Mortuary - One Way Out

I haven't found a way to upload my pictures to the computer so for now it's just text. First, thanks for the hello's and "big ups."

I am just starting day three at the hospital. Yesterday I did my first surgery - a femur fracture non-union that we took down and put in a IM nail. They use the K nail here and we don't have intraop xray so everything is open. I scrubbed with the first year ortho registar (who, like at home, had to push to get the case started) and a medical student (currently I am at one of four major hospitals and home of the University of Malawi Medical School). This is one of the more advanced hospitals but, as it is government run, it is overrun with problems, as they all are. Manuel is the young guy I operated on, and this morning his is doing extremely well. He is excited that he had the operation and showed me how he can lift his leg slightly. I was extremely impressed how little pain he is experiencing or how much he can bear. After surgery he thanked me kindly then asked if i would be seeing him tomorrow. I told him I would, then he said, "OK, you are dating me then," his way of saying "it's a date. " I laughed and so did he. I will be traveling to the "district" hospitals starting Friday and will continue throughout the weeks. The district hospitals are in much more rural areas and a bit isolated. There are no orthopaedic doctors at these hospitals and it sounds like there is much work to be done with little resources. I look forward to seeing what we can do.

As in any hospital there is death. We park in the back of the hospital by the mortuary. Next to the sign for "Mortuary" there is another sign to direct traffic that reads, "One Way Out."

I am walking down a corridor following Master Yesiah
along the walls of the corridor there are many women
the women are singing
they are expressionless
yet much emotion is felt in their song
I am swept up by them
I do not know how to react
I hesitate to smile and so I stare at them at first as I walk
and they sing
I am lost in them
I drop my head and focus on Master's feet as I follow him
the women, they are gathered...

Later, Master tells me the women are the guardians
Someone has died he tells me and the women are the people - the family, friends - the community
they are guardians
they have been told of the death and so they gather
The body is lifted from its bed and placed on a stretcher
It is covered

The women line up behind the stretcher in two lines and they sing
The body is taken to the mortuary
And they sing

I've been sitting in the office for about an hour
I have heard the woman's song four times now

The woman are gathered
And they sing.


It seems to me there is more than One Way Out.