Home sweet home!



The equator

Water roaring down the street




boys in church

On Sunday we went to church in Masaka. Although it had not rained during the week when we were working outside, it rained all morning. After church driving down the road, there were roaring rivers of water along the streets. The roads are mostly dirt, so it didn't take much to make muddy water. We could see how mudslides happened. We drove over the Equator which was marked by a big sign on the side of the road. We stopped at a market to do some souvenier shopping and then had dinner at a steakhouse before heading to the airport. The road to the airport was a two lane road that became four lanes with all of the traffic. The drive usuallly takes an hour but took about one and a half hour. We got checked in and through customs without difficulty and then started the long journey home. Our flights were uneventful, and after 18 hours of flying in three flights, we were home.

Having finished our clinic work yesterday, today was a day of recreation. We packed up and said goodbye to our hosts in Mbarara, the Stensaas family. We then drove to the Lake Mbauro Wildlife Refuge for a fun drive through the park On the drive we saw impalas, zebras, baboons, warthogs, and other animals and birds. We stopped at a lake where we had lunch. We then went on a 1-1/2 hour boat ride where we saw hippos, crocodiles, fisher eagles, piedfishers, and other birds, It was a wonderful and very relaxing time. We then drove to Masaka to our host's house, where we unpacked and had a tasty dinner. Tomorrow we will go to church and then head to the airport for flights home tomorrow night.

Marc's reflections....
Today was the fourth and last day of our clinics, again in the village of Ruti where we were yesterday. We were again fortunate and blessed to have ideal weather today, which is amazing because it has rained part of practically every day in this area for weeks.

Our clinic served around 230 patients today. Considering that we only planned to be in this site for one day and we ended up being there for two, we considered this very good. Liz again did a wonderful job caring for many women and children. I again played a support role, working on setup and breakdown of the site and escorting patients. The team worked together very well and at the end of the day was very satisfied with our work. We had a short ceremony where we thanked the translators that made our work possible.

In total the ORH team has served nearly a thousand patients on this trip. On one hand, we feed proud and satisfied with our work. On the other, we recognize that this accomplishment is very small, almost insignificant compared with the needs of the people in the communities we served, not to mention the many impoverished communities all over Uganda. Therefore we are humbled. But perhaps one of the greatest accomplishments of this trip is that we have shown these people that someone from far away cares for them, in a place where few or none have cared for them before.

Pictures: Ceremony for translators; people waiting in line at the begining of the last clinic day; ORH Team pictures.

We leave here tomorrow morning and will go to a wildlife park for the day. Sunday we will go to church, do a little shopping, and then go to the airport. It is hard to believe that the week is almost over.





Pictures: Liz and Jessica, a nurse; Liz discussing ideas for future trips with Pastor Milton, our team leader.

I saw many patients today that I won't forget. A woman that I think has a serious heart valve problem, a teenager who probably has a hole in her heart. A four year old with HIV being cared for by another woman because her mother died, a twelve year old with seizures whose family can't afford to buy her seizure medications. I could buy her a year's worth for less than $30, and I probably will. A mother with five children, ages 1-8, I checked all of them.

Pictures:
- Liz with a family she consulted with
- a patient named "James" (not his native name) with severe head growths. While we could not treat him at the clinic, the ORH team is trying to find a way to help him.
- Liz consulting with a patient
- Liz with the head nurse, Christy, a Ugandan translator, and a nurse, Jessica.

Our clinics are done; we are on the bus on the way back to the Stensaas's houses.

We saw about 1000 patients in total this week. It was an incredible experience. I was basically a primary care provider this week, which in one way is very different from what I normally do. On the other hand I was able to draw on the rich experiences I have had caring for patients for surgery both in evaluating them prior to surgery and working with surgeons in many circumstances. I had lots of pediatric patients this week and was grateful for all of my pediatric experience.




Breaking down the clinic after all of the patients had been served.



Driving through the village of Ruti, our supply truck is up ahead (Marc spent a lot of time in that truck!)


Team bus departing the site.



A woman and child served by the clinic.

On Thursday we moved to a new site in a village named Ruti. The site is a field in front of a small church. The weather was partly sunny and was ideal for the clinic so we felt very blessed.

Our team again served about 250 patients.

Pictures:
- One of the nurses holding a baby. They are very good at working with the patients.
- One of the two Ugandan doctors that are part of our team.
- Triage unit where nurses check the vital signs of patients before they see the doctors.

Today our team again served about 250 patients.

Waiting area.

There were many people lined up at the clinic site at 0730.

Marc escorting a patient from triage to the clinic. However, Marc's main job today was unloading the supplies and helping to set up the tarps to provide shade for the various stations.

Today Liz saw a variety of cases. Toward the end of the day Liz helped with two children who needed to be sedated to allow dental work to be done. This is unusual for an ORH trip and is because of Liz's skills as an anesthesiologist.

Pictures:
- The triage unit where nurses check the vital signs of patients before they see the doctors.
- Liz examining a woman who had a problem with her leg (2)
- Liz examining a child.

It has been a bit cloudy at night so we haven't gotten to see much of the stars, but we got to see some this morning before the sun came up. Hopefully there will be some more days that are clear enough to see. The crescent moon is horizontal, not vertical, which Marc says is because we are near the equator. Who knew!

Many thanks to Lisa Parker, Marc's sister for posting our pictures for us!

We have mostly been eating our MREs for breakfast and dinner and peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, but last night we had homemade soup and chocolate cake! It was one of our team members birthdays. We had eggs and pancakes for breakfast made by members of the missionary family with whom we are staying. It is an extended family: father and two sons and a daughter and all of their children. They have lived and worked in Uganda for many many years. We have completely over run their houses and they have been incredibly gracious. They didn't expect us the whole week because we were supposed to be in Kanungu. Can you imagine having almost 40 unexpected house guests?!

It is 7 am and I am on the bus as we are about to leave for our clinic. Marc already left to help set it up as we are in a different spot today. It is the spot on the picture I posted before where we were trying to turn into a big water puddle. It hasn't rained much in the past few days so hopefully the water is gone. The local people don't care, but we don't really want to walk through it. The group was in this spot on a previous trip and said it worked well.

One of Marc's tasks was supervising the escort of patients from the triage unit (under tarps held by branches!) to the clinic in the church. Because the church is on a steep hill, this required walking up the hill. Marc got great exercise going back and forth!

Pictures:
- Marc loading the truck that we used to transport all of our supplies.
- Marc showing patients the way from the triage unit to the clinic.

Liz working hard during the second clinic day....

Pictures:
-Liz consulting with a patient in the clinic.
- The waiting area. The clinic served about 250 men, women and children today.
- Liz working in her area in the clinic.
- Liz working with the team dentist, Dr. Adam Nailer. Liz sedated a child to allow Dr. Nailer to perform needed dental work.
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Liz and Marc in the clinic with scrubs and other garb!


After a hard day of work, we enjoyed the scenery outside the clinic.



Many local people helped with the clinic. Here is Marc with Grace, one of the people that helped with the escort duty. Grace is a sweet woman and sings in the choir at her church.

Before the gates were opened for the clinic. There were over a hundred people waiting when we arrived at 7:30am.



In the clinic, which was inside a church. The building was packed.


Liz examining a patient.


Liz in her area in the clinic.