On the Mountain

Shyira, Day 1

I awoke this morning to one of the most beautiful sights I have ever laid eyes on. As I ate my breakfast of fruit salad – bananas, passion fruit, and pineapple – and sipped from a cup of strong Rwandan coffee, the scene out of my front window was in constant motion. The mist rolled through the valleys as the sun occasionally penetrated the deep purple clouds that hung above. Sleeping the morning away here is an impossible feat – not only because of the views to be had but also because of the crowing roosters and songs from passing school children. What a start to my first day on Shyira hill.

Any tranquility that characterized the beginning of the morning soon came to an abrupt halt as I made my way down the hill to Le Hospital Shyira. It would be sink or swim today. After the morning staff meeting – a mélange of languages, Kinyarwanda, French, very little English – I worked with my roommate Logan Mauney and our irreplaceable translator and friend, Epimaque, in triage. After taking and recording the vitals of the newest patients in the clinic, I accompanied Louise on her morning rounds. We saw cases ranging from the more common maladies of malaria and kwashiorkor among infants, to an interesting case of Pott’s Disease in a middle aged woman.