Not just Physical Healing

Let me tell you why I will miss my job. At CURE Hospital we are a family. Every day I pretty much manage to greet every member of staff in the hospital- the pharmacist, the cooks, the doctors, the cleaning ladies, the guards... It's a cosy atmosphere whereby I feel comfortable and at ease at all times during the day.

From 7:30-16.30 I am a privileged physiotherapist. Let me enlighten you on my daily activities:

- Paediatric Physiotherapy: this part of my job is fascinating. I get the chance to treat and play with children with the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen. I am being exposed to conditions and diseases that I have never even heard of before coming to Malawi. There are several children who do not need physiotherapy, nevertheless, I still find it fascinating to understand what they are going through. Most cases are congenital (they are born with it) or due to infections during childhood. At times the story behind the injury is a sad one: one little girl, aged 2, was forced by her own mother to place her hands in boiling water after having stolen a handful of peas.

- Adult Physiotherapy: being able to partake in this kind of work is good to keep my Western skills. The adult patients I treat are all able to pay for the treatment they receive and have problems that are seen in a hospital/clinical setting anywhere in Europe.

- Translation: being able to speak more than a language has come in handy. Phone calls with patients in Mozambique, translating brochures and leaflets into Portuguese, or being an interpreter in a medical appointment. We have patients coming all the way from the neighbouring country Mozambique to be seen by our doctors.

- Journalism: maybe I'm sugar-coating it a little bit. I haven't actually done journalism as per say, but I wrote an article about physiotherapy for the hospital magazine!

- Surgeries: I get to watch as many as I wish. All I need to do is approach one of our 6 surgeons, ask them if they are doing any interesting procedures that morning, and jump on the wagon. Tomorrow I will be watching my first amputation- a child got bitten by a snake and now the leg has to be removed.

- Supervisor: I may be cheating by putting this in the list just yet. In 2 weeks time I will have a 2nd year Physiotherapy student shadow me around the hospital. It's odd to think that a few months ago I was playing the role of the student. Suddenly I am expected to be a responsible professional fully capable of teaching and supervising another human being. Quite exciting.

I'll miss it.