Sunday September 9

Sunday September 9, 2012

We had breakfast in the hotel this morning at 7.  There were fruits, juices, breads and yogurt and the option to order from a breakfast menu.  I heard that there were some unusual choices, but I did not see them; I’ll be sure to check tomorrow!

We had a devotion and quick briefing of the day before loading our mini bus for the hospital.  Our group is 24 in number; four surgeons, three anesthesiologists, an internist, a pediatrician, a respiratory therapist, OR nurses, OR techs, ICU/Recovery nurses, photographers and other support personnel.  We are working at Harare General Hospital which is the government hospital in Harare.  There is a separate Children’s hospital wing donated by the Canadian Government.  We are working with Celebration Ministries which has a church and sponsors medical and surgical mission work.

We evaluated patients for surgery today.  Some were seen previously and needed follow-up or did not get their surgery previously.  Some were new patients.  There were many who were from 500-600 KM away.  We scheduled about 45 patients for surgery, mostly cleft lips and cleft palates.  There were also a few patients who had had burns and had severe scars and contractures.

The hospital is very clean and the staff is amazingly polite and helpful.  There are large wards and the building is quite big.  I didn’t see too many other patients, but today is Sunday.  We were finished around 5:30 and then went to the evening church service at Celebration Ministries.  They were very welcoming; LEAP has been working with Celebration in Zimbabwe for several years.  Afterwards we had dinner at a restaurant in the Celebration building which is open to the public.  We had a choice of beef, grilled chicken or fish and vegetables or fries and a choice of dessert, all delicious!

Devotions tomorrow morning at 6:15 and then breakfast and head to the hospital for a full OR schedule.