Everything That Has a Name Exists

In the middle of an interview with a 65-year-old Muslim man at Pentecost Hospital (Alpha Medical Centre), he mentioned the phrase, “Everything that has a name exists”. This was not the first time I heard this cryptic statement. In fact, in an interview the day before, a Christian man at the same hospital told me the phrase. I am still trying to decipher what these men actually meant by this statement in the context of my interview questions, and I have asked others the significance of this phrase as well. Interestingly enough, the phrase tends to embody my research findings as a whole thus far. Everything that has a name exists…and it seems people like to talk about it all. What I have been reminded of in the past week is that life, illness, and research is insanely messy. I try to plan for each new day—how many patients I wish to see, how many doctors I hope to interview, and the number of hours I hope to observe patient-doctor consultations. Newsflash: it never works out how I planned. The clinic is a dynamic, incredible, and interesting place. One thing that it is not is predictable. To date I have witnessed feuding families over the death of an overdue 10-month pregnant woman, a nurse turned pastor who was praying and preaching in the main lobby, drug reps interrupting patient consultations to sell their latest meds, and chickens randomly running through the breezeway of the clinic. If there is one thing that I am sure of at this point is that people, like the medical institution in which I work, are incredibly complex and each have something distinctive and unique to say. It turns out that about half the people at the hospital are unable to communicate fluently in English. My Ghanaian friend Kobby came to the rescue and has been assisting me as an interpreter so that my research pool does not consist only of the more educated and younger Ghanaian population that knows English best. My interviews are tending to be shorter but more productive because I am getting better and asking the questions in a way that makes most sense. Although the interviews are shortening, I am constantly trying to be careful that I consider nobody’s words as less than others but completely hear each person’s story, for the life behind each person is no less important than the next. By encouraging each person equally, I as the researcher can be best assured that I am fully representing all that I can about Ghanaian spirituality and illness—the ultimate job I am here to do.

Baruch, the child of an interviewee who I became attached to.

Baruch and I at the clinic! I spoke with his mother who brought him to the hospital.
He became attached to me and quickly became "me adanfo" (my friend).

When I am not conducting research at the clinic, I have been entertaining a friend who has come to visit. Diana has just finished her first year of medical school at Duke University and has joined me here in Ghana for two weeks. I have set her up to shadow with a physician at a local hospital. They put her in the pediatric ward. One thing she has learned while in Ghana is that she will not be a pediatrician. I keep telling her that knowing what she does not want to be is just as important as knowing what she does enjoy. ;) Tomorrow, we are taking a long weekend adventure to Cape Coast and Kumasi, two major cities in Ghana with various historical sites and outdoor activities. It is incredible to share my life here with someone else from Duke. I have a feeling that my experiences of Ghana will not vanish with my coming home but will live on in my conversations with Diana for years to come. 

Diana and I enjoying our evening at the beach in Accra.

As I sit here and think about the various responses that I have gotten in my 40 interviews to date, I am reminded that there is so much more for me to learn. I honestly do not know that I will ever be done. I am always going to have more questions, more surprises, and tips that point me to even more inquiries. From the variety of responses I am hearing in Ghana, I am worried that I will end without figuring out everything that I want to know. Somehow, I will have to be okay with that—perhaps it will keep bringing me back to Ghana. After all, Ghana is the land where “Everything that has a name exists”…I hope to keep shedding more and more light on such existence.