Mokhotlong Outreach

A dirt road entrenched with potholes and rocks and steep narrow inclines. I have never really been four wheeling but the 2 hour journey we have to take in order to reach one of the clinics will definitely make me a stronger driver on these dangerous roads. The new clinic we are about to visit is stuck back in such a remote place, I started to realize why this has been called the “loneliest place in Africa". Critically ill patients don’t make it, and even if they are able to flag a car down, their chance of making the journey to the hospital is slim. Our bones (especially mine) were aching from the extreme jolts, but the car and us made it. We have a Toyota fortuner which is a beast out in these narrow roads but gets the job done when you need a 4x4.

Mokhotlong. My new outreach area can be found in the mountainous region of Eastern Lesotho. You have to pass by the only AfriSki hill in Lesotho...and maybe southern Africa (a one kilometer ski hill that is almost worth the visit just to be amazed that such a thing exists). The road to get there winds through mountain ranges that exceed 10,000 feet that still have snow hiding in various patches from the ending winter. There is not much in the form of trees or green, but again, winter is almost over and the trees that do exist have pink blossoms shooting over the stoned round huts that are so common here. Basotho men chase the thousand of sheep and goat with their stick as we pass by. They have their blankets wrapped around their shoulders that can be used to sit, sleep on long journeys, and keep warm during the colder times. Donkeys are horses trail the roads dominating the few dogs that exist here. Kids use the donkeys as their transport sometimes with their boots draped over the sides almost touching the ground.

One of the five clinics that we are visiting on the most desolate road is a health clinic that is about ready to start HIV treatment. It’s exciting because it is new to the clinic and myself and we can watch each other grow hopefully very strong together. The only nurse that works there is alone, and is in desperate need of help. She is from Kenya and stays right next to the clinic. Her heart is made of gold as she turns no patient away and feels that she can't leave, at least now, because who will help these people if she were to. I know that her eyes showed worry when we tell her that this will be easier on the patients already on medicine who currently have to walk miles to another clinic in order to receive HIV care. This means more patients for her, I am glad she is who she is because she is amazing. She is already testing and educating her patients on HIV. All she need is medication. I’m amazed at how much she is already doing on her own.

We sat down to look at the books, do a brief needs assessment, and then we were off with her anxiously waiting for next month when I arrive again. She is smart and that makes my job even easier. Paul, a Baylor PAC doctor who is here to show me the ropes, has also made me drive back from each visit so that I will know where to go next time. This also means getting used to the left side of the road, and manual on the wrong side of the car. I got stuck on a steep incline filled with boulders and potholes. With the vehicle stalled and had no idea how to get unstuck, Paul provided the helpful tips and encouragement telling me I will have to learn sometime. If I couldn't get it, the car would roll back but there was no place to turn around since the other option was off the small cliff to our left. It took four tries and shaking legs to finally manuevuer the clutch, gas and emergency brake and allow us to start going forward again. My heart has finally returned to a normal beat and the sweaty palms are better. Scary!

I will end with this small story as Mokhotlong will have many more adventures in the future since I will be there once a month from here on out. We were asked to examine two small twins that a nearby orphanage (Touching Tiny Lives) had recently inherited. The family had flagged down their car as they were driving through the community and handed them the tiny tots unable to take care of them. Apparently the mother had just given birth and died shortly after. The girl was only 1 kg, and the boy a whopping 1.5kg. The two were wrapped in 7 layers of blankets before I was able to put a stethoscope to one of them. In our world, these kids would be on lock down in a sanitized unit filled with labs, monitors, and what not to "make them live". Here, the only thing we have is formula and hope. We were able to put the girl on oxygen at the orphanage and her little blue lips became slightly pinker. You wonder how any child makes it out here sometimes. I guess you just deal with what you have and hope for the best