Title: Shona in Sierra Leone (
Sierra Leone)
Status: Active
URL:
http://www.shonajohnston.blogspot.com/
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Epiblog - 11/Jan/2012 22:33 - 4498 days ago
I’ve struggled to know how to finish my blog. I guess I don’t like to think of it as being “finished”, because even thou...
Highlights of the Year - 07/Aug/2011 08:26 - 4655 days ago
Some of my favourite memories from my time in Sierra Leone….1) Decompressing a tension pneumothorax.2) Seeing that little boy ...
How I Survived - 07/Aug/2011 08:18 - 4655 days ago
1) With the support of my wonderful husband.2) With internet access and mobile phone to be able to contact him.3) Regular emails...
What Have I Achieved? - 06/Aug/2011 14:08 - 4656 days ago
That’s it. I don don. I finished my placement at Ola During Children’s Hospital yesterday. When I was interviewed for the BB...
Things that have changed about me this year - 04/Aug/2011 21:28 - 4658 days ago
1) I am more tanned than I have ever been in my life.2) I have learned to be incredibly patient, but also how to be angry.3) I h...
Blood Donation Mark Three - 04/Aug/2011 07:19 - 4658 days ago
It’s been nearly four months since Sandra and I last went to give blood on Easter Friday. I really wanted to give blood again ...
A Grand Day Out - 31/Jul/2011 14:01 - 4662 days ago
With a limited amount of time left in Sierra Leone, Cat and I have written“The List” of all the things we want to do before ...
Back in ICU - 30/Jul/2011 14:45 - 4663 days ago
I’ve moved back to ICU for my last two weeks here in Freetown. ICU has moved since I was there before. It is in a new, smaller...
I’m leaving…. - 24/Jul/2011 18:21 - 4669 days ago
I think it has just dawned on me that I’m leaving Sierra Leone in two weeks time. I’ve known my leaving date for a while but...
Sounds, phrases and conversations that will forever remind me of Sierra Leone - 23/Jul/2011 09:02 - 4670 days ago
(Apologies to any Saloneans for the spelling of Krio words and phrases)1)“Ow di bodi?” “Di bodi fine, ow yusef?” “I te...
Survival of the Fittest - 21/Jul/2011 19:37 - 4672 days ago
Imagine you are a child in Sierra Leone. Surviving childhood is a challenge. And there are so many challenges to get through. Th...
The Year in Numbers - 21/Jul/2011 15:02 - 4672 days ago
So the countdown is here. I am nearly at the end of my placement. I am leaving Sierra Leone and will be back home in the UK afte...
Stop Press! - 18/Jul/2011 17:22 - 4675 days ago
A quick blog to update you on the success of the Welbodi Quiz– we raised Le4,370,000, which is just over one thousand US dolla...
Fun at the Beach (despite the rain….) - 18/Jul/2011 07:35 - 4675 days ago
The day after the Quiz a group of us headed to Hamilton Beach for the night. Unfortunately it rained on and off for most of the ...
The Welbodi Quiz - 17/Jul/2011 19:37 - 4676 days ago
On returning from Kenema there was little time for resting as on Friday evening we held the long-awaited fundraising quiz in aid...
ETATing in Kenema - 16/Jul/2011 13:10 - 4677 days ago
Cat and I went to Kenema this week to do some training for the nursing staff on Emergency Triage and Treatment in children. We h...
The Missing Photo (I hope!) - 09/Jul/2011 20:34 - 4684 days ago
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This is getting very addictive…. - 09/Jul/2011 20:20 - 4684 days ago
Time for a cheerier blog. I have been spending a lot of time visiting Mr Jalloh the tailor. I have some lovely new outfits and I...
How do you measure your day? - 09/Jul/2011 13:08 - 4684 days ago
How do you measure how good, bad, successful or unsuccessful your day has been? It turns out that I now measure my day by whethe...
Thursday - 02/Jul/2011 14:12 - 4691 days ago
Thursday was a bizarre day, full of contrasts. Here’s what I did:I went to the S-C-B-U in the morning ready to start the ward ...
The Lab - 02/Jul/2011 09:06 - 4691 days ago
I have got to dedicate a blog to the boys and girl who work in the lab at the hospital. We have a semi-functioning lab. And it...
The Challenges of Auditing in Africa… - 28/Jun/2011 17:04 - 4695 days ago
I’ve been working on a couple of audits – one on intravenous cannula and intramuscular injection associated infections and o...
Aid - 25/Jun/2011 09:03 - 4698 days ago
Concern, Goal, CRS, IRC, ICRC, VSO, ODI, AGI, HPA, IFAD, Marie Stopes, Oxfam, Mercy Ships, Emergency, USAID, DfID, GIZ, UNDP, Un...
Ethical Questions…. - 22/Jun/2011 19:25 - 4701 days ago
In a resource poor setting, it’s one of the most difficult decisions to make. How much time should I spend with one child? The...
“Mi fut he swell” - 20/Jun/2011 17:39 - 4703 days ago
I woke on Saturday morning after having a lovely night out on Friday for Banke, Theo, Alex and Dorcas’ leaving party. (I even...
The Special Care Baby Unit - 18/Jun/2011 12:11 - 4705 days ago
(Apologies in advance for all the medical terminology.)I’ve now moved on from Outpatients and TFC to the Special Care Baby Uni...
Lessons I have learned– and am still learning - 15/Jun/2011 21:28 - 4708 days ago
I wrote this list during a time when I was feeling very down about life in Sierra Leone. You’ll be pleased to know I don’t f...
The Journey Home - 11/Jun/2011 10:25 - 4712 days ago
Usually I have a fairly easy (although long) journey home travelling with Sandra and chatting with her. Sometimes she is at a me...
My Fifteen Minutes of Fame - 09/Jun/2011 18:30 - 4714 days ago
This week I will get my fifteen minutes of fame (probably more like one by the time I’ve been edited!). The BBC were here in S...
The Sierra Leonean Cinema - 05/Jun/2011 10:36 - 4718 days ago
Banke and I went to the cinema yesterday evening. Yes, an actual cinema, in Freetown. It has just opened. We were not quite sure...
Oshya - 04/Jun/2011 16:21 - 4719 days ago
People have been saying“Oshya” to me in the last few days as I’ve not been feeling too well. Oshya (sometimes shortened to...
Red Tape - 30/May/2011 18:33 - 4724 days ago
Sierra Leone can be a very frustrating country to live in. If you have seen the film Blood Diamond, they use the phrase“TIA, t...
Things which will never cease to amaze me - 28/May/2011 17:11 - 4726 days ago
1) How women manage to change their hairdo’s so frequently – and come out of little shacks looking like a million dollars.2)...
Skills I have gained– and am still gaining! - 28/May/2011 09:47 - 4726 days ago
VSO’s motto I about “Sharing Skills, Changing Lives”, however I am constantly learning new skills here!1) How to have a bu...
A Visit to the Tailor - 22/May/2011 17:09 - 4732 days ago
Having been very jealous of my friends’ gorgeous outfits for the Royal Wedding Party, I decided it was time to finally get to ...
Things in Freetown which have a blatant disregard for what we would know as health and safety regulations - 22/May/2011 10:38 - 4732 days ago
1) The roadworks– massive diggers moving around with no barriers, dumping large mounds of sand everywhere, large ditches appea...
Feelings - 18/May/2011 21:09 - 4736 days ago
I was in ICU briefly today looking for some medical students and as I walked through I came across a child who had died. No one ...
Selena’s Visit - 18/May/2011 20:41 - 4736 days ago
At the same time as the VSO visit my great friend Selena also came to visit. Unfortunately I had to work much of the time she wa...
VSO Fundraising and Photographs - 18/May/2011 20:33 - 4736 days ago
I spent last week at work being photographed, interviewed, video-ed and photographed a bit more as some girls from VSO-UK had co...
The Therapeutic Feeding Centre - 17/May/2011 20:25 - 4737 days ago
The Therapeutic Feeding CentreI’ve been working in the therapeutic feeding centre (TFC) for a few weeks now. This is where the...
The Photos! - 08/May/2011 18:49 - 4746 days ago
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The Freetown Photographic Tour - 08/May/2011 18:01 - 4746 days ago
Yesterday Freya, Banke, Alex and I hired a taxi to have a tour of Freetown to take some snaps (Krio word for photos!). Banke had...
The most useful things for volunteers to have in Sierra Leone - 08/May/2011 13:45 - 4746 days ago
1) A mobile phone– some people have a phone for each of the three networks (because calls between networks are expensive).2) A...
A Small Miracle - 03/May/2011 20:04 - 4751 days ago
Before I went on holiday we had a 1yr and 6 month old girl who was admitted to ICU. She was“sick bad bad wan” and was one of...
The Patient Journey - 01/May/2011 20:56 - 4753 days ago
My father-in-law has been for a check-up a year after his knee replacement. He sent me this email and kindly allowed me to share...
The Royal Wedding Party - 01/May/2011 11:45 - 4753 days ago
As Salone continues to celebrate its 50th Birthday, back in the UK everyone was celebrating Kate and Wills’ wedding. Alas we d...
Happy Birthday Free Health Care! - 01/May/2011 11:01 - 4753 days ago
Wednesday 27th April 2011 also marked a year since the introduction of free health care for all under-5s and pregnant and lactat...
Independence! - 01/May/2011 10:51 - 4753 days ago
Sierra Leone has been gearing up to celebrate its 50th Birthday. Since I’ve been back form my holiday the streets have been ad...
Blood Donation - 01/May/2011 10:25 - 4753 days ago
It had been four months since Sandra and I went to donate blood (Omar the blood transfusion technician will only let women donat...
Triage Training at the Under-5s Clinic - 01/May/2011 09:52 - 4753 days ago
A picture - I am hoping!...
Happy Easter Weekend! - 24/Apr/2011 19:01 - 4760 days ago
Happy Easter! It’s been a chilled weekend. It was Cleaning Day yesterday morning - they are trying to get the streets as clea...
Triage Training at the Under-5s Clinic - 24/Apr/2011 18:42 - 4760 days ago
Before I went home for my holiday I helped out with the implementation of Emergency Triage and Treatment Training at the Jenner ...
Back in Sierra Leone! - 23/Apr/2011 09:41 - 4761 days ago
I’ve had a holiday since my last blog – I went home for two weeks and had a brilliant time seeing Andy, visiting friends and...
The Africa Mercy - 27/Mar/2011 09:51 - 4788 days ago
I had the privilege of visiting the Mercy Ship this week (payment in kind for helping out at the conference last week). The Merc...
Things I’m looking forward to when I go home - 20/Mar/2011 21:48 - 4795 days ago
I’m going home in two weeks time. For a two week break. Then, just to clarify (which I didn’t on facebook!), I’m coming ba...
A Very Good News Story - 19/Mar/2011 12:48 - 4796 days ago
So… you’ll remember the boy with the tension pneumothorax? And you’ll remember that he got discharged home…?I had probab...
The Mercy Ship Conference - 19/Mar/2011 08:30 - 4796 days ago
I was privileged to attend and help teach at the 2nd Sierra Leone Nurse Anaesthetists Conference, organised by the lovely people...
Cleaning Day - 13/Mar/2011 11:17 - 4802 days ago
Its early Saturday morning and I’ve come into hospital for a meeting with people from the Mercy Ship before the conference I...
Stuff that's probably weird but I now find perfectly normal - 10/Mar/2011 21:12 - 4805 days ago
1) White land cruisers with NGO logos on them.2) People carrying stuff on their heads– like water, large baskets of fruit, pla...
Differences..... - 06/Mar/2011 14:46 - 4809 days ago
Last week I was in a shared taxi carrying a total of seven people: the driver, two children in the front seat, a man with anothe...
Motivation - 25/Feb/2011 15:39 - 4818 days ago
What is it that motivates us? What motivates us to go to work? What motivates us, or inspires us, to keep going when things are ...
Mum and Dad’s Visit - 12/Feb/2011 14:25 - 4831 days ago
I’ve had a lovely few weeks as Mum and Dad braved the “Battle of Lungi” (as my Dad nicknamed it – the epic journey to ge...
The X-Ray You Should Never See - 10/Feb/2011 18:06 - 4833 days ago
Last week I decompressed a tension pneumothorax in a 4 year old boy. This child had been admitted the week before with a week’...
Resuscitation Scenario Training - 10/Feb/2011 18:03 - 4833 days ago
We held resusc scenario training for the medical officers last week. It was the second time we’ve done this and it was a lot o...
Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality Meeting - 07/Feb/2011 17:20 - 4836 days ago
We held the first ever perinatal morbidity and mortality meeting last week. It was great for the paediatric department (doctors ...
Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality Meeting - 07/Feb/2011 17:20 - 4836 days ago
We held the first ever perinatal morbidity and mortality meeting last week. It was great for the paediatric department (doctors ...
Sorrow and Joy - 07/Feb/2011 17:19 - 4836 days ago
Last week I spent most of my time in ER. Patients who are triaged as emergencies come straight to ER to be assessed and receive ...
Things I’m thankful for - 17/Jan/2011 07:44 - 4857 days ago
1) My husband, family and friends at home.2) My friends and colleagues here in Salone.3) The internet, slow as it is, at least i...
Things I miss about home - 17/Jan/2011 07:41 - 4857 days ago
1) Clearly there is only one real answer to this– my husband.2) But it wouldn’t be a good blog entry without a longer list! ...
Things I really like about Freetown - 17/Jan/2011 07:40 - 4857 days ago
1) The climate (okay sometimes it’s a bit TOO hot – but I prefer it to the cold).2) Our balcony– with a great view of the ...
Things it takes a while to get used to in Freetown - 17/Jan/2011 07:35 - 4857 days ago
1) The shouts of“White Girl, White Girl” and “How are you?” and “What is your name?” that follow you around when wal...
Water.... - 16/Jan/2011 10:41 - 4858 days ago
On Thursday morning we my shower stopped half way through– yes my hair was lathered with shampoo. Nightmare. Luckily we have a...
The Hospital Cleaner’s Strike - 02/Jan/2011 15:22 - 4872 days ago
This year was possibly the strangest Hogmanay I have ever had. I got to work by taxi then walking from PZ (a relatively quiet wa...
Christmas at Samso's - 02/Jan/2011 15:20 - 4872 days ago
So I said that Christmas had bypassed me a bit. Actually it was really fun. I went with Fred and his parents to church on Christ...
There won't be snow in Africa this Christmas - 22/Dec/2010 21:21 - 4883 days ago
…At least not in Freetown. We’re a balmy 31oC when I’m told that Elgin in Scotland was -18oC last night. I now have an off...
Untitled - 20/Dec/2010 20:39 - 4885 days ago
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Hospital Photos - 20/Dec/2010 20:29 - 4885 days ago
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Holidays! - 19/Dec/2010 17:36 - 4886 days ago
I’ve had a brilliant and perfect two weeks as Andy came to visit SL (and me, obviously!) I took the two weeks off work so we c...
A Photo - Hopefully! - 04/Dec/2010 17:32 - 4901 days ago
Oops I forgot to add the photo (kindly taken by Alex) to the last blog - hopefully it will work this time!...
Birthday Week - 04/Dec/2010 16:49 - 4901 days ago
Birthday WeekIts been a good week (especially in comparison to last). It was my birthday on Wednesday; thanks to everyone for yo...
Hospital Life - 22/Nov/2010 10:36 - 4913 days ago
Despite only having had my medical registration for two weeks, I had actually been“working” on Ward 1 for several weeks befo...
Medical Registration - Finally! - 13/Nov/2010 16:30 - 4922 days ago
So, on Monday I finally got my medical registration. And what a shambles it was!I left home at 7.30am in the rain and got a taxi...
The Sierra Leone Medical and Dental Association 36th Annual Congress - 07/Nov/2010 22:04 - 4928 days ago
Sandra, Fred (the Welbodi doctors) and I were invited to attend the opening ceremony of the SLMDA annual congress. We arrived at...
Untitled - 04/Nov/2010 21:53 - 4931 days ago
Bunce IslandA couple of weekends ago all the hospital NGOs (Welbodi, Cap Anamur and VSO) hired a Pelican water taxi and went to ...
A Week of Musical and Cinematic Entertainment - 24/Oct/2010 17:02 - 4942 days ago
Tuesday evening I really needed some escapism from the world of the hospital so went to Mumba Point Restaurant with the other VS...
Untitled - 16/Oct/2010 18:11 - 4950 days ago
Hospital Goings OnSo…. Perhaps not surprisingly, I still don’t have my medical registration yet. Its getting a bit ridiculou...
Transport Fun - 16/Oct/2010 18:10 - 4950 days ago
So there are several methods of transport in Freetown– ranging from poda podas (minibuses) to taxis (shared or chartered) to l...
Beaches and Football - 16/Oct/2010 17:59 - 4950 days ago
I’m just back from the beach – again? I hear you say. I went this afternoon to Lakka Beach with some of the lovely people fr...
So now I am a lecturer... - 10/Oct/2010 17:53 - 4956 days ago
So I am now a lecturer…I have given my first three lectures this week– two on cardiology and one on genetics. They seem to h...
Two Weeks in Freetown - 03/Oct/2010 11:17 - 4963 days ago
The Exciting NewsSo the exciting news of this week is that I now have the internet at home. At least I’m paying for the intern...
Untitled - 30/Sep/2010 15:38 - 4966 days ago
Blog 1– One week in FreetownIts Saturday afternoon; I’m sitting on my balcony looking at a gorgeous view over the ocean towa...
Untitled - 29/Sep/2010 14:17 - 4967 days ago
I've got here!This is a very quick message as the internet is so slow!Hope you are all well. I am fine. I have tried to write a ...
Untitled - 29/Sep/2010 14:17 - 4967 days ago
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Thinking of the Sound of Music and the Terminator movies - 18/Sep/2010 12:09 - 4978 days ago
So long, farewell... but also - I'll be back!Well that's it, I'm off tomorrow. With my huge bags (very pleased about the 40kg ba...
Untitled - 08/Sep/2010 20:10 - 4988 days ago
I can't believe its actually nearly here - I'm off in 11 days! Nothing packed yet but its all laid out in the spare room.I've go...
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