"Mama you are so strong"

I sat in awe as I heard the horrific story of how the Mama in front of me came to lose her hearing. She fumbled beneath her scarf to point out the rugged scar on the side of her head where the bullet had entered, and bravely told me the story of how the gunman, her own husband, had pulled the trigger. First aimed at her, then at each of her children, and finally at himself.

"Mama you are so strong"

The physical scar is quite something, and I thought it a miracle that she is still alive, but what gripped my heart was the strength and determination that is getting her through each day. She beamed with thankfulness at each small action that was taken to help her- from removing impacted wax to rescheduling her different appointments for the same day to avoid multiple trips to the hospital. I'm thankful that I got to meet this lady. I'm thankful that audiology services are made accessible to her because of community services, and I'm thankful that I get to play a small role in giving back a part of what was taken from her on that day. The social situation that many of our patients find themselves in makes one consider what we actually have to complain about.

Community Service 2014

It has taken me quite some time to figure out my password and sit down to write about what Ive been doing for the last few months... 5 months, in fact! I don't know if time goes really fast for everyone in the working world, but I honestly find it hard to grasp that I am nearly halfway through my year of community service!

Over the last few months I sat through and (thankfully) passed my final year oral exams to finish off my Bachelor of Communication Pathology in Audiology. Such an incredible feeling of accomplishment after 4 years of studying! On the 1st of Jan I moved to the South Coast of KwaZulu Natal to begin my year of Community Service at a small but friendly District hospital.

If anyone is wondering why and what community service is, let me set the record straight: It is in no way related to the community service that is given as punishment for breaking the law, and no I have not been to jail! (People have asked...haha!). Community service is a year that most health professionals in South Africa are required to do after completing their degree. A lot of us are placed in rural areas and it becomes quite an adventure! The year is very community focused, which means that we are not limited to working in our hospital, but visit the smaller clinics in the surrounding communities as well as do home visits. We often have to leave our car and walk down hills and muddy terrain to get to our patients!

Amazing views on the road to Tonjeni clinic.

I work closely with an occupational therapist, physio therapist and speech language pathologist on our clinic and home visits, all of whom are also doing their year of comm serve and make the adventure that much more enjoyable! Our community visits are quite unpredictable, and we are learning to just take everything as it comes as we reach out to those in the community who need us.

Rehab team home visit out at our furthest community

Some days we see more cows than people.

Community service has been the most fantastic experience so far, and I am learning to be an audiologist in often less-than-ideal settings and situations. It sure forces me to think outside of the box and problem solve! I can't wait to see what adventures the rest of the year has in store... if I find some time in between hiking to waterfalls, swimming in bilharzia infested rivers and taking full advantage of living 600m from the beach, I may post updates more frequently ;)