A Week To Remember

Life in Tamale is filled with experiences quite different from those in the U.S. The relative inconvenience of sometimes doing without power or water is balanced by a true appreciation when these amenities are available.

A hospital stay here was one thing I have always specifically hoped to avoid, but this past week provided me with that adventure as well. An unexpected episode of atrial fibrillation landed me in the ICU. Fortunately, a cardiologist from Accra just happened to be visiting the hospital and he gave me excellent care. I lay next to a "Saint" for three days in the person of Dr. David Abdulai, a well known and loved physician in Tamale, founder of the Shekhina Clinic which cares for the destitute, and who is now fighting for his life. It was truly a humbling experience.

Triage at the Emergency Room with Jim in the background tending to a bleeding patient while I waited for test results.

My bed in ICU at Tamale Teaching Hospital.