And I would walk 500 miles....

Before I discuss Monday, which marked my first day with Ernest, a former student of my friend John and a sector vet (sector vets have about a high school level education but are the closest to veterinarians that is available for most local farms) I should explain a bit about the government here. Sector vets control the agriculture in the area so we had to get special permission for me to tag along and make sure that everyone knew what I was doing here etc.  The government is very involved in every aspect of daily life here and they like to know everything that is going on. They want to know who is in this country and what exactly they are doing while here- this is especially true with the upcoming elections.  With Rwanda being about the size of Maryland, it is very easy for them to keep tabs on everyone's activities.  Nothing flies under the radar here. Last week I had been at a small graduation ceremony for a local woman at her home and the former governor of the Northern Province, Bucagu Boniface showed up and sat with us.  The woman's boyfriend has done a lot of work with the government and they wanted to show their support for him.  Boniface and each of his friends stood to give long drawn out speeches that were mostly about the boyfriend and rallied the party with pro-RPF slogans.  The people here seem to love him and he seemed to love grandstanding for them.  It was a bit awkward because "Umuzungus" (pronounced Muzungu- we hear it shouted everywhere we walk- not as an insult, more like an announcement) or "White People" always have the seats of honor.  Molly, 2 friends, and I were seated at the head of the room before Mr. Boniface showed up.  He was then seated next to us in a lower place.  He did not seem to mind and welcomed us warmly to Rwanda.  Those of you who may have read about Genocide may recognize his name...

Back to my first couple of days with the sector vet....

Noel, the technician I work with here at MGVP, came with me the first day.  We took the bus about 25 minutes to meet Ernest, who took us to the sector vet's home where we prepared for the day.  They had a plan to help me experience as much as possible during my time with them.  We packed up frozen bull semen and some instruments and headed out.  We did not get far, as there was a woman with an ailing sheep outside his door.  I immediately recognized a massive ocular ulcer.  He asked my recommendations, to which I said antibiotic ointment every few hours. He agreed, wrote down what she needed to get from the store, and we went along on our way.  This sector vet does not want anyone to know I am not an "expert" so he has told everyone that I am an American veterinarian here to help.  This made me uncomfortable but I quickly realized that this was probably the right decision.  He said to just look like I knew what I was doing, he would teach as we went in English since nobody in these rural areas speaks English. 

We then set out on foot.  Now, if you recall, I had just climbed Gahinga the previous day and was not only incredibly sore, but also seemed to have injured my knee.  I follwed Ernest and this vet for hours, walking up and down hills (Rwanda is not called "Land of a Thousand Hills" for nothing) trying to suck it up.  First we insemenated a cow that was in natural heat.  I was able to palpate and try to locate the cervix. Then we visited a cow that had given birth to twins, but the owners had attempted to help and it appeared that she had dislocated something in the process of them hauling calves out of her.  After much discussion that I did not understand, the sector vet gave an oxytet injection, Noel and I collected blood and feces, and we went on our way.  This seemed completely inadequate, but I am learning that is the norm around here. 

I then was able to palpate two pregnant cows. One that was due in a week, one that was just a few months along.  I was able to easily feel the almost due calf and gently touch his moving head, but had a more difficult time feeling the other one.  It was hard with broken English directions.  I did mention that I thought the one calf would be here any minute. After walking who knows how many miles over 4 hours, we took a smaller bus to inseminate one more cow before hoping on another overcrowded tiny van/bus to head home. We had already missed lunch and my knee was pretty sore, so I called it a day.  I ended my day by helping Molly prepare a delicious dinner of stir fry veggies and pinapple rice and waited for friends from Project Rwanda to join us for dinner.

Tuesday, Ernest wanted me to experience an "abattoir" or local slaughterhouse.  That meant being in their town before the buses ran so Jan was kind enough to drive me out there at 5:30am.  Ernest, the SV, and I all walked to the local market where the killing was to begin.  I am not naive and did not expect this to be pretty, but I had wrongly assumed that they were at least quick about their business. Our job was to do a cursory anti-mortem exam to make sure there was nothing very obviously wrong with the animals before slaughter and then to witness the butchering, then closely inspect the organs looking for problems.

Turns out that they had three cows to slaughter that morning and they wasted no time in beginning.  I was told that the cows were first "stunned" by cutting the nerves that rest behind their ears at the top of their head.  What I witnessed was not "stunned" cows, but essentially hacking animals with rusty dull knives before trying to slit their throats then watching each one take 10 minutes to die.  The worst part was that the live ones watched the others be slaughtered and butchered before it was their turn. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, I wanted to run as fast as I could, but I didnt.  My feet were glued, my throat was dry.  The only outward sign I gave was shivering, to which Ernest asked if I was too cold in the mountain air.

After the cows were deceased, I regained my objectiveness and was able to focus on the meat inspection.    As they sat there discussing Anthrax and TB, I could not imagine why they were not wearing masks and gloves.  Ernest and the SV were impressed with my knowledge of anatomy but disappointed that I would not take part in the touching and cutting of the meat without gloves.  I was more disgusted by the minute as we cut open the liver to find what I would have called a large infestation of liver flukes and one of the stomachs that had a heavy parasite load.  Apparently, this was fine and not enough to not approve the meat.  They explained that the liver flukes would be cut out and the remaining part was still edible and that the parasites would cook off as long as the meat was cooked to a high enough temperature.

I was eager to leave that area as soon as possible and was excited to hear our next stop.  The calf that I had felt in the womb the previous day had apparently been born hours after I left.  I guess I stimulated her.  He is from an American father, a Holstein.  I went to do a brief exam to make sure he seemed ok (although I don't know much about cows..) which he did, but mom kept a watchful eye and her horns pointed towards me, so I made it quick.  I then learned that the cow with a potential dislocation had died.  I was sort of relieved that her suffering was over, but felt for her calves.  There was another cow there with milk that would help sustain them.

Next, we recieved and emergency call about a cow with a prolapsed uterus.  The SV assured me that is was close to his home and that it was an easy thing to fix, in fact, I would be fixing it myself!  We did not have time to wait for a bus, so we took bicycle taxis...yes, I, who cannot ride a bike, rode the back "seat" of this bicycle for several miles back to the SV's home.  Although I could not have clenched my stomach any harder as we went up and down steep hills I did manage to make it in one piece.  We then set off to find this cow. Turns out we were several miles from her.  Ugh.  My knee was already screaming but off we went.  When we found her, she was being led along the road by about 10 people.  We tried to get her tied to a tree when she promptly took off down the mountain.  We waited as her entourage went to fetch her. 

 Once restrained I was able to see and attempt to fix the problem.  I was told to use my fists so that my fingers didnt puncture anything.  I was able to reduce the uterous, but found that something did not feel quite right, so I had the SV step in to finish.  Turns out she had also prolapsed her bladder. He spent a long time reducing it all and then had Ernest hold her vulva shut so he could suture it closed. They use what is essentially thick string to suture and old dull dirty needles.  I winced everytime he punctured her skin, but she did not react at all.  I then gave her an injection of Oxytet ( I think thats all they have around here) and we sent her on her way.

Ernest then helped me get on the correct bus home.  I even figured out where I was supposed to get off so that I did not have to walk an additional 2 miles to MGVP.  Another exciting day in the field!  After lunch, Olivier, another one of John'sstudents, stopped by.  I had him and Noel look at some blood smears and fecals and ask questions as they went.  I discussed my awful early morning experience and Noel assured me that in the city it is better and that they are working on laws to improve cattle welfare and killing techniques.

I decided for the sake of my knee that Wedesday would be a semi day off to rest and update my blog.  I did have a relaxing day although on the morning forest check, the gorilla doctors found a dead golden monkey.  Noel and I did the necropsy and report.  Very interesting.  Dogs or some other small carnivore had already gotten most of this poor guy but we wonder if a poacher caught it and then had to drop it while fleeing. Illegal poaching of Golden Monkeys for meat is common here.  The docs were also able to disarm 3 snares while visiting the gorillas.  The snares are set for bushbucks, but frequently young uneducated gorillas will place an arm in one while walking and many end up losing their  hands to subsequent infection.

Thursday morning was filled by visiting our friend Julie Ghrist's class.  She started and runs Art of Conservation,(http://www.art-of-conservation.com/) a great group that teaches children conservation through the arts.  The kids were wonderful and so eager to learn!  Noel did a demonstration of what Gorilla Doctors (http://http://www.gorilladoctors.org/) do and explained why it is so important to protect the Mountain Gorillas.  I was invited to participate in the days art activites which was great fun!  My days here seem to vary between exciting, downtime, and too exciting!  I will update more as the adventure continues!