Anyone who has read the book Cutting For Stone will immediately get the picture if I say that I am living in "Missing". That is a corruption of "Mission" in the hospital name in Ethiopia that is the center of the story. Ensconced in a community of a few dedicated people trying their best to do so much with so little is a humbling experience. It comes back to that old quote, "All you can do is all you can do and all you can do is enough." So many people die despite our best efforts and the only trick to this existance is being able to go to bed each night without having to doubt that your effort was the best.
Beautiful Downtown Ndala
Everything I did surgically this week was fairly routine until today. This day brought a young man with a bowel perforation with abscesses and obstruction who should have been operatedon days ago and will probably not survive. Then there was a salivary gland (parotid) tumor that I mostly removed but had to leave some because I lacked the neccessary equipment to go deeper. It probably won't matter but it was distressing. Next came a difficult C-section that turned out well. That brightened the day. The giant, and I mean giant, hydrocele (If you don't know look it up) that followed was fun and attracted cameras from all over the hospital.
The last patient in the outpatient clinic as a 7 year old girl with an abscess on the side of her face, probably dental in origen causing enough swelling to close her eye and immobilize her jaw. By then it was after 5 but I feared immediate and fatal complications if I waited until morning so I lassoed an anesthetist and got it drained. She's not out of the woods but it's a start.
The support I'm getting from the Medical Director, Rob and his 2 Dutch med students is terrific. Stacey scubbed majors with me for the first time today and I think I have her over her initial hesitancy. I mentioned to her yesterday what was required of a junior surgery house officer and she was up early to see patients so she could give me a spot-on report. She's going to be OK.
Grace is having a great time. She is medically quite astute and has really bonded with Rob caring for patients. I hang out with them when I'm not busy and they are apparently learning a great deal from each other.
That's it for the week except for emergencies. The head honcho priest, Father Chobo, showed up today to say hello. He has his heart set on taking us to Tabora on Sunday to meet the Bishop. We're talking 2 hours each way on what some people might call a road. I am not excited. Rob said he would conjure up an emergency if I want but I think I probably should go. Besides, maybe the Bishop has running water and I could ask for a shower - uh, or maybe not. He might try to count that as a conversion.
Off to our nightly dinner party with the nuns. Last night we bought beer and washed dinner down some jug sangria. These ladies know how to party.
Hello Dr Feinstein,
My name is Janelle and I am a physical therapist in Southern California. I work with an orthopedic surgeon (hand specialist) and we both want to volunteer in Tanzania in Dec. 2011 for 1-3 weeks. We have not done this before and I was wondering if you could help direct us. I found you on healthcare volunteer.com and what you are doing there appears to match what we would like to do.
Thank you,
Janelle Freshman
janelle_gass@yahoo.com
Posted by: Janelle Freshman | July 08, 2011 at 09:34 PM