Monday, November 7, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
The week is winding down
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| Mother and Child Before Surgery |
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| Father and Child before Surgery |
Our team continues to keep quite busy! We had OR cases in two different hospitals both Wednesday and Thursday. We saw patients in the clinic and also at Makanissa School for the deaf.
Makanissa is a large day school for deaf children and their siblings. All of the children were screened and had their ears examined. Some needed hearing tests and some had molds made so make hearing aids. Some will be seen on our next trip to see if they are surgical candidates.
Wednesday we had dinner at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant with some volunteers from Health Volunteers Overseas who are teaching students in the Nurse Anesthetist Master’s degree program. Thursday, some went to another Ethiopian restaurant with a local ENT surgeon, and some had dinner with volunteers from Seattle Anesthesia Overseas who are working at Black Lion Hospital.
Friday includes three ear surgeries at Cure, more hearing tests and ear molds and Makanissa and then packing for a late night flight.
Students at Makanissa School for the Deaf
Makanissa is a large day school for deaf children and their siblings. All of the children were screened and had their ears examined. Some needed hearing tests and some had molds made so make hearing aids. Some will be seen on our next trip to see if they are surgical candidates.
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| Dr. Patrick Examines an Ear |
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| Dr. Glenn Operating |
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| Ethiopian Nurse Anesthetists |
Wednesday we had dinner at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant with some volunteers from Health Volunteers Overseas who are teaching students in the Nurse Anesthetist Master’s degree program. Thursday, some went to another Ethiopian restaurant with a local ENT surgeon, and some had dinner with volunteers from Seattle Anesthesia Overseas who are working at Black Lion Hospital.
Friday includes three ear surgeries at Cure, more hearing tests and ear molds and Makanissa and then packing for a late night flight.
Photos November 2 and 3
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Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
November 1, 2011
Today our team was scattered. Four team members went to Cure hospital and did five ear surgeries. Four of us went to Black Lion to do a tonsillectomy and an ear surgery, three went to the School for the Deaf to examine the children and do audiograms and fit molds for hearing aids.
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| Street Scene Outside of a Church |
While at Black Lion, we met up with a team from Seattle that included anesthesiologists, OR and PACU nurses, surgical techs and an ENT and general surgeon. We had corresponded with them but had not met them before. We jointly shipped some equipment in the past. They have been coming about the same number of times we have but often for longer trips. We also met with three volunteer anesthesia providers from Health Volunteers Overseas.
Neonatal Unit, Black Lion Hospital
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| Dr. Glenn and Ethiopian ENT residents operating |
The groups are really working hard to improve the level and quality of anesthesia and surgery care at Black Lion, the major University teaching hospital. There are now five anesthesia residents in the country instead of only two! Most of the more than 100 programs in the US have more than five residents.
The Seattle group has also worked very hard to provide and upgrade some of the anesthesia equipment including setting up a recovery room. The improvements in equipment and teaching are quite noticeable since our first visit.
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| Baby after surgery |
While waiting to visit the Hamlin Fistula hospital, we stopped at Kaldi’s coffee which looks like a Starbucks coffee shop.
Some of us went to visit the Hamlin Fistula hospital which is a hospital dedicated to caring for women who have complications of childbirth. Obstructed labor with no access to emergency obstetric care leaves thousands of women throughout the developing world with fistulae and horrific injuries. They can only be cured by surgery. The incidence of this in the US is almost none though it was prevalent in the mid 1800s before modern OB care. The Hamlin Fistula hospital has treated more than 35,000 women. If you have read Cutting for Stone, it contains a similar story.
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| Our team went to a Korean restaurant for dinner |
Photos November 1, 2011
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Monday, October 31, 2011
October 31 pictures
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Monday, October 31
Today our whole team was at Cure Hospital. We did three major ear surgeries with ENT residents from Black Lion Hospital. The patients all had chronic ear disease, and for at least two of them, we operated on their other ear on one of our previous trips. I also helped care for multiple patients having orthopedic surgery. The rest of our team saw patients in the clinic, probably at least 50 patients. Many got audiograms and a few got hearing aids as well. We are scheduling surgeries for later in the week.
Tomorrow three of us will go to Black Lion Hospital to care for ENT patients there, some will go to a school for the deaf where we have seen patients before, and some will be at Cure operating. We may meet up with a visiting team from Seattle tomorrow and also some other anesthesia volunteers later in the week.
Our team met for dinner in an Indian restaurant and now we are ready to rest for tomorrow! It is still warm and sunny here!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday October 30, 2011
While most of the East Coast of the US had a major snowstorm, we have enjoyed warm and sunny weather here in Addis. Some members of our team did lectures this morning for the ENT residents and then did some oral exams with the senior residents. We dropped off some surgical supplies at Cure. I went to church at the International Evangelical Church with a surgeon from Cure and his wife and then had a lovely lunch with them. I had Nile perch kabobs! Then some of us took a tour of Black Lion hospital.
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| Black Lion Hospital, Pediatric Unit |
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| Mural on Wall at Black Lion Hospital |
We will see our patients for surgery tomorrow and then have dinner with other medical colleagues in Addis that we have met during our trips. Tomorrow we start operating and seeing patients in the clinic.
Many of the shanty type houses and smaller buildings in Addis are being torn down to make new taller buildings. Many of the people are being relocated to the outskirts of town which will certainly make their life more difficult for transportation and other needs. It is a busy bustling city but a little quieter on Sunday. I can hear singing and speaking outside, I don't know if it is from a church or mosque or something else and lots of cars honking their horns. It is very dusty and dry but strangely comforting too because it is very familiar now that this is my fifth visit here.
October 28 & 29: Safe Arrival and First Day
Our flights to Ethiopia were very uneventful. Eight of us arrived last night and three this morning from all over the US: PA, CT, Las Vegas, NJ. I left Philadelphia at 5 pm EDT and arrived in Ethiopia 9 pm the next evening. It took another two hours for passport control, customs and transport to our hotel. One piece of equipment got stuck in customs and it took all morning and some paperwork and money to retrieve it.
A few team members went to the Ethiopian National Museum which is a very nice cultural and historical museum. Three of us went to Mother Theresa's Children's home on the outskirts of Addis. It was originally started 15 years ago or so when there were hundreds of children dying with HIV infections. Over the past 10 years, therapy for HIV has dramatically improved and is relatively available here so many of the children are thriving. They are either orphans or abandoned by their families but seem to have a good place to live now. It is run by a Catholic charity. There is a school and the kids seemed happy and healthy. They have just started a transition program for those who turn 18 and are ready to leave the village.
A few team members went to the Ethiopian National Museum which is a very nice cultural and historical museum. Three of us went to Mother Theresa's Children's home on the outskirts of Addis. It was originally started 15 years ago or so when there were hundreds of children dying with HIV infections. Over the past 10 years, therapy for HIV has dramatically improved and is relatively available here so many of the children are thriving. They are either orphans or abandoned by their families but seem to have a good place to live now. It is run by a Catholic charity. There is a school and the kids seemed happy and healthy. They have just started a transition program for those who turn 18 and are ready to leave the village.
We also visited the medical clinic and hospital. There were a dozen or more patients who mostly had TB. They can also be treated, but so many of them are arriving so late in the course of their disease that it is difficult. The physician who works there and gave us the tour is from Italy and has been working there for six years. We were very impressed by their work and we will be seeing some of their patients this week and training one of their medical assistants. We couldn't take any pictures, but it was quite clean and appeared well run.
We did a little souvenir shopping this afternoon and visited a local coffee shop. The coffee is amazing!
We had dinner with an ENT team from Syracuse that is leaving today. We met their team leader on a previous trip and have been trying to coordinate some efforts. We are staying in a very nice hotel which is a bit incongruous since the country and area are so poor. One of our partners has contacts with the managers and they have generously donated the cost of our stay. It is always quite amazing how many people we meet at the hotel who are here for medical related work. The need is immense, but it is hard to know where to start and what things are really making a difference.
Tomorrow - unpacking and checking OR equipment and lectures and dinner with other colleagues.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Haiti 2011
I am in Haiti with LEAP. I had a very early flight to Miami and then on to Port-au-Prince. We got here early afternoon and then went to the hospital. We saw about 15 patients or so and will do surgery tomorrow. We will be doing urology cases tomorrow in two ORs. Most of the team is from Dallas, but a few others are from elsewhere. The roads are very full of rubble and debris and big gaping holes. We saw pigs and goats eating whatever they could find. It is no wonder there is cholera everywhere. Lots of mind boggling sites but couldn't easily take pictures.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
We've been home from Haiti for just under two weeks. In some ways, it seems like we were just there yesterday. Looking at pictures brings it all back so quickly. In other ways, it seems so far away. It is easy to forget what life is like there. We take our good roads and cool temperatures for granted. We are already planning another trip, probably in August.
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