Tonga

We arrived in Tonga on May 29th. We spent our first 10 days in Tongatapu. We spent time in the hospital in different areas, such as pediatrics, labor and delivery, surgical, medical, psychiatry, the OR, the emergency room, diabetes clinic, and the dental clinic. In addition, all of the students got a turn going out into the community with the community health nurses, usually giving immunizations. Tonga has a very good immunization rate (everyone knows the two families who refuse immunization), partially because if the mother does not bring her child to the clinic, the nurses go to her home and immunize the child. In addition, there is a new program here with the adults (new since I was here two years ago) where they are trying to get to every adult over 30 to check for high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol. We got to participate in four of these screenings as well, getting up early to get to the community at 6 or 7 am so we could get a fasting blood sugar. We participated in screening about 150 people. Our time in Tongatapu was busy, and went by quickly. We spend the week until Friday in Tongatapu (the main island), and then Friday at 2 PM flew up to Vava'u.

Vava'u is beautiful—more tropical, and definitely warmer because it is closer to the equator. Yesterday evening was more chill time. This morning we screened in the market place for high blood sugar and hypertension. The Vava'u nurses were there to record the findings and schedule high values for the hospital clinic on Monday and Tuesday. Today we screened 212 people for high blood sugar and hypertension. It was a busy day in the market, because Mother's Day is tomorrow, and we screened right by the market, with Tongan dancers and preachers right beside us. It makes it a bit hard at times to hear a blood pressure!! This afternoon we rented kayaks, and kayaked out in the bay and beyond to a little island, where we swam and had fun before kayaking back. It was a nice day, and Vava'u is beautiful. Dad hasn't been kayaking before, and I think he liked it too.

Last night I stayed up late completing a class assignment for my new PhD class. I had gone to bed and was settling myself down to get to sleep when at 11:30 pm, the house we are staying in started to shake. For 1-2 minutes it shook. It was an earthquake! I woke Mike up, and he said, "Oh, it is just the wind." However, I had been up, and I knew there wasn't any wind, and I told him so. I looked at it on the internet today, and the earthquake is 5.8 on the Richter scale. I also found out there were two other earthquakes here since we came to Tonga —both were 5.3. I can't say I remember those!!
One of the best things about being back is seeing my Tongan friends. I have been here long enough that I know many of the nurses. It is really fun to see them again!!