Zimbabwe September 14-15

We had a full OR schedule on Friday, and by the time we were finished we had done 38 OR cases.  Most were cleft lip and palate, and a few scar revisions.  There were several cases we had hoped to do but couldn’t during the week, but all in all we accomplished a lot in spite of our delays.  LEAP already has a list of patients for the next trip.  We had to pack up everything at the end of the day before leaving and then had a team skit which had us all laughing!  On Saturday, some people left early for Cape Town, some for Victoria Falls and the rest of us headed home.  A few of us made rounds in the hospital and most went to a local flea market before heading to the airport.  Our flights took us through Johannesburg and then London before we all headed our separate ways.

Although we didn’t see much of the city and didn’t go anywhere else in Zimbabwe, we felt like we got to know the team we were working with and the patients and the hospital staff were quite grateful.  Reentry is always a little tough between jet lag and realizing how blessed we are at home.

Me and my luggage are home, safe and sound!
Thanks for all the prayers, good wishes and kind words. Maybe a few more pictures tomorrow.

In London. Flights to Johannesburg and London were uneventful and included sleeping! Now in London walking around to pass the time until the next flight.

At the airport, boarding soon. Some went to Victoria falls, some Cape Town, half of us just going home. Check in smooth. Layovers in Johannesburg and London.

Stopped at the hospital to check patients, then to flea market, now on the way to the airport. Slept pretty well last night, but will be sleeping on the plane!

Our work is done! We had a successful day and finished "early"! Now time to relax and enjoy new friends!

We just started our last two cases! I don't think we will be here until midnight tonight!

Thursday September 13, 2012

Our last patient is in the recovery room about to go his room; it is almost midnight.  We did nine surgical cases today, and all went well, but it always takes a little longer than we think.  Half of the team was finished around 9 or 10 and went back to the hotel.  We have a full schedule tomorrow, but some of the patients know that we might not get to them.  Because we got a late start on Monday and there were some surgical emergencies, we haven’t gotten quite as many cases done as we had hoped, but clearly we have done some good work.

It is quite touching to see the parents, mostly the mothers, with their children in the recovery room, especially for the patients who had a cleft lip repair.  They are so happy to have a child that now looks normal.  For many of them, they and their child have been ostracized from society and now they have a chance at a normal life.

Since it is now 1:30 am and I am finally in my room, sleep will be wonderful tonight!

Here is the LEAP Foundation's blog:
http://www.leap-foundation.org/category/africa/

Wednesday September 12, 2012

The alarm clock went off too early this morning! 

Half of our team left for the hospital at 7, the rest came at 8. We got started a little earlier today for our cases.  We had ten patients on our schedule.  The pediatric surgeons had two emergency cases they needed to do today, both infants under two weeks old.  The hospital we are in is the only Children’s hospital in the country, so many complicated patients end up there.  We ended up doing eight cases.  We had a little room set up for us to take turns resting which made the day a little easier.  We got back to the hotel at 10:30 which seemed early!  We hope to sleep well so we can have a full day tomorrow.

On the bus on the way to the hospital. It is cool outside, probably high 50s. The beautiful Jacaranda trees (purple) are in bloom! We'll see what today brings!