Oú allez vous?

I am in Niamey!  I have really good internet access here so I wanted to take advantage of it.  The flight to Niamey from Paris was smooth and when we got on the ground we rode to a mission guest house where we are spending the night.  I am learning a little more of what to expect when we get on the ground in Danja tomorrow.  Jacqui is a RN from Australia but formally trained in the UK.  She is coordinating the nurses on the ground in Danja and claims that she is in need of some extra hands at night.  Once properly trained she says that she could use my help checking catheters, taking vital signs, etc.  Mark is coordinating all the shipments to the hospital and a big container full of medical supplies has just arrived so I expect to be doing inventory on it all tomorrow along with setting up some beds and shelves.

There is also need of a research assistant who will study the time limit for catheterization post-op for fistula patients.  Some hospitals keep the catheter for up to 6 weeks post op-- the longer you leave the catheter in the less the patient is able to control their bladder after the catheter is removed.  There is also a higher risk of urinary tract infection the longer you leave the catheter in.  I'm trying to do some research right now to see what has been studied on time limit for catheterization so that I can help with this once surgeries are in full swing.

In other news, I am loving hearing all the different accents and languages around me.  Here at the mission house I hear spanish, norwegian, french, and english.  It makes me want to study and learn ALL THE THINGS (shout out to Mary French).

Just to give you an idea of where I am and oú je partirai demain (pardon my french, I'm trying to learn more..)  The map below shows my trajectory for tomorrow:

Thanks for reading and I will let you know how my first day on the ground tomorrow goes!