Saturday, April 13, 2013
Friday, April 12, 2013
April 12
Friday April
12
It is hard
to believe my two weeks are almost complete.
Today was a
quieter day and we had time to relax and say our goodbyes. Several of us went to Cure where we had two
urology cases. We also picked up
equipment and saw a few patients and checked on patients from yesterday. The audiologists went to the School for the
Deaf for the morning. Six of us are
leaving today, the rest tomorrow. I had
time for a swim and then most of us had an early dinner by the pool before
leaving for the airport.
It has been
a great week and we are grateful to all those who supported us: family, friends, the hospitals and medical
professionals who helped us, Ethiopians who encourage and help us, the owner of
the Sheraton for donating the cost of our stay.
We are
already tentatively planning our next trip for October.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
April 11
Thursday
April 11, 2013
Today the
urologists and I went to Black Lion Hospital.
There were two patients that they knew about and one other that was
scheduled. The second one was a complex
patient who had had several previous surgeries and needed a complex
revision. There were numerous surgical
and anesthesia providers present. There
were also three other US anesthesia resident volunteers who were there working
with CRNA students. I had talked to one
from Boston before coming and I talked to another one yesterday on the
phone. Our first two cases went
fine. By the time we were ready for the
third, they decided they didn’t have any solution left to sterilize the
instruments, so we didn’t do the third case.
They often do not want to work past about 3 pm because most people have
second jobs – most at private clinics or hospitals, and they don’t want to stay
late at the government hospital. There
have definitely been improvements in Black Lion since I started going there,
but it is still a difficult place to work and is unpredictable. The availability of monitors, drugs,
equipment and expertise is quite different from Cure. The urologists and I walked back to the
Sheraton and I had time for a swim and to start packing.
The ENT team
was at Cure with about seven cases, many with complicated airway or medical
issues. T
I had dinner
with Dr. Mary, anesthesiologist from Cure and her family. It was great to be able to talk in a more
leisurely fashion and see her husband and children for a few minutes. Some went to a restaurant with traditional
Ethiopian dancing and others stayed at the hotel.
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.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
April 9
Tuesday April
9, 2013
Things were
in full swing today. We had clinic,
audiology evaluations, surgery at Black Lion hospital, surgery at Cure and lots
of requests to see patients. There were 4
ENT OR cases and about 6 orthopedic cases at Cure, and one at Black Lion. We had requests to see several patients who
heard our team was in town, and there will be more later in the week. One of our ENT surgeons and Dr. Mary, anesthesiologist
at Cure saw several ENT patients at Black Lion hospital to evaluate for
possible surgery later this week.
A few team
members have been feeling sick, and that is never fun. We try to look out for each other because it
is often hard to figure out why one person gets sick and others don’t. We so much take for granted in the US that
our food and water are safe. You can’t
do that in Ethiopia. Some people had
dinner in the Indian restaurant in the hotel tonight; others of us went to the
regular restaurant which had an Asian theme tonight.
It was warm
and sunny this afternoon; I don’t think we had rain today.
Tomorrow we
have a full OR schedule using all four of Cure’s Operating rooms. The audiology team will go to the school for
the deaf to evaluate patients. It is
hard to believe that tomorrow is Wednesday.
I am trying to learn a few words in Amharic. Every day I try to learn one more. I am sure that I am providing comic relief to
those who hear me try to say a few words!
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