrets<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Hollow so deep and wide as I have never felt
before<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Frustration for the hopes and dreams
abandoned <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Regrets for the faith lost and the paths not
trodden<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Once we conquered the oceans<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">On the exciting waves we rode<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">The many raging storms we battled<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">On these strange shores we perched<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Alas! Glimpses of a new haven I see!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">A reminder of a born-champion <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">And one destined to conquer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Alas! Hope and faith restored<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Like a phoenix rising from ashes to life again<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">I shall search through the rubbles and build
again<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Destiny has been kind to us, offering us a
new day<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">A brand new opportunity to redefine ourselves<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">And etch our names in the history books<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">INSPIRATION</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">“Dreams
are not what you see when sleeping; dreams are the ones that keep you from
sleeping. “ – unknown source<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Do you still remember your childhood dreams?
Is it what’s keeping you from sleeping? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Mine never did! Fascinating is how I will
describe my childhood dreams. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">As a child, I had dreams of becoming the best
mechanical engineer Ghana has ever seen! Ambitious? Hmmm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">My story goes this way; I started out early
trying out all sorts of things; disassembling and reassembling my toys and even
repairing electrical equipment all in my childhood days. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">At the age of Twelve, together with my
friend, we built our first electric toy car! That may be exaggerating matters
but the point is we made something out of ordinary wood and an electric motor
in an old toys car. We used plastic bottle tops with serrations to make some
kind of a gear and we used AA batteries to power this car. It was even more
fascinating when we realized that the ‘car’ could be reversed simply by
reversing the terminals of the battery. My friend is now a marine engineer and
I am still studying not to become an engineer but a doctor. Ah, such a noble
profession. Hmm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">What could have changed, what went wrong
(what got better if you asked me now)? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Dreams abandoned! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">I remember getting admission to my dream
school to pursue mechanical engineering in the year 2004. I even remember
paying part of my fees. So what changed? Trust me; what changed still remains a
mystery to me. The only thing I remember is that I was not influenced by anyone
to make a choice I didn’t want. I remember my parents telling me, you can be
whatever you want to be. And by God’s grace, I will be whatever I chose to be
then.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">There are times in our lives when we have to
abandon what we have planned in order to align ourselves with what God has
planned for us. I am not suggesting that this is the case in my situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">I have had some worrying times, sometimes
regret and frustration too because I chose to tread this path. There were times
when I felt disheartened and this was worsened by the monotonous routine of
listening to patients tell you their problems every day and the feeling of helplessness
when you know you cannot help them much. The hospital can be such a depressing
place for people like me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Once I rode the waves and battled the raging
storms when I was king of the world! Then the only defeat I knew was being
second best in class. Medical School can make such a mess of even ‘immortals’ (a
term we use for the academically sound) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">In my view, these were what really made me
doubt whether I was in the right place or not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Was I a square peg in a round hole? Now I am
fully convinced I am not. Thank God for the opportunity to know life and be a
part of making it better. Thank God for the opportunity to see and appreciate
some of the finer things in life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Contrary to all surrounding morbid conditions
and seemingly helplessness that I still sometimes feel, I do get the time to
enjoy sights as wonderful as watching the joy of a mother cuddling her child
and singing to it. As lovely as the baby smiling back as if it ever understood
the out of key notes being sung. I think of the shrill cry of the baby I helped
bring into this world (not literally as I only helped the mother deliver!) and the
look of innocence on the child’s face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Even in seemingly helpless states, I think of
giving my all to help the young girl with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus who
would probably die and the man with the end stage renal failure who had the
chance to prepare his will and passed on comfortably. When I see the bleeding
man, my heart bleeds not, not because I don’t care enough but because I have to
stay focused to help save his life. When that man with cancer passed on, I tell
the family without crying not because I’m cold and stonehearted but because
they need someone to stay strong for them. In these ‘mishaps’, Perhaps God is
using me for a purpose greater than my childhood dreams. In situations like
these perhaps I can and must do my best to help in ways that I can cos’ it may
be the purpose for which I am here. I have become certain of this; that whiles
I am here and while I do my best, I shall find fulfillment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">These same old stories told over and over
again and which did not make sense can then be interpreted in different ways.
In ways that making no sense doesn’t mean having no relevance. Perhaps, it is
our outlook in life and what pertains to it that makes it worth it or not. There
are countless stories of how ‘mishaps’ led to groundbreaking discoveries like
Sir Alexander Fleming discovering penicillin talk of Thomas Edison and the
electric bulb, just to mention a few. To the atheist, it’s a matter of chance
or probability. To the man of faith, it is the work of a superior being.
Whatever we call it, it isn’t always so simple and straightforward. It is how
we see it that matters. That is, our attitude. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">So I encourage you my reader, search through
the rubbles, pick up the pieces, rebuild and have faith! Believe it is worth
your efforts and never give up. Above all, trust God and believe that He is the
master architect and builder. When you’re lost, trust that He is the chief
navigator and saviour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Now when I think of my dreams, I like to
think of it this way; that I stay awake to save lives. I must play my role very
well then. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekB4I7XZnJVH-XC1j9-B8HcmWBP8RHnXK5516QeuYYy7j6XG06TCblybyCE4sjbO2_PuUoRYMWUcs-KLTdxp00J-iM8CWKx7Tcqowv09LSGCDkPBW49VhqrjkLD9YJrLnqb7Jwn48ZkS-/s1600/Jan+Best.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekB4I7XZnJVH-XC1j9-B8HcmWBP8RHnXK5516QeuYYy7j6XG06TCblybyCE4sjbO2_PuUoRYMWUcs-KLTdxp00J-iM8CWKx7Tcqowv09LSGCDkPBW49VhqrjkLD9YJrLnqb7Jwn48ZkS-/s320/Jan+Best.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Kristen ITC';">Live your dream friends!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-34993729608527288722011-08-31T00:24:00.000-07:002011-08-31T00:24:56.912-07:00on my birthday - a poem by my Zambian friendThe skies shed of the dark, Africa cheers, the birds beat their wings and the sun grows beyond the horizon.<br />
<br />
A new day, with a name inscribed in the precious august winds of sunrise, a memory in the promise of the sun's rays and the sweet melodies of the busy birds.<br />
<br />
Another milestone in a long journey called life, shall we pause for a while and say Happy Birthday John!<br />
<br />
<br />
By Webby Phiri<br />
Lusaka, ZambiaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-45773481928742602662011-08-22T18:43:00.000-07:002013-06-30T16:49:22.386-07:00Dare to dreamCandle in dark dusk<br />
Scroll lie on the desk<br />
Ink in the hand, stuck<br />
The writer now busks<br />
Seemingly awestruck!<br />
<br />
Staring at the blank page before me<br />
Reminiscing good times miles away<br />
Miles away yet only hours away<br />
Hours away, yet near anyday<br />
<br />
God has been gracious unto my soul;<br />
Looking skywards, I could reach my goals<br />
Wings that carried me across the Nile ,<br />
<br />
One cold evening in Nairobi,<br />
I was blessed to see a friend smile<br />
<br />
Such a pleasant smile reminding me of what I can be and all that I can do!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-5761751689059355702011-07-08T15:38:00.001-07:002013-06-30T16:58:55.088-07:00THE 16th ANNUAL FGMSA CONGRESSThe Federation of Ghana Medical Students’ Association (FGMSA) has held its 16th Annual National Congress which was celebrated under the theme; Family Planning and Poverty reduction; a two way mirror.<br />
The event took place from 25th to 27th March, 2011 and was hosted by The University of Ghana Medical Students’ Association in Accra, Ghana. <br />
The FGMSA is a body encompassing all medical and dental students in Ghana. The Federation currently has three full member Medical Students’ Associations (MSA’s) namely; KNUST-Medical Students’ Association (KNUST-MSA), University of Development Studies-Medical Students’ Association (UDS-MSA) and University of Ghana Medical Students’ Association (UGMSA). University of Cape Coast Medical Students’ Association current has observer status in the Federation. <br />
FGMSA Annual Congress serves as a platform for our General Assemblies during which elections are held to elect new executives of the Federation and also audit the federation’s accounts. It also serves as a platform for socialization and interaction amongst medical students in Ghana. <br />
This year, we were privileged to have some alumni around. Particular mention must be made of Dr. Chijioke Kaduru, a past National Executive Council Member of FGMSA and currently the President of IFMSA.<br />
Delegates arrived on 25th March and the Business meeting of the federation commenced right away in the evening right into the next day. This year’s election proved very competitive as we had two (2) females and one (1) male vying for the presidency. After a close contest, Ms. Hannah-Lisa Akunyumu-Tetteh was elected as president of the Federation for the next administrative year. Mr. Jones Gyedu Ampofo, immediate-past president handed over to her and her new executive council before the general assembly thereafter.<br />
The next day was packed with so much fun activities. In the morning, there were series of debates on hot topics such as abortion and family planning. I was particularly stunned at medical students putting forth intelligent arguments and making strong cases either for or against motions of the debate. It was a battle of wits and it only confirms my assertion that, medical students are multi-talented! Later in the day, there were sporting activities like volleyball, basketball and football. There was so much fun around and for once, I even forgot school was still in session! Again, it was hard to believe the stuff that medical students are made of. The night of 26th was Party night and thus was spent at Citizen Kofi, a popular hang-out spot in Accra.<br />
Delegates attended a thanksgiving service on 27th March, 2011 at Accra Chapel and departed to their various schools the same day.<br />
All in all, the 16th Annual FGMSA Congress was a tremendous success. The Organizing Committee did a marvelous job in organizing a fantastic National Congress. <br />
Kudos to Mr. Jones Gyedu Ampofo and his team of out-gone executives. Congratulations to Ms. Hannah-Lisa Akunyumu-Tetteh and her team of National Executive Council. <br />
Viva IFMSA! Viva Africa! Viva FGMSA!!!<br />
<br />
By John G. G. Banin<br />
NPO, FGMSA (2010)<br />
IFMSA Publications Team (2010/2011)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-21047710631435049002011-07-08T14:22:00.000-07:002013-06-30T16:55:23.689-07:00REPORT ON DISTRICT ROTATION AT AKOSOMBO<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeuGIssYK1wK3Sfro3OP01YAKsuRdFV6XvgvLdlCrxqRcPvFHLSW4WO4AAMyspOoXw-j5O63tQ-GCpEGuNuJylE8CgOe0WiZlQiauYi-3dT9clk6QEyxah4hyphenhyphenAxZcrDOpEkMD9eC6ulsT/s1600/27062011270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeuGIssYK1wK3Sfro3OP01YAKsuRdFV6XvgvLdlCrxqRcPvFHLSW4WO4AAMyspOoXw-j5O63tQ-GCpEGuNuJylE8CgOe0WiZlQiauYi-3dT9clk6QEyxah4hyphenhyphenAxZcrDOpEkMD9eC6ulsT/s320/27062011270.jpg" height="205" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
The District Clerkship is to introduce students to the types and management of medical problems seen in district hospitals and also learn the administrative problems of running the hospital. To learn about various issues affecting health care at the district level. <br />
The district rotation started from 14th June, 2011 to 3rd July, 2011. We were attached to the Volta River Authority Hospital in Akosombo.<br />
Volta River Authority Profile<br />
The VRA was established in 1961 under the Volta River Development Act, Act 46 of the Republic of Ghana with the core business to generate and supply electricity. As a result of the Authorities operations, riverine communities were displaced therefore the need for community development initiatives by the VRA. <br />
The VRA runs hospitals at Akosombo, Aboadze and Accra. The hospitals serve VRA staff, neighbouring communities and corporate bodies. <br />
The VRA administers local authority functions in accordance with Legislative Instrument 42 of 1989 in Akosombo therefore Akosombo Township is not under any Traditional Council or District Assembly.<br />
<br />
Asuogyaman District Profile<br />
Akosombo is a sub district of Asuogyaman District. Asuogyaman District is one of the twenty one districts in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Until its creation, the area forms part of the former Kaoga District Council whose capital was Somanya. It covers a total estimated surface area of 1,507 square kilometers and constitutes 5.7% of the total area of eastern region and ranking the 10th largest district in the region with its capital at Atimpoku. <br />
The District is bordered to the North by the Afram Plains District to the South by North Tongu District West by Manya Krobo District, to the East by South Dai District. The vegetation of the District is a mixture of Forest, Semi-Forest/Re-growth and Savanna.<br />
<br />
Physical Characteristics<br />
The topography of the District is generally undulating, with the following highlands – Tatabum, Krobo Kyei Bulu, Adomi and Kpegyei. The main water bodies include the Volta River and Lake, River Adabo, River Opotoku, the Baware, Anyinase River and the Bubuakan. Indeed it is on account of the fact the major settlements are located on either side of the Volta Lake that the name Asuogyaman was adopted for the District (“Asuogya” – Water and “man” – state).<br />
The mean annual rainfall is about 1130mm with a bimodal distribution and a maximum daily amount of about 67mm. The period May-June constitutes the major wet season, with the minor wet season occurring during the period September-November. Annual temperature is about 28C with average maximum and minimum being 37C and 19C respectively.<br />
The vegetation of the District is a mixture of Forest, Semi-Forest/Re-growth and Savanna.<br />
<br />
Economic activities<br />
Farming constitutes the main economic activity of the majority of the people, with maize, cassava, and plantain being the major crops. Fishing is also done mostly by the Battors. Banana is grown for export as well as exotic vegetables (e.g. green pepper). These ventures (banana and vegetables) are undertaken by private companies. Manufacturing, commercial and service activities are also carried out mostly in Akosombo, with the Akosombo Textiles Limited, Volta Hotel, Volta River Authority and Volta Lake Transport Company Limited being the main operatives. Akosombo also houses the most viable market in the District.<br />
The Asuogyaman District has vast potentials for investment particularly, in the area of tourism, agriculture and industry.<br />
Traditional Administration in Asuogyaman District is centered on chieftaincy as practiced by its constituent ethnic groups – Akwamus, Anums and Bosos. The Akwamus are of Akan stock whilst the Anums and Bosos are of the Guan stock.<br />
<br />
Tourism<br />
The potentials include the following:<br />
Beautiful landscape and scenery along the Volta River and Lake.<br />
Extensive lake shores for development of beach resorts.<br />
Small islands located in the Volta Lake especially in Atimpoku.<br />
Water transport and river sport in the lake.<br />
<br />
Agriculture<br />
The potentials are in the areas of:<br />
Suitable soil and abundant water for cultivation of exotic vegetables for both domestic consumption and export, and farming generally.<br />
Fish farming, oyster and lobster production.<br />
Conducive vegetation and available water for livestock farming on a large scale.<br />
Existence of a 3-Star Hotel at Akosombo and other motels at Atimpoku.<br />
<br />
Industry<br />
The District has comparative advantages for location of industry in the following ways:<br />
Existence of inland port at Akosombo, for river transport between the South and the North of the country.<br />
Easy access to power from Akosombo and Kpong Hydro-Electric Power Plant.<br />
Proximity to Tema, Accra and Lome.<br />
Large deposits of clay for brick and tile industry.<br />
Large deposits of talc at Anum and Boso.<br />
<br />
Traditional Administration<br />
Traditional Administration in Asuogyaman District is centered around chieftaincy as practiced by its constituent ethnic groups – Akwamus, Anums and Bosos. The Akwamus are of Akan stock whilst the Anums and Bosos are of the Guan stock.<br />
Each of the ethnic groups has a hierarchy of chiefs headed by a paramount chief followed by divisional chiefs, and village chiefs.<br />
Thus the District has three Traditional Councils – Akwamu, Anum and Boso Traditional Councils, each headed by the Paramount Chief and made up by the Divisional chiefs.<br />
The presence of significant Krobo and Ewe settler groups makes the District greatly heterogeneous.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
ACTIVITIES<br />
AT THE HOSPITAL<br />
MORNING MEETINGS<br />
The team participated in the daily routines of the doctors; we attended morning meetings to discuss cases admitted by the doctor on duty the day before. On Thursdays, there was either a presentation by a Representative from a Pharmaceutical Company or by a member of the medical team of the hospital.<br />
GENERAL WARD ROUNDS<br />
There were general ward rounds on Fridays and we participated in the ward rounds. We asked questions and shared our opinion on cases presented. <br />
THEATRE <br />
During our period of stay, Motec Life UK, a team of professionals committed to Orthopaedic and Trauma care visited the VRA hospital in Akosombo and we took the opportunity to join them in theatre for various Orthopaedic surgeries (mainly knee and hip replacement surgeries). We had presentations and lectures by members of the team. The team was led by a graduate of UGMS, Dr. Paul Ofori-Atta. <br />
VISIT TO VARIOUS UNITS <br />
A. Pharmacy – In the Pharmacy unit, the head of the Unit Mr. Eric Borbi introduced us to the process of drug procurement and the activities that the unit does like storage of drugs, drug preparation and dispensing of drugs.<br />
<br />
B. X-Ray – The X-Ray unit of the VRA Hospital offers other services like Ultrasonography and ECG in addition to the various X-ray services offered.<br />
<br />
C. Resources Unit – The resources unit has the records department. We had a session with the Hospital Bio-statistician, Mrs. Okaibea. We were taken through the type of data collected from patients. Mrs. Okaibea stated that the hospital is in the process of computerizing its system of data collection and processing.<br />
<br />
D. Laboratory – The Laboratory department offers services in Haematology, Biochemistry and Parasitology. It also serves as the Blood Bank for the hospital.<br />
<br />
E. Reproductive And Child Health Unit – We visited the unit and familiarized ourselves with the activities of the unit. We were however unable to join the unit on an outreach because the time coincided with another program on our schedule.<br />
<br />
Most of these were done in the first week of our stay.<br />
<br />
OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL<br />
Water Treatment Plant<br />
We were taken through operations at the water treatment plant first on the Mimic Board and later shown round the site. <br />
Akosombo Management Committee <br />
We met with the Town Manager and the Secretary of the Akosombo Management Committee (AMC) and learnt about the history of VRA and the need for the establishment of AMC, its mandate for operations and the local authority functions performed by AMC.<br />
Meeting with the Health Servises Administrator, Director, Medical Superintendent and Hospital Administrator<br />
We met with the Directors and Managers of the hospital who took us through the organogram of the VRA hospital, the mission and vision statements and values to be upheld by all workers as well as the organizational structure of VRA with particular emphasis on the Health Services Department. We learnt about the working conditions and appraisal system (Balanced Score Card) in use in VRA. <br />
Hydro-Generation Unit<br />
We were taken through the operations at the Hydro-generation unit in theory first and then sent round to appreciate the work being done every day. We learnt about the safety measures and protocols in place and efforts being undertaken to ensure safety of both humans and equipment at the unit. <br />
Environmental And Sanitation Unit <br />
After discussions with the environmental officer (Health Inspector) on the various subunits of the department, we were taken round to see the Oxidation Pond, the Slaughter House, Markets, Refuse dump site and the various housing units in the Akosombo township. Akosombo township is generally clean and the housing units are adequately ventilated. The township is generally divided into Community 1 and 2. A total of 72.6km of drains runs through the town for liquid waste drainage. The department also organizes health screening for food vendors and keeps a book with annual medical examination records of all food vendors in the town. The health inspector also visits bars and restaurants to ensure that the environment in which food is prepared and sold is hygienic. <br />
Environmental Sustainability And Development Department <br />
We visited the subunits; Public Health section in Akosombo, Dredging unit and weed control unit at Ada. Dredging of the Ada estuary is important in the control of Bilharzia as is the weed control program. Dredging deepens the river bed and makes it unfavorable for the snail vector of Bilharzia to thrive. Dredging also opens up the estuary which introduces saline sea water into the river. This also helps in controlling the parasite. Aquatic weed control done by the public health unit helps in eliminating the snail vector too. Weed control by VRA is mainly by the chemical method using Glyphosate but other methods like mechanical and biological means are also used. These are some activities the VRA considers as corporate social responsibility for the communities in which they operate in. These are riverine communities that have been affected by the construction of the dam.<br />
District Health Directorate<br />
We paid a visit to the director of health services for the Asuogyamang District, Dr. Engmann. She gave a profile of the district and the various functions and members of the District Health Management Team (DHMT). The team was introduced to the heads of the various units of the DHMT. We interacted with the staff to know activities carried out in their office on a day to day basis and also learnt about some of their challenges. In all our interactions, it seemed obvious that the major problem facing the district was that of staffing. The number of health professionals in the district is inadequate for the heavy load of work.<br />
Some of the functions of the DHMT that she elaborated on are:<br />
Management of health in the district<br />
Planning and implementation of specific district health activities within the broad framework of national and regional goals<br />
Monitoring and evaluating health and health related activities in the district.<br />
Development and institution of health management information systems in the district<br />
Management of financial resources within the health sector in the district<br />
Human resource development of the health sector in the district<br />
<br />
<br />
RECOMMENDATIONS<br />
1. There should be more bins at the hospital area especially around the reception.<br />
2. An ambulance at the hydro generation with a mini clinic to manage emergencies before transfer to the VRA hospital.<br />
3. At the slaughter house, resting of the animals before slaughter should be enforced.<br />
4. Efforts should be put into standardizing the slaughter house to further enhance provision of wholesome meat for the public<br />
5. Residents of the township should be encouraged to separate their waste, so that final disposal of waste would be more efficient.<br />
6. The refuse collection unit of the environmental health and sanitation department should be provided with more refuse trucks to make their work more efficient. The workers in the department should be encouraged to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).<br />
7. Although the VRA is currently doing a lot of work in the prevention of bilharzia in the lakeside communities, more efforts should be put into provision of other sources of livelihood for these communities so that fishing would not be the only option available to them.<br />
8. A lot more work needs to be done in the area of educating the surrounding communities and the nation at large on the symptoms and first aid management of febrile illnesses especially in children. This will ensure that morbidity is reduced and also workload on doctors will be reduced. <br />
9. The ‘Onipanua’ medical boat should be continued as this would go a long way to provide medical services to the island communities. <br />
10. A handset for the Power Line Carrier (PLC) in the Medical Students’ Hostel should be provided for easy communication with the hospital especially to aid in transportation of medical students.<br />
APPRECIATION<br />
Our deepest appreciation goes to God almighty for granting us this opportunity to study and keeping us safe.<br />
On behalf of UGMS Korle Bu, we want to say a big thank you to the Volta River Authority and staff that made our stay a wonderful and educative one.<br />
Particularly we want to say a big thank you to the Director of Health Services of VRA, Dr. (Mrs.) Acquaah-Arhin for putting necessary measures in place to ensure our comfort. We also want to thank Dr. Fiadoyor the medical superintendent of VRA Hospital, Akosombo.<br />
We especially want to thank Mrs. Mercy Owiredu-Antwi, secretary to the director of health services for her warm welcome and hospitality. Also to the medical doctors; Drs. Ato Davies (clinical coordinator), Christian Addae, Boadu and Levi Nii Ayi Ankrah.<br />
Our appreciation to the drivers and the kitchen staff.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-49218497843778694172011-06-10T07:58:00.000-07:002011-06-10T07:58:22.776-07:00Home Sweet HomeThe sweet smell of the plush verdure<br />
The croaking sound of the bullfrog in the bush<br />
And the shrill sound of the cricket from the thicket<br />
<br />
The familiar faces of Mr. and Mrs. Smith<br />
Children out playing in the sun and dirt<br />
‘Boxer’ and ‘Pusher’ wagging tails to welcome me<br />
<br />
The sights, sounds and ooh… smell too!<br />
<br />
An unmistakable cue of my destination;<br />
Home sweet home! <br />
Forever my abode of serenity.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-26285212559765973542011-05-15T11:57:00.001-07:002011-05-15T11:57:04.293-07:00My MagicOur fathers did such and such deeds<br />
We proclaim such and such a creed<br />
What I have I am able to share with you<br />
Years ago, it might been for very few<br />
<br />
I call it my magic!<br />
Lack of it is tragic!<br />
<br />
No one could have preserved traditions<br />
Precisely so for many generations <br />
Without it’s inordinate power!<br />
It’s my magic and superpower <br />
<br />
I call it my magic!<br />
Lack of it is tragic!<br />
<br />
It is drawn not from sorcery<br />
It’s been used throughout history<br />
It’s the amazing magic of reading<br />
And the wondrous power of writing!<br />
<br />
Seems to me everything revolves around READING and WRITING nowadays. <br />
I have allowed myself sometime today to think of something we can and probably should take for granted. Yet I have burdened myself to think of it and write my heart out. Probably someone might also take some time and share in my thought. I call it my magic! READING and WRITING is my magic!<br />
Through the power of the art, you make out letters from a page and suddenly they form a word and make sentences and convey an idea to you. <br />
It’s almost like magic the best of doctors in this world had to read volumes and volumes of ideas and knowledge stockpiled in volumes of books! You start out in kindergarten rhyming all the rhymes and singing all the songs. Now suddenly you must read volumes and comprehend it and produce a good account of yourself. You must read all those reports or better still, write all those reports yourself. <br />
Now you have an idea you must market to your prospective clients. Maybe talking to them will do but even that will require that you WRITE something called a letter to them so they can READ and understand you. May be you have to make a presentation too…Now that will involve some READING and WRITING. <br />
You have a friend you haven’t heard from in ages, you log on to facebook and suddenly you can chat with them. How? You must WRITE your message and READ their message in order for you to communicate.<br />
You want to turn on the microwave and heat some food. How? You must read out the instructions and turn it on to the desired level!<br />
For the greatest poets, writing seems mystical! In writing, they convey a deeper sense of emotion they might never have been able to do. It’s like getting wings to fly out of your own body to communicate with numerous other souls. When we lay our hands on a good piece, we often fall adrift into a new world, exploring ideas and places where our physical bodies may never be. <br />
Consider for instance reading a fiction novel. The impossible is made to seem possible and for a moment as you read, you enter into a new different world. Not that you are hallucinating for once but just exercising your brain.<br />
In itself, it is an exercise for the brain as dormant areas of the brain are suddenly awoken to react to the changing scenes, landscapes, machines and the likes.<br />
It’s a good thing you share in this magic too otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to make any sense out of my little piece. And see; now you share in my thoughts… Mystical! I am sitting right behind my PC and you in your room or in a café yet our minds are communicating on a single subject at least for this moment. Magical!<br />
Let’s empower the young ones to love the art. It’s their way of fitting into this new world. <br />
Thank your teachers who taught you to READ and WRITE. Thank them for imparting this ‘magical ability’ to you… Stay blessed.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-66277417603385724252011-01-16T17:21:00.000-08:002011-01-16T17:54:45.350-08:00DARK NIGHTSDark nights, bright stars<br /><br />On a cold and lonely winter night, <br />When I looked up, I saw not the moon<br />The sky darker and sinister tonight<br />I missed the noise, heat and the light of noon <br /><br />On my lonely bed, I cuddled myself tight,<br />Hoping that this feeling would pass quickly soon<br />Wishing the night would pass to end my plight.<br />In the solitude was terror and swoon <br /><br />I looked out my window and saw a bird<br />At last, a companion for the night<br /><br />“Look up again friend” <br />The winged fellow seemed to whisper.<br />So I looked up, I looked up and saw the skies again<br />I saw the skies again and saw the bright stars lit up the skies<br />“The stars are brightest when the skies are dark!” chirped the bird<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">It dawned on me in extenso, the vanity of having fear of the unknown and giving in to uncertainty. I began writing this piece on the weekend before my MB.ChB Final Part 1 Clinical Exams in Paediatrics. It has taken me exactly three months to finish it up. In between, I have done a lot of traveling and forgotten about it and fallen prey to this canker again. I hope you find some inspiration from my writing.</span><br /><br />Dark nights. We all have them. Those days when everything seems dark and gloomy. The days when we can virtually sense doom upon us. Days when we feel lonely and deserted. Days we often label; ‘the day I will never forget’. We have had it before, each one of us and these days will continue to be with us. <br />Such days will come upon us because we have been forewarned about them. Tribulations will come, we will walk through the deep waters, and we will walk through fire and rain. We will part with loved ones and never see them or enjoy the warmth of their embrace again. Our purses may not always be swollen with legal tender to barter for what we wish for or even what we need.<br />We never have promises of a trouble-free life. What we have are assurances. Assurance that morning surely comes after night. Assurances that we will never be alone even to the very end of the age. Faith, hope and love.<br /><br /> <br />Ever found hope in the midst of adversity? <br />Ever seen the little ray of light at the end of the dark and murky tunnel? <br />Ever stopped complaining and looked not around but up and suddenly felt hope restored? <br />Ever exhaled desperation and inhaled goodness and peace because your burdened heart was touched by its maker?<br />Ever had reason to hope beyond all reason and against all odds that surely, morning comes after night?<br /><br />I don’t consider myself a poet even though I love poetry. I am always looking for ways to communicate in a deeper sense what I think about every day and what I have come to know in a score and 5 years of my life. <br /><br />I once heard the quote; “Your attitude (how you respond to any situation) defines you altitude (how far you go in life).” This is almost axiomatic in every sense of the word.<br />Once again let me draw my reader’s attention to a popular analogy used in many a motivational speech. It is the concept of the optimist and the pessimist views. The former says the glass is half full, the latter says it is half empty.<br /><br />We have at our disposal countless stories in history of how seemingly disadvantaged individuals turned the tide around in their favor. <br />• It is said that when Thomas Edison’s 2 million dollar house went up in flames, his son (Charles) found him sitting and looking at the flames. Charles is quotes his father as saying this when he said he didn’t know the whereabouts of his mother; "Find her. Bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as she lives." <br />The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, "There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew."<br /><br />The above is archetypal of a strong attitude and amazingly, it defined his altitude in life and carved a niche for him in the annals of not only science but of world history too. <br />There are several countless stories of hoping against hope that has turned into real success stories in the history of our race.<br /><br />We are called to comfort others with the comfort that God Himself has comforted us too (2 Cor 1:3 – 4). There is a comforting voice comes and reveals our folly to us. Suddenly, we look out the window and see the stars shining so brightly and we forget the absent moon. We find an opportunity to reflect in our moments of ‘apparent’ loneliness. We see a dark world and we light our candles and shine (for a light placed on a candle cannot hide – Mat 5: 15, Luk 11: 33). We think outside of ourselves and radiate God’s beauty, his love and goodness unto others making their life wholesome, uplifting and virtuous too. Our misfortune seems to disappear into thin air when we head that voice of hope, the bird chirping out in the dark. God always has a message for us despite our obduracy at times. It may be the voice of a friend, a preacher man, a song or from reading from Holy Scripture. He promised never to leave us lonely in this world. <br /><br />In our moments of darkness, let’s us not ask ‘why me.’ (That’s a harsh thing to say isn’t it?) “I tell you, no one who has lost a father, mother or sibling following me will forfeit his reward in the life to come” – Mat 19: 29.<br /><br />Let’s us not get weary doing good. For the dark world around us only waits in earnest expectation of us. In expectation of us to shine bright as the stars do. We may not be noticed just as the stars sometimes fade from the skies (actually they don’t fade but because of the moon, we don’t see them always). We may not always be treated good in return for the good that we do (but let us remember even our master was rejected by his own even though he came unto his own)<br />We may be even victims of suspect for our good intentions but we should not tire doing the good that is in our hearts (indeed, God never tires forgiving our very own sins every day. We find His mercies new every morning! Yes, every morning despite our many failings that went by without us noticing them)<br />We hear them every day; plagued by war and disease, now flooding, protests and bombings, religious clashes and political rifts and hostilities. <br />Let us always remember, when the world seems awful and a bitter place, we are the salt of the earth. We are meant for seasoning the ‘bitter world’ and shining light in this dark age.<br /><br />God bless you for your time and please remember; when the nights are dark and sinister, when the moon shines not in the skies and the world around you seems lonely; that is the time you have to light up your candle and shine so bright.<br /><br /><br />You may want to check out these stories later on;<br />1. http://www.inspiring-quotes-and-stories.com/nick-vujicic.html<br />2. http://www.inspiring-quotes-and-stories.com/disaster.html<br />3. http://www.inspiring-quotes-and-stories.com/jackie-chan.htmlAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-72619686952262554362011-01-10T16:11:00.000-08:002011-01-10T16:13:59.286-08:00Health for GoldHEALTH FOR GOLD<br />‘Galamsey hijacks our future’<br /><br />It used to be a myth, now it is an obvious reality from which is developing a nuisance we have to grapple with every day. Its effect could even devastate the future of a town.<br />When we were young, we heard stories of how gold used to be so common in our community that you could see this precious mineral in the gutters and gullies when it rained. As I type out these words, I wish sincerely wish it was just as we heard it; a myth! <br />Why such strong sentiments against discovery of such precious minerals in my area you may ask me?<br />My story begins now.<br />I come from Akrokerri, a small town in the Adansi-North District of Ghana. Akrokerri is about 7 miles from Obuasi; a town nicknamed the Golden city due to the quantity of gold that is mined there. Ashanti Goldfields Company Ltd started from here and had its largest gold mine and head office here in those days until it the merger which saw its transformation into AngloGold Ashanti. Obuasi still remains an important town on the map of Ghana because of its supply of mineral wealth for Ghana’s economy. Akrokerri may be considered as a suburb of Obuasi in a sense. What has made Akrokerri popular is the location of one of the four Colleges of Education in the whole of Ashanti Region here. As a matter of interest, it was during the 23 years of my father’s stay at AKROTCO (a popular abbreviation for Akrokerri Training College as it used to be known) that I was born. This was where I spent most of my childhood until my father’s retirement some five years ago. We have since moved to the main town some minutes’ walk from the Campus. Akrokerri boasts of one of the best Colleges of Education in Ghana, a feat that has earned it the nickname, ‘Adansi University’.<br />The Obuasi gold deposits occur along a zone of intense shearing and faulting within Precambrian greenstones. Mineralisation in Obuasi comprises two main types: quartz veins containing high-grade free gold and the main sulphide ore in which narrow veins contain gold trapped within arsenopyrite. Ashanti Goldfields Company was established in 1897 in London and underground gold-mining started about ten years after.(1)<br />There is a myth held by the local people that the gold underground is some kind of a god with head, hands and feet. The people in my area believe this gold-god has its head right beneath their town. I am not sure my folks are aware of the geology outlined in the previous paragraph but to them, the mineral wealth is from this god beneath. I cannot recall when young men in Akrokerri became as adventurous and daring as to begin digging for the head of this god! Maybe that should have been the title of this article; Digging for the god’s head.<br />As is common in parts of Ghana where mining is done, illegal surface miners known as ‘Galamsey’ set up their own business and begin their own exploration for the bullions. Galamsey is a Ghanaian lexical item for illegal surface mining. The activities of Galamsey operators have often resulted in conflicts between mining companies that operate in such areas and the youth in the affected communities. (2)<br />There have been numerous reports of accidents of various sorts including cave-ins, drowning in deep ditches, etc at Galamsey sites.<br />Despite the dangers involved, every day I see enthusiastic young men each day carrying their tools, walking past my house to their work site. The numbers keep increasing every day.<br />What could be pushing such young men to take such risks? Social injustice has been cited as a cause. People don’t find it easy getting jobs in this part of the country. Some also claim it is because mining companies cheat the communities they operate within and hence the youth must virtually take back what belongs to their community.<br />That cited, I must state my opinion on this matter now. I have lived in Akrokerri virtually all my life with the exception of time spent in high school and university. Even now, I come back to this place anytime I have a break from academics. One thing is very clear, I find it true that genuine job seekers are lacking in my beloved Akrokerri. The human resource is also lacking as most indigenes do not take education serious. Most young people dream of getting rich over-night and look for ways of achieving this dream. Some of us deem ourselves lucky to have attended school from basic level through to Junior High school level here and still managed to pass to University level.<br />Illegal surface mining (Galamsey) has many implications on the environment and the health of the people. Aside the morbidity and mortality associated with accidents at these sites, myriads of health problems arise because of these clandestine activities. <br />Most of these miners are illiterates and have no idea the hazards or effects of the chemicals used in the process. Mercury is used in the purification of gold. This can have serious debilitating effects on the health of the miners and the community at large. Some of the mercury also goes into the underground and surface water sources around. This pollutes the water and poses a serious threat to both flora and fauna in the whole community. <br />Environmental issues include erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from the mining processes. Just to re-emphasize again, groundwater and surface water contamination.<br />In some cases, additional forest logging is done in the vicinity of mines to increase the available room for the storage of the created debris and soil. Contamination resulting from leakage of chemicals can also affect the health of the local population if not properly controlled. <br />It all started out as very simple and all mechanical with workers using axes, mattocks, shovels and instruments as such. It has become more sophisticated now as electric pumps and other machines are used in addition. This has also added on to the nuisance. The noise from such machines is sometimes unbearable. As if this were not enough, now workers run shifts. This means some work during the day and change over during the night! That translates into 24 hours of complete clamor and clatter! That constitutes a social problem too; Noise pollution.<br />The most devastating effect from the above is the loss of vegetation and usable landmass. The scars these nefarious activities leave on the environment is as devastating as the health implications it brings. It is not an unfamiliar sight anymore; the mudflows and pits, dirty ponds serving as breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and the general mess of a once beautiful Akrokerri. We are gradually losing our forests and even home environments too. <br />I almost burst into tears one day as I looked on from a distance at my friend’s house. He was a classmate in Junior High school. Their house was surrounded by what seemed like twenty groups of Galamsey workers. It seemed like an island in a stream. Ponds of water had surrounded it and I could just imagine the sort of problems they had to grapple with every day; the loss of privacy and the general nuisance from the hum and clatter of these machines not to even mention the army of mosquitoes the ditches created will be serving. Here, you could identify all forms of pollution, air pollution from the dust, soil and water pollution from the chemicals, and noise pollution which I found particularly disturbing. All the vegetation that once surrounded the house was gone! The land was bare and desolate, such a pity. I used to complain a lot when these activities were being undertaken about 70 meters from my house and here I was, as close as they could get near Mr. Agyin’s house.<br />If I am not exaggerating, the ever-increasing proportions of this mess amounts to a calamity. The misery of it is that, the people have come to accept such an ignoble activity as a welcome development. Not being judgmental, in my opinion, this trend hasn’t brought any significant wealth to those engaged in it nor any development to the community. The money the laborers get from their daily activities is spent on alcoholism and other risky lifestyles. Not to sound like a prophet of doom but it seems to me the future for the town hangs in the air. I say this because those engaged in galamsey here were once the major workforce of the town. Carpenters, masons, drivers, farmers and most disheartening of all, students across all levels of the academic ladder. Drop-out rate is on the ascendency as most junior high school kids don’t continue to the senior high school level. Unless there is an intervention from across sectors, I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel for this town.<br />Obviously, it is not just the physical health of the miners they are trading for gold here. They are trading the physical, mental and social well-being of the whole community for bullions. The future of the community is being traded for a few bucks in the pockets of few.<br />Government through the district assembly, the traditional council, the youth and all stakeholders must wake-up, cooperate and find ways of developing the capacity of the youth here. They need education and empowerment. After this, force maybe applied if persuasion should fail in the greater interest of the community itself. The mineral wealth could be extracted in a more appropriate and environment-friendly way for the development of the area. The health of the innocent by-stander should be safe-guarded. It is a human right issue since it concerns survival of this generation and even future generations of this community that has produced eminent personalities such as P.V Obeng, a renowned politician in Ghana, doctors, nurses, soldiers and others who are serving the country in various capacities. Not to even forget the College of Education that has produced several hundreds of thousands of teachers serving all over the country.<br />As a medical student, maybe I can do more than just raise awareness about this canker. I will stop here and get to work on protecting the health of the town and its future in ways that I can. I hope you join me in my quest whoever my reader may be.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-33738934154169984682010-10-23T10:03:00.000-07:002010-10-23T10:45:37.498-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIuZVdAQlBjYlLKqZnShX8T6FfcBLNQAg_1XOmgxgsRSNovW9aIb0IIJRzm3qZnYrPp8oSSC5IaX4vQdzocRwDkMmaYbkUAEJo1B_RUFZgcYGYhQBkw-J_WwIBtog7VSruQktKpTrpb5E/s1600/DSC01164.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIuZVdAQlBjYlLKqZnShX8T6FfcBLNQAg_1XOmgxgsRSNovW9aIb0IIJRzm3qZnYrPp8oSSC5IaX4vQdzocRwDkMmaYbkUAEJo1B_RUFZgcYGYhQBkw-J_WwIBtog7VSruQktKpTrpb5E/s320/DSC01164.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531290068332950882" /></a><br />UNIVERSITY OF GHANA MEDICAL STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION<br />43RD ANNUAL NATIONAL HEALTH WEEK REPORT<br />(KASSENA-NANKANA WEST DISTRICT)<br /><br />INTRODUCTION<br />National Health Week is an Annual program organized by the Federation of Ghana Medical Students’ Association(FGMSA) This year, the theme chosen was Caring for the lungs; breath is life. This was chosen to highlight some of the major lung diseases and also to relate the relationship between breathing and life. A team of three (3) Students were dispatched to the Kassena-Nankana West District to embark on the one-week intensive health education, promotion and campaigning. The following are the names of the students from University of Ghana Medical School who were stationed in the district;<br />•Mr. John Godswill Gyasi Banin (2nd Clinical year) – Team leader<br />•Mr. Stephen Nuworkpor-Gapson (2nd Clinical year)<br />•Mr. Amos Paintsil Annan (1st Clinical year)<br />The team left Accra for Upper East on Saturday at 5:30pm. After a grueling 21-hour journey, we arrived in Paga, the district capital of Kassena-Nankana West. The team was warmly received by Mr. Anthony, the District Disease Control Officer since the District Director of Health Services (DDHS) was not in Paga at the time of our arrival. The team was lodged at KUB’s lodged.<br /><br />OVER-VIEW<br />Kassena-Nankana West District was carved out of the old Kassena-Nankana District in 2008 which had Navrongo as the district capital. The district being in its infantile stages is under-resourced in terms the capacity of healthcare delivery yet it can boast of many innovations and successes amidst the challenging circumstances. The District Health Management Team has plans of getting a permanent Office complex and also putting up a district hospital and an apartment for medical officers. The District Director of Health Services is Mrs. Vida A. Abaseka and the District Chief Executive is Hon. Thomas A. Dalu. <br />The local languages spoken here are Kasem and Nankan. Some also speak Hausa and even Twi. We had no problems with communication as other health workers were on hand to help with the translation moreover, a lot of our audience could also understand Twi.<br />Paga, the district capital is on the border between Ghana and Burkina Faso. Paga has over 2000 inhabitants and most of the inhabitants are farmers. The District boasts of several attractions; <br />•Paga has two main Crocodile ponds. This is a real attraction as visitors can sit on live crocodiles! The friendliness of these reptiles has its history dating back to the legend on the first chief of Paga called Naveh who was helped by a Crocodile to escape from his foes. The crocodiles are believed to be the soul of the people and as such, it is unacceptable to kill or harm crocodiles in Paga. The team did not miss out on such a rare opportunity!<br />•Paga also has the Pikworo Slave camp in Nania. This was used as a transit camp for the trading by Hausa, Mossi and Zambrama slave traders in the era of slave trade. The district is also blessed with beautiful landscaping and open fields for farming.<br />•Paga also boasts of Paga-Pio’s palace. The home of the traditional ruler of Paga. It dates back to the Seventeenth century and has preserved the culture and tradition of the people.<br /><br />DAILY REPORT<br />MONDAY, 20TH SEPTEMBER 2010.<br />This was our first day on the ‘work’ and we were scheduled to meet the District Chief Executive of the district. Unfortunately, we couldn’t meet him or the District Coordinating Director. This was because the D.C.E, Mr. Thomas Adda Dalu was indisposed at the time of our visiting and the Director was I a meeting. We rescheduled the meeting for another date that would be convenient. <br />The team met with the Officials of the District Health Management Team in the absence of the Director who met us later in the morning in her office. We discussed our schedule for the week. On Monday the 20th of September, it rained almost all morning and this limited our movement. Nonetheless, we made the best out of the situation by visiting the Paga Health Center. <br />At the Paga Health Center, we were conducted round the facility and introduced to the staff there as well by the Medical Assistant at post there. After this, we gave a health talk on our theme. This was a very interactive session as we asked questions and also answered questions from our audience. Of interest, a patient came forward and shared his success story about quitting smoking. We all applauded him together with the rest of the audience. After the health talk, we stayed to help with the clinical work around. We retired to Kub’s lodge to rest for the next day’s work.<br /><br />TUESDAY, 21ST SEPTEMBER 2010.<br />This day had been declared a public holiday in honor of Kwame Nkrumah’s birthday. However, relentless to fulfill our mission, we set off in the morning to the Martyrs of Uganda Health Center at Sirigu, a village in the district and also the Kassena Nanka East (KNE) Health Centre. This was about 20 minutes’ drive from the center of town. We divided ourselves into two groups to be stationed at both centers. KNE Health Center was however less busy because of the holiday and so we later joined and stayed at Martyrs of Uganda Health Center. <br />At the Health center, we gave a health talk on our theme and answered questions posed to us by our audience. <br />We had to help with the clinical work at the Health center since the place was over-crowded and the Medical Assistant at post had not yet arrived. This albeit challenging proved to be very fulfilling. <br />We returned to Paga for our lunch and rested from the day’s activities.<br /><br />WEDNESDAY, 22ND SEPTEMBER 2010.<br />This day turned out quite unexpected yet very eventful and fulfilling. The medical Assistant at post at the Paga Health Center had to attend a meeting and the prescriber nurse was overwhelmed with the number of patients he had to attend to. The team assisted with consultation and clinical work at the health center.<br />This experience served as an eye-opener to the challenges faced by health workers working with limited resources in Paga and indeed in many parts of the country. The Ghana Health Service should do more to equip these areas and also the MOH should consider improving the infrastructural development in these areas. On our part as medical students, we realized the need to brace ourselves up and encourage our colleagues to accepting posting to some of these areas when we finally graduate as medical doctors.<br />From ‘work’ the team decided to have some fun today. We traveled on foot to Burkina Faso! We crossed the Ghana-Burkina Faso. In the evening, the team was privileged to meet and interact with the manager of our lodging place, Mr. George Kubuga. We are indeed grateful for your kind words.<br /><br />THURSDAY, 23RD SEPTEMBER 2010.<br />On Thursday, the team paid a courtesy calls on the DCE (Hon. Thomas Adda Dalu) in his office. He officially welcome us to the district and we in turn updated him on our activities in the district so far and also outlined the rest of our schedule to him.<br />For the rest of the day, we were to be stationed at the Kassena-Nankana West Health Center at Chiana. We made the journey late because our vehicle arrived late from another important assignment. By the time we arrived in Chiana, the place was virtually deserted. We introduced ourselves to the staff there and had a brief interaction with them, telling them about our mission and also enquiring about their work. We handed over some educational materials and fliers to them and returned to Paga. Our mission was soon to be over in Kassena Nankana West District.<br /><br /><br /><br />FRIDAY, 24TH SEPTEMBER 2010.<br />We left Kub’s lodged very late. We were scheduled to give health talks in one of the basic schools around and also at the mosque around noon time. Although the day started on a rather slow note, this turned out to be the most eventful day. Our first point of call was at the Tedam Junior High School. We went together with Mr. Anthony Kuseh, the District Disease Control Officer and had an interaction with the students and staff of the school for an hour. Here, we highlighted on the importance of hand washing with soap and water and also talked on our theme at length. We also asked students questions about the information we were giving them and in turn answered all their questions. Questions asked included questions about Tuberculosis, Lung cancer and even skin cancer. The headmaster of the school advised the team that some of us should consider coming back to the district after graduation because of the inequality in health worker distribution in the country. <br />Our next point of call was at the Central Mosque in Paga. Here too, we had a hearty discussion with worshippers after their Friday prayers. We communicated through an Interpreter. We spoke on Tuberculosis, Smoking and Lung cancer and also on H1N1 pandemic flu. Questions asked afterwards gave an indication the message had gone down well with them. There were however concerns about the side effects of the H1N1 vaccine. An issue about the vaccine causing death in some people was raised. We however tried our possible best to disabuse their minds on some of these. To this effect, we believe a little more education is needed since some people’s mind have been abused about the potential threat/ side effects of the vaccine. <br />A day with the crocodiles again was worth the trip. We went to the second pond at Zenga, still in Paga. It was here that we saw the biggest of these friendly creatures (At least, very friendly in Paga!) <br /><br />GENERAL OBSERVATIONS<br />From our interactions within the community especially at various health centers, we realized the public had some knowledge on what Tuberculosis (TB) is, what causes it, etc. Knowledge on other lung diseases such as Pneumonia, Asthma, etc was however not adequate. We reinforced the knowledge they already had and also explicated on the various diseases they had questions about.<br />A very encouraging observation made was the good health seeking behavior of the people of Kassena-Nankana. Reportage to the hospital was quite encouraging and it was very remarkable that almost all the patients seen at the health centers we visited were on the National Health Insurance Scheme. The NHIA, Public Health Service and the district officials as a whole deserves commendation on this note.<br />Obesity is never a problem to grapple with here in Kassena-Nankana West District. Most inhabitants own bicycles and most are also engaged in Farming or other activities that involved some form of physical exertion. The people generally seemed hard-working. It appears this could account for the single case of diabetes in only one obese patient we saw during our entire stay in the district. <br />Worthy of mentioning is the fact that the whole district lacks the services of a resident medical doctor. Looking at the service burden, it would be appropriate to have a resident medical doctor. This will lessen the number of referrals made to the Navrongo Hospital especially when most of the patients referred to the Navrongo Hospital defer because of various reasons chief among which is the distance and also the wherewithal to do so. This challenged us to consider and also encourage our colleagues to accept posting to areas like Kassena-Nankana West and the many other places in the country that are under-resourced in terms of healthcare personnel such as medical doctors.<br /><br />RECOMMENDATIONS<br />To the organizers of National Health Week (FGMSA), more educational materials should be provided as these aids in disseminating information. Visual aids could be employed in the campaigning to make it more interactive and meaningful. Monies given for contingencies and Transportation were inadequate. <br />To the district health management team and district assembly, it appears the district is doing quite well in servicing the health needs of her citizenry. We were particularly impressed with efforts to make expansion works at the Paga Health Center and also the plan to build a district hospital. The Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service and all stakeholders in health should support this noble gesture for the good of the district. <br />Support for a program such as National Health Week is proof of the concern of district officials to educating the people of the district. We commend the district and recommend that future health promotion activities be encouraged since our interaction revealed a lot of people were still ignorant about some of the common health problems in our communities. The district itself could organize some of these programs and sensitize the people on some pertinent health problems. World Health Day celebrations such as World Heart Day, World Diabetes Day, World TB day, World No Smoking Day could be used to raise awareness on these health problems. The power of the mass media cannot be over-emphasized and the Public Health Service could employ this medium as a means of education by way of health programs on local radio stations in the local dialects.<br /><br /><br />APPRECIATION<br />Our most sincere and heartfelt gratitude goes to the almighty God for the guidance and protection throughout our journey here and also throughout our period of stay.<br />We are very grateful to Mrs. Vida Abaseka, District Director of Health Services for the warm reception and also for her able leadership in managing the affairs at Kasenna-Nankana West District. We will never forget the concern and the warm smile. Thank you and God richly bless you.<br />Also to the District Chief Executive, Mr. Thomas Adda Dalu. We are indebted to you for accepting to host us in your district for this program. You made us understand your doors were always open to us. Fortunately or unfortunately, we did not have to walk in through the door to your office again because we had a wonderful treatment by your people and had no cause to ever complain. Thank you very much for your commitment to your people.<br />To our very own father in Paga, Mr. Anthony Kuseh – Disease Control Officer, we say Daddy, God bless you richly. For your tolerance and cooperation, we will miss you a lot in Accra.<br />Also to Mr. Stephen Putiereh, driver at the District Health Authority and our chauffeur thanks for the time and the education about the places you took us around and the friendliness too. God reward your efforts. <br />Our appreciation also goes to Mr. George Kubuga, Augustine, Patience and the entire staff of KUB’s lodge. You made our stay one to remember for a long time to come. Thanks for the sumptuous meals too. <br />Our appreciation is never complete without mention of the numerous other people who helped in one way or the other in making our mission complete. And also o the entire inhabitants of Kassena-Nankana West, thank you very much for receiving us and may God kindly reward your efforts. God bless you all.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-55884447022007033062010-08-31T05:36:00.000-07:002010-08-31T05:36:42.788-07:00Presentations<a href="http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/en/materials/presentations-0">Presentations</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-84725395395227834322010-08-20T18:11:00.000-07:002010-08-20T18:18:14.553-07:00BACK THROUGH THE YEARS…<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHaDbtELESVhHQj2_lP3A7twgYJsKc9nsPEqoNC9daR2BrZ7lqupREBA7FWqGZG1oh6uFb-437ydS4F8owaCuPM4HYnItIJRNWioyBEC_qnq0Ua4rTvNTpAq3DJW3VO_ROPH_A3SQ3Hs4x/s1600/34053_1537898771280_1349208792_1456458_5691784_n.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 254px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHaDbtELESVhHQj2_lP3A7twgYJsKc9nsPEqoNC9daR2BrZ7lqupREBA7FWqGZG1oh6uFb-437ydS4F8owaCuPM4HYnItIJRNWioyBEC_qnq0Ua4rTvNTpAq3DJW3VO_ROPH_A3SQ3Hs4x/s320/34053_1537898771280_1349208792_1456458_5691784_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507665716515525826" /></a><br />“So tell us; why do you want to be a doctor?”<br />“I have an unquenchable passion to help people and also to save lives, I am hoping that when given the opportunity, I will make good use of my passion and knowledge to help save lives.”<br />Hold on! That wasn’t my answer to that question! What if it were?<br />Well, this was the most interesting answer she had heard in years sitting on numerous panels to interview prospective medical students. That is according to the dean of the Medical School. I can clearly remember how much our lecturers used to tease us about this after we got admitted and started complaining about the long hours of lectures and study.<br />Looking back now, I can understand why it was so amusing to them. In their eyes, statements such as this one were made out of ignorance of what laid ahead of us. <br />Six years of medical school in this part of the world has given me a lot of experience to understand what my senior colleagues have gone through and also what to expect after medical school; a lot of challenging circumstances and lots of limitations and frustrations. Ironically, it also promises a lot of fun, successes with limited resources and a totally wonderful experience too!<br /> A lot of changes; some good, others bad! Sum it all up and it makes that unique and wonderful experience!! Today is exactly four years after hearing news of my admission to the medical school; ‘the crème de la crème of the country’. That is what they called us. That also makes it exactly six years and 3 days after stepping foot on the land of Legon as a first year university student. Then, only 19 years of age. <br />From cutting open dead bodies(Cadaver) in the anatomy dissection room to injecting frog heart muscle in the physiology laboratory with all sorts of drugs; from trying to understand signal transduction to peeping into the amazing world of microscopic creatures (bacteria, parasites and fungi) and also seeing cells and tissues ‘with eyes of faith’. Those were the times. I can never forget the unique experience of having to wake up around 5am each day to catch the morning bus from Legon to Korle-Bu for lectures and other academic work. The stress, hustle and bustle of standing in the bus when you’re late and sometimes wanting to be gentlemanly, giving up seats for the fairer sex. Such a memory is hard to forget. As I reminisce, tears of fond memories such as these weld up in my eyes. Ooh… I nearly forgot my experiences in the lecture room! I was popular but for one notorious reason; I was only second to a friend who happened to sit by me everyday. Guess what we were culpable of? I was almost always nearly asleep during lectures! Only my seat partner came ahead of me. <br />Who can also forget the mighty and lowly all struggling to cross the 50% mark? That was all that it took! Cross the line and you are safe… “Either you blow more or you blow less!” perfect description by a late lecturer.<br />Soon, we moved on, having had a taste of this different life. We found ourselves getting closer to the ‘interesting’ part of the school.<br />In a blink of an eye, we moved on from the ‘serious side’ of the school to the ‘interesting side’. Suddenly, we were beginning to look like doctors! Carrying the tool of the profession with us wherever we went, the experience of talking to and examining patients. At first, this was a challenging yet thrilling experience. Then this became a boring cliché at least for me. Having my rotation in the department of medicine got me a little burnt out too; having to clerk a patient today and wondering where your patient was taken the day was not a pleasant experience at all. It was only a matter time and this was to pass too. <br />Seeing one year group after the other graduate fills you with joy and sorrow at the same time. Joy for your senior colleagues, sorrow for yourself. It makes your mind start working on the number of months, weeks and sometimes even days left for you. Sometimes leaving you filled with so many uncertainties about what lies ahead of you. <br />Today, I look back and I smile with caution. Cautious smile because there are still mountains to climb on the way. I have surmounted many already but I am yet to climb two of the steepest on the road. I smile cautiously yet confidently! Confidently and gratefully. Gratefully and humbly. I look forward with hope knowing that I have a greater story than this one to write one day. I am grateful to God for today, I have always counted these days and in each of them, I have counted His blessings, sustenance and guiding hand. He provided a way for me and led me on. He planted my feet on a high and promised to let the streams flow from a height. He promised sufficient grace and He hasn’t relented on this and he will not. All I ever am and ever want to be…<br />Through the struggles through the pain, the period of ‘want’ and dry seasons, through the darkness and the foggy days, I have always felt his faithfulness to me. Reminiscing through those times reminds me of the story of a certain young man.<br />He loved butterflies as a child naturally as his mother had influenced his early years. Soon he was married and with child on the way. One day while returning from work, he chanced upon a cocoon along the way. He picked it up, wrapped it up in his handkerchief and sent it home. He placed the cocoon in a clear glass jar and covered it with a rubber and made holes in the rubber. He then placed it on a height to keep it safe from the prying eyes of his cat. One fine morning, he saw the creature struggling and shaking violently. The shaking became more intense and the young man thought he had to intervene now. He took out his Swiss Army Knife and cut a slit through the cocoon to release its wings. The cocoon came out, open and spread out it wings, circled around the edge of the bottle and stayed at the same place to the young man’s disappointment. He consulted his neighbor who was a local biology teacher and narrated the ordeal to him. The neighbor smiled and said to him. That was the cause of it. <br />“You see” He went on “It is the struggling that builds up the energy needed to fly.” That is all the man said to this neighbor.<br />The butterfly could not fly away because it didn’t build up enough energy to fly off. Sometimes we complain too much and we look for easy ways out. We may not have the best of everything, we may struggle at one time or the other even in our Christian walk of faith. We should not forget what the Holy Scriptures tells us in James 1:2 - 4; “Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into various temptations, knowing that the proving of your faith works endurance. But let endurance have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.<br />It’s been and awesome experience for me and I praise God for everything.<br />Thanks for reading and I hope you lack nothing!!!<br /><br /><br />Catholic Hymnal 412<br />Green pastures are before me,<br />Which yet I have not seen;<br />Bright skies will soon be o'er me,<br />Where the dark clouds have been;<br />My hope I cannot measure,<br />My path to life is free;<br />My savior has my treasure,<br />And He will walk with me.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-9040181539381657262010-07-11T17:23:00.000-07:002010-07-11T17:26:29.616-07:00TOUCHED BY AN ANGELWe, unaccustomed to courage<br />exiles from delight<br />live coiled in shells of loneliness<br />until love leaves its high holy temple<br />and comes into our sight<br />to liberate us into life.<br /><br />Love arrives<br />and in its train come ecstasies<br />old memories of pleasure<br />ancient histories of pain.<br />Yet if we are bold,<br />love strikes away the chains of fear<br />from our souls.<br /><br />We are weaned from our timidity<br />In the flush of love's light<br />we dare be brave<br />And suddenly we see<br />that love costs all we are<br />and will ever be.<br />Yet it is only love<br />which sets us free.<br /><br />By Maya AngelouAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-10328719789188551142010-06-25T16:57:00.000-07:002010-06-25T16:59:04.694-07:00The angels of The Lord rejoices...Oh what a joy to know and experience true peace! Hear the savior call out to you, "Come and have a seat" He bids you. <br />One precious and divine <br />Yet humble, kind and sublime! <br />A call to come, dine and wine <br />With the King of Kings! <br />Only our God can do this.<br />Watching out everyday, He longed for your return.<br />Preparing a banquet, He awaited your comeback from your sojourn in the world.<br />Never fainting in hope, He looked out each day and dreamt of your arrival every hour.<br /><br />Being careful to make you comfortable, He set aside the best of robes and the choicest of calves to celebrate your return. His choir rehearses everyday songs of victory to celebrate you! They now await the day of rejoicing in the celestial realms!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />To be continued...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-41117012171376920672010-05-24T14:08:00.000-07:002010-05-24T14:09:46.622-07:00THE DOING THAT LEFT NOTHING UNDONEThe undoing that left nothing undone…<br /><br />Amusing isn’t it? Sounds amusing and at first glance, a little more like contradictory.<br />There is however profound truth in these words I heard from my Pastor on May 23, 2010.<br />The day being Pentecost Sunday, I promised I was going to make up for the two weeks I had been busy working myself out with other less important things. Long time isn’t it? Yeah! Two weeks was awfully long to absent myself from the gathering of the saints. As I put my fingers to the keys on my PC, I just realized within this two-week period, I have (x) on my Christian Medical Fellowship Calendar I had pasted on my personal notice board. I had been punctual for four weeks each time making sure I ticked (√) each time I made it for the General meeting.<br />I had a very short sleep and my body ached all over. All the 206 bones in my body could testify they were weary and my back ached like I had fallen off a rampaging horse! My head felt like I was recovering from meningitis! Aching and very tense! <br />I planned to go for first Mass but I had to quickly change my mind in the morning when I woke up only to check my wall clock. 9:30am already! Almost late for second Mass! I hobbled off to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for service. I could feel the aching muscles and bones and joints and my God… aching everything and drowsy eyes. Luckily, I had a shirt ironed some days ago and my pair of trousers was as good as ironed. I pulled on my socks, chose the lightest of my shoes lest I carry the extra burden of dragging along heavy feet!<br />The service didn’t start on time and that meant I only missed a brief part of Mass today. It got to Homily time (time to share God’s word). I listened attentively and I am forever grateful I made it for Church that day.<br />“Today is Pentecost Sunday, Hallelujah!!!!” The Minster was somewhat different today. Something different from the usual solemn, melancholic atmosphere I had become used to as a Catholic. The Priest today was more vibrant and Charismatic. I have to mention here that the congregation was also different! They themselves are usually the ones to create the solemn atmosphere. But today, they were in frenzy if I should put it that way. Of course, I spotted a few disgruntled and discontented faces mostly men and women who had been faithful Catholics for Three scores or more or should I say, the entirety of their lifetime! Men of faith and of good will.<br />I however enjoyed what I was witnessing. Being youthful and a charismatic catholic myself. An unforgettable experience and one that merited the honor of going down the catalogue of my famous adventures (this one not really an adventure, an awesome experience). As I sat down today (24th May, 2010), it dawned on me I could share this experience with you (my reader) if you would kindly permit me to so and I pray you do. I believe it will bless you just as it blessed me. I believe it will encourage you just as it encouraged me. And I believe your waiting to read the real story is over now!<br />Enough of my adventure then!<br /><br /><br />This is what I gathered from the message on that faithful day. <br />The Apostles after Jesus had been crucified met in the upper room where they chose to wait together on the Lord. Their Master had commanded them to wait for the promise of The Father He had so often told them about. So in obedience to their master, they waited patiently. Fifty (5o) days and nights they waited. Never doubting the promise and never relenting in the faith. Afraid and timid, yet hopeful and trusting. The master had promised them He was not going to leave them like orphans. They believed in it and they waited. They had waited for days and weeks! And yet they waited, still praying and counting the days, they waited. Theirs was not the mandate to discern when the promise was going to be fulfilled. Theirs was to trust in the words of the master and just WAIT!<br />So on the day of the Pentecost, the apostles are still waiting and the rest of the story follows;<br />Act 2:1-4<br />(1) And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.<br />(2) And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.<br />(3) And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.<br />(4) And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.<br /><br /><br />The apostles were filled with the Holy Ghost and that was all that it required! Just waiting on the Lord and praying and waiting and hoping and a little more waiting!<br />The Spirit of The Lord came upon them and strengthened them to fulfill the purpose for which they had been called. Their mission could only be fulfilled with courage, the ability to speak in strange tongues, to heal diseases and cast out demons, to spread the good news in foreign lands and other marvelous deeds. Some were whipped for the gospel, chased out of cities, imprisoned, suffering want and hunger and persecuted in every way. Some were even stoned to death whiles they rejoiced! Some fried in oil pots and some crucified! <br />But how come hitherto such cowardly and timid men now turned fearless and bold and courageous? How come the ones that denied their master in the face of slave girls now unashamedly and fearlessly now proclaiming the Killed man resurrected? Such blasphemy and contempt against the law and the dictates of the high priests and custodians of the law!<br />The answer is not far reaching at all! They had learned to WAIT! They had learned to wait on the Lord and FULLY trust on His promises. They undid (that I,s did nothing to enforce what had been promised them). They did nothing save holding on to the promise and having faith in the giver of the promise. They prayed and trusted and knew that there was no other way but TO TRUST AND OBEY. That was the undoing! <br />Indeed, the undoing that left nothing undone!<br />When we wait on God, He strengthens us.<br />“But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings as eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).<br />I once read an illustration from an article about waiting on God. It went like this:<br />“Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks? The eagle will fly to high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it. The eagle does not escape the storm; it simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm. When the storms of life come upon us, we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief toward God. The storms do not have to overcome us; we can allow God's power to lift us above them. God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that brings sickness, tragedy, failure, and disappointment into our lives. We can soar above the storm. Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them.”<br />Such an inspiration from the eagle! May we learn and find truth in this and soar with wings like the eagles. Amen!<br />Waiting on God also avails us to His blessings. To wait on God is to sit back and say “Father, I cast all my cares upon You, for I know You care for me.” 1Pet 5:7.<br />It is to relax and know that God is in Control. It is to realize that “when the oceans rise and thunders roar, you will soar with wings above the storm.” It is to know that God is king above the storm and it is only under the pinion of His wings that we can take cover from the storm.<br />Not by our strength or our might. Our wings will indeed break in the strength of the storm if we relied on them. We are to remain still and know that He is God and King of the floods.<br />“Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him” (Isaiah 30:18). <br /><br />God is willing and more than able to leave nothing undone in our lives. He calls us to a life of blessedness and peace and victory! He only calls us to be still and know that He is God.<br />In whatever sphere of our life that we feel we need the extra-push, whenever we feel we need help, whenever we feel we have waited for too long, let us not forget help is on the way if we will only trust and obey.<br /><br /><br />Prayer:<br />Teach me, Lord, to wait down on my knees <br />Till in your own good time you answer my pleas. <br />Teach me not to rely on what others do <br />But to wait in prayer for the answer from you.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-71718235364000780372010-04-30T16:33:00.000-07:002010-04-30T16:39:11.117-07:00Welcome address at the Departmenta Presentation30th April, 2010<br /><br />Let me begin by thanking the Almighty God for His grace and mercy, The Child Health Department for the opportunity granted us students to take centre stage on this particular day.<br /><br />The Head of Dept, our most dedicated lecturers, Mrs' Pappoe and Quaye, invited guests, my hard working colleagues, ladies and gentlemen;<br /><br />It is an honor to be called upon today to chair this special occassion.<br /><br />I want to welcome us all to this important gathering. <br />Our common business here this morning is to try and understand more what we are confronted with everyday as we go about our duty in the Clinics and wherever we find ourselves.<br /><br />We have done a good so far in studying our patients and their socio-economic background and I hope we even do a better job today in the presentation of our findings in the community and also in trying to bring out the correlation between what we see everyday on the wards and what we have seen in the communities we studied. <br /><br />Just as Prof. Oliver-Commey will say and I say; "Wo'anhwe no yie aa, wonnhunu no yie" literally meaning, if you don't look well, you will not see well! The wisdom and the truth in this statement and I believe a testimony to this statement is what we are about to witness today.<br /><br />Let me not keep you waiting a long time for the actual business of the day, indeed it will be a dis-service to you all and to these itchy ears of mine.<br /> <br />You are all welcome and thank you for listening.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4292695476301275567.post-81257522149687450082010-04-17T14:28:00.000-07:002010-04-17T14:32:02.296-07:00Godswill17:04 GMT <br />17TH APRIL, 2010<br />B-BLOCK READING ROOM, KORLE-BU.<br />GODSWILL<br />Godswill. I wondered why Godswill and not Godwill or even one of my brothers' name; Godfred, Godwin or Godson. Yes! Godson, I loved that one. It denoted the son of God. <br />Sitting in front of a panel of about 8 or so members, being interviewed for medical school. For the first time, it hit me straight! "So your name is Godswill, tell us, is it God's will that you be admitted to the medical school?" Those were the exact words from the head of the panel, the then vice dean of University of Ghana Medical School and currently the dean.<br />My answered was an unwavering and emphatic yes! Saying that with confidence and gleaming with joy and happiness before the august panel. <br />That was my first question and the only question that got me thinking deeply about my name after the interview and even up till now.<br />I had never thought about what my name really meant. I often got irritated when people asked of my ethnicity and I told them I was Akan. They would go on to say, "But your name sounds Ewe." I had grown tired and weary of having to narrate my family tradition of all male children having a 'God' in their names, like Godfred or Godwin or Godson. They would then go on to comment, "I have heard of Godwill before but Godswill, well." Those were some of the usual comments. I just was getting tired of all these and hence even cutting out that part of my name anytime I had to mention my name.<br /><br />That day was very much different! Godswill, what did it mean to me? Why did my Daddy name me Godswill? I picked my cell phone and called Daddy and told him about the ordeal in the Conference room of the medical school. We laughed about it and chatted for a while, and then I put forth the question to him. His answer was, “Godswill means God’s will.” As simple as that!<br />On my own, I contemplated on it in my sober moments. <br />Little did I know it was going to come to me in such a lucid way as it did recently. Three years after my encounter with the panel that made a decision to help establish God’s will by passing me through that interview. <br />It was during a fellowship meeting of CMF. I had been away for so long, gosh!! And it felt good to be back. Through the time of praises and worship I felt like my American friend, Melissa when she went to the beads market! I couldn’t concentrate and kept on drifting between why and when and how I had drifted so far from such a fellowship. I thought about going away and never being helped by my family members, that made me feel something like anger or something else. Then I felt I had gotten it all wrong by myself and that I should just accept the responsibility, that made me feel guilty. Then I felt like, maybe it’s because I was involved in other activities since I was now the Health Officer of UGMSA and the Deputy National Health Officer of FGMSA. After sometime, I felt this one too amounted to excusing myself and running away from accepting the truth.<br />So throughout the service, I could not really follow through with everything. Then came my moment of deliverance and revelation if I should put it. The CMF president at that time mounted the stage in what seemed like his turn to lead us in prayer. First, he read some scriptures from the Bible and urged us to let go off everything and just focus on Jesus. I indulged myself in this exercise. I made a conscious effort to free my mind of the issues on my mind as at that time. It wasn’t an easy task but I tried very hard at this exercise. I succeeded and freed my mind. <br />It was during this hushed moment of my life that I felt the Lord speaking to me. This was something so unique and amazing. So humbling and awe-inspiring moment. I felt like a voice (The voice of The Lord) telling me this exact statement; “I have called you to fulfill my will.” It was a very enlightening moment of my life. I broke down at that point and cried for a period of time that I can’t remember. After the meeting, I called the love of my life and shared this experience with her.<br /><br />Reflecting on this incident and all the antecedent events, I think of the importance and the power of names. I think of the story of Jabez (1 Chr 4:9) and of that Nabal (1 Sam 25:25) or even of the apostle Peter (Cephas) – a rock on which Christ built his church. Names can and does have that much power. Ours is to live to the meaning of our good names! Trusting the Master to always provide the ways and means of doing such. If we seem to be in the same predicament as our good example Jabez in the Bible, thank God, Jabez did show us an excellent way! Such an honourable servant of the Master. Jesus was and Is and Will be forever called THE CHRIST (Christos, meaning the Messiah or Anointed one!) Did he live out His name? Yes!!! He was God’s anointed and he went about doing good! <br />Act 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. <br /><br /><br />Each of us has a story behind our names but most importantly, we have been called individually to fulfill specific missions in life. That is the second thought I have upon the reflection on whatever has been narrated so far. It is not about our dreams anymore but God’s dream and will for us. When we accepted the new life, that was the bargain we were making. We accepted that our way is of no consequence or better still was doomed for destruction and of devastating consequence. We acknowledge we needed someone to provide a better alternative to ours so we could see the dark and be freed from oppression by the ruler of this world. <br />Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. <br /><br />Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God<br /><br /><br /><br />Great and marvelous and wise is this gift:<br />The just for the unjust.<br />The Master for the slave<br />The sinless for the sinner,<br />The creator for the creature,<br />Afflicted, rejected, chastised, bruised,<br />Mocked by the ones he came to save, etc.<br />-Isaiah 53 <br /> <br />Yet, He did not even consider equality with God something to be grasped with; He agreed to take the place of the vilest of men so we could have a share in His inheritance. <br />Upon all these, man’s parts of the bargain are to Confess with the mouth and believe in his heart that Christ is the savior who died for man’s sins. <br /><br />Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. <br /><br />Surely, it’s the best you can get anywhere! A deal that will see us escaping all that we deserved. <br /><br />Ours is to avail ourselves to be conformed to The Masters will. Let’s be guided by these words from Ps. Max Lucado:<br />CHRIST IN ME<br />To have my voice <br />But Him speaking.<br />My steps<br />But Christ leading.<br />My heart <br />But His love beating<br />In me, through me, with me.<br /><br />To tap His strength<br />When mine expires<br />Or feel the force <br />Of Heavens fires<br />Raging, purging wrong desires<br />Could Christ become my entire?<br />Yes! That is Christ in me!<br /><br />We must live in Christ and allow Him to live in us also. We must seek to find and understand what God’s will is for our lives and be ready to accept and live it out.<br /><br />Back to my story, I also realized that, sometimes we seem to allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by circumstances and then look out for excuses to justify ourselves. We can never justify ourselves as I have already pointed out. We were like sheep gone astray… We must allow the spirit of God to work on us to transform us more and more everyday into Christ’s perfect image. When we are convicted, it is a sure sign of God’s love for us and a sign of The Holy Spirit at work in us – The Parakletos. <br /><br /><br />At times too, the church fails to recognize or should I say refuses to respond to members in genuine need. Some in our churches may not be in need of the doctrine of giving primarily. The church must identify those in need whether financially, emotionally, socially or those who are falling in the faith especially. It is our duty to correct with love and turn our brothers and sisters away from falling back or backsliding. <br />I sought to discuss how I came to realize an important revelation in my life about my name but I believe it was God’s will that I continued up till this point. He gives strength to the humble and wisdom even to the simple if he will listen. <br />God bless you for reading.<br /><br />John Godswill Gyasi Banin<br />National Health Officer, FGMSA.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11015051025905955962noreply@blogger.com0