April 10

Wednesday April 10

This was our busiest OR day ever and probably the busiest day Cure has ever had.

They have four Operating rooms, but usually don’t use them all at once.  All are equipped but depending on their need and staff, they use some or alternate between rooms.  There were no orthopedic cases, so we were able to use all of the rooms.  We had 3 tonsillectomies, a set of ear tubes, three sinus surgeries, two facial tumors, and three urology cases.  Everything went smoothly and we were finished at a reasonable time.  There was no scheduled clinic, but the surgeons saw a few patients and set up surgical cases for Thursday.  The audiology team was at the school for the deaf evaluating all of the children there.

After we got back to the hotel, I had time for a swim.  The pool is outdoors and is heated, and the view as the sunset was beautiful.  Most of us had dinner in groups throughout the hotel.

The hotel has been busy this week.  Sometimes there doesn’t seem to be much going on, but this week must be a big meeting of the African Union.  The headquarters are in Addis, and there are dignitaries from all over Africa at the hotel.  The most obvious are men from Qatar who have distinctive long white robes with head dresses and black rope ties.  Pictures haven’t been appropriate, but they look quite impressive.  Last night the King of Qatar, I think also sometimes referred to as the Emir arrived and there was a motorcade, video cameras, security and a high energy level.

Thursday’s activities include urology OR cases at Black Lion Hospital where I will be going, many complex ENT/airway OR cases at Cure and ENT and audiology clinic at Cure.  Our days are full but we definitely feel like we have accomplished some good work this week.