Riley Mother Baby Hospital!
I matched at CHOP!!!!! Pediatrics here I come. I'm so totally thrilled with the program. And nervous about residency...but I'm ready for three intense years and I feel like my experience here has also somewhat prepared me for situations where I feel like I'm in over my head. Still, I am grateful that I will be training in hospitals where I will have lots of supervision for the next several years. When I think of my Kenyan colleagues who may soon find themselves practicing in smaller hospitals where they may have to do emergency C-sections and manage whatever comes their way with very little back-up, my future training opportunities seem almost sheltered. While I look forward to taking on more responsibility as a resident, I am glad I will not be practicing on my own in Kapenguria anytime soon.
Last Wednesday I went with Dr. Mamlin (the Godfather of our program) to a peripheral clinic site in the village of Mosoriot. The extreme poverty and decimation that HIV has caused were unbelievable, but at the same time the hope provided by Dr. Mamlin and AMPATH and the obvious progress that has been made in the fight against AIDS is incredible. Several of the patients were men weighing less than 40 kg...I weigh about 52 kg so you know something is horribly wrong. I met a former Olympic runner, now ravaged by HIV, and a woman who had all been given up for dead with HIV, thyroid storm, and two broken legs. Dr. Mamlin was going to make her walk again.
I asked him if AMPATH has grown naturally as a program, creating new programs to meet the needs that arise. His response has really stayed with me...the natural state of a program like this is entropy. Nothing comes easily, everything is a struggle. So you just have to keep fighting. Endelea!
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