Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First

CARLI'S MEDICAL JOURNEY

Kimball Grad Provides Care In Impoverished Africa

When she landed in Africa, Carli Wurdeman recalled, "I stepped off that plane, and I got slapped in the face."

Carli, a 2020 Kimball High School graduate,was talking about the oppressive heat in Accra, Ghana. Accra is 8 degrees north of the equator.

"I had flown out of Denver, changed planes in New York, then straight to Ghana, and I had on long pants and a hoodie," she explained.

Accra is the capital and largest city in Ghana, located on the southern coast at Gulf of Guinea.

The heat wouldn't be the only shocker that 19-year-old Carli would deal with on her two-week medical journey in June to a village three hours from the capital city of Accra.

Carli experienced an immediate culture shock.

"They all spoke different languages, and I walked off the plane, and the first thing I had to do was go through customs," she said. "It was scary."

She walked through holding her passport and visa and COVID and yellow fever vaccine cards.

Carli's favorite part of the entire experience was going to the homes to tend to wounds, not just cuts and scraps, but severe wounds. Carli described the wounds: "Every wound that I saw, I guarantee I will never see close to that here. Everything was on a scale of 200 times worse than here. It was like an infection taking over an entire limb. The only way they will survive is to have an amputation, but they won't do that."

They simply cannot afford the medical treatment.

"It was an eye-opener," she said.

The people in the village were so appreciative and thankful for the volunteers because they would not be receiving treatment for their wounds if it weren't for the volunteers. Carli said they don't have the money to go to the clinic. Their acceptance of their situation was baffling to Carli and the other volunteers, yet she said they, the people of the village, were so happy, thankful and "super welcoming."

As shocking and tragic as the wounds and infections were, life went on.

A smile took over Carli's face when she said, "I did help deliver a baby. I walked into the room, and the midwife told me to put on some gloves. And I was like – she told me (the baby) was coming, and I had my hand on the head the entire time it came out. That was fascinating. I will never be able to do that here for another 10 years of schooling."

Supplies are so minimal in Ghana, but they do so much more with so little. She learned to use "makeshift bandages."

She struggled with how much is wasted in her own homeland.

"We were told to try to use one set of gloves for five people," she said. "In my head, I was like, I can't do that."

She reflected that in the United States, "I put on one set of gloves, take off a bandage, take off those gloves, put on a new set to (further prepare), take those off, put on a new set to the wound wrap it." She explained that cross-contamination is so big there and "that is why they get a lot of infections" – and the infections are so deadly.

Even though English is required in the schools and spoken in Ghana, there is still a language barrier because their English is very broken English. Each area has its own language and dialect, but English is universal.

In retrospect and thinking about her trip, Carli admits that "it was kind of like a calling. I really felt like this was something I needed to do. Especially going into medicine (as a career), I wanted to experience healthcare in other settings, especially somewhere that is lacking."

Once the decision was made to go to Ghana, and she informed her family of her intentions, Carli had to find the money.

"When I first proposed the idea (to her family), it was like, 'What are you talking about?'"

But Carli got organized and was determined to go.

The volunteer program is named IVHQ. Carli contacted Darby Klinkhammer, who also used IVHQ on A volunteer trip to Ghana. The trip has made her more excited than ever about her decision to get into medicine.

Using Facebook and a funding program, Carli obtained funds for the ticket, travel insurance, housing fees, immunizations expenses, medical supplies, and the required boxes of their own gloves to take. "And so many people from around the community donated to me, which I am very appreciative for," she said.

She expressed thankfulness to the community for their donations and support.

Carli shared that she felt she had grown and matured by traveling by herself to a Third World country and learning to rely only on herself. But the experience has deepened her understanding of the world and her compassion.

"I was not aware of what I had here," she said. "I thought that we lived a pretty basic life. We are small-time Kimball, Nebraska. I didn't realize this was luxury, but it really is."

In the clinic in Frankadua, they saw pregnant women or did malaria testing, and the pharmacy dispensed six medications, including cough medicine, anti-malaria meds and amoxicillin. No computers and no record of medications dispensed.

While Carli was in Ghana, it was the wet season, and malaria was rampant. The volunteers went to the school and tested each child,.Carli estimated that 50% of the school kids tested positive for malaria. The children are then given anti-malaria medication. When they ran out of tests or medication, that was the end of the weekly testing.

Ironically, Carli is still taking her anti-malaria pills. She had to take them two weeks before she left and four weeks after she returned home.

The people appear to be so complacent about malaria and other medical problems, they have accepted the fact that it is just part of life.

A young boy had a broken bone protruding and the father asked Carli: "But it is growing back, right?" She said he really thought the bone would grow back into his leg.

Reflecting on her experiences in Ghana, Carli said: "The term hypochondriac doesn't exist there."

After her trip to Ghana, the daughter of Dane Wurdeman and Staci Harriger will spend the summer working as a certified nursing assistant at the Kimball hospital. In the fall, she will return for her junior year to Nebraska Wesleyan University, where she is majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry.