AND SO IT BEGINS

Saturday Oct 1/ 2, 2010

Flight from Philly to Detroit was uneventful.

Before the sleep aid….I laughed my way ½ way across the Atlantic watching Joan Rivers get roasted and The Informant. Thanks Jared.

Met Mary Lee in Amsterdam 2 hours after I landed. She is a hoot from N. Carolina. A physician’s assistant who works for a plastic surgeon. At the gate for our final flight to Nairobi and I was stopped to check my bag…nope, I talked my way out of that some how. It was a 747! The bins are huge…After I was seated on the plane I realized I left my fleece where Mary and I had coffee. I was bummed, but o’well.

Arrived in Nairobi at 7:30 pm pretty tired. We found our way to the visa line then found the exit. I spot a familiar face holding a sign, ‘Maxine & Mary,” Dr Geoff Williams, Majog Judith, an anesthesiologist, Jenny 23 an RN and Flor also an RN or has worked w him for 3yrs, were waiting for us.

We all get into a van and stop at a market, to pick up a few things. I grabbed a couple of bananas, water bottles, and granola bars. Mary and I share a room. Well, it was pretty basic to say the least. When I saw the mosquito nets hanging and Mary told me she saw a flea in her bed I was skeeved! Mary told me to apply deet on before I go to sleep, really? So I did. Wore long sleeves, pants and socks to bed and didn’t pull the bed spread down. Got under the net, Mary said,” don’t let the net touch you.” Placing shoes on the corners to kept the net raised I didn’t move a muscle for the 5 hours until we had to get up to catch the plane to Kisumu.

Showered, grateful I remembered to bring my flip flops and rushed to meet up with the group at 6:30am. All the bags fit and we were off to JKIA for our 8:00 flight to Kisumu. We were picked up by a beat up 1970’s ambulance and a car. I chose to ride in the car. The bumpiest ride with pot holes the size of craters that the car had to dive off rode. The 2 hour ride provided me my first real views of Kenya and its people. Many women walking with jugs and other types of items for daily life being carried on their heads, bike riders, kids without shoes, big markets with bright colored clothes. Houses made of mud with tin roofs and cows and chickens milling around. We pulled over so the drivers could show us the Crying Stone. Four small boys all brothers, crossed the street to check us out. The eldest was 11 and told us the story his grandfather told him about the Crying Stone. It was magical.

We arrive at the Bishop Nicholas Stam Pastoral & Animation Center, Diocese of Kakamega guest house . We all had our own rooms that were adequate, ( I use this word loosely ) with a mosquito net. It is an oasis behind huge gates in the middle of complete poverty. ($22 / night ) The facility is huge with conference rooms, chapels, 160 can board, multi purpose halls….lush greenery and scary dogs that howl in the night that I thought there were coyotes.

Off to the Provincial General Hospital to meet the director . We sat in a room set up to be a board room. I us the word board room very very loosely. Had our initial welcome and intros, saw the patients for tomorrow and gave the children stuffed animals and dolls.

Dinner was a blur but I was conscious enough to stick to the veggies.. I can’t bring myself to eat any meat served as I see the chickens and emaciated cows on the streets. I have tried some interesting vegetables, ugali ( maze meal w water – white ball ) sukuma wiki ( green veg

Mom called after I was a snug as a bug in my net! It was pitch black in my room; the phone was charging and hanging from an outlet in the bathroom. I nearly strangled in the net as I didn’t want to miss the call, you see the mosquito net hangs from the ceiling and drapes all around the bed to the floor! I had to use tape to patch the holes in the net….all I kept thinking was I would wake up and there would be little critters stuck to the tape!!

Monday Oct 4, 2010

Ahhhhh migraine at 4:30 am…took my meds and by the time my alarm went off at 6:15 I was my old self. I finally felt on the correct time zone. It took almost 2 days. Breakfast at 7:00 and Willie was there smiling with a beautiful table set. I asked her for coffee expecting rich Kenyan coffee like Starbucks only to get a pot of boiling water and instant Nescafe- Columbian.

I was so charged for our first day. I was assigned the recovery room. I was actually happy with that as Flor mentioned he has gotten slower and a cleft lip is now about 3 hrs. We didn’t get started until 12:00. Well I really shouldn’t say we. Since the USB wi-fi was not working I went into the town and tried to get that fixed. Justice, a porter, and I couldn’t find my driver he suggested we go by motor cycle, I declined. He found another driver and off we went. There I was the only and I mean the only white female for miles and I did not feel it for one second.

How do they do it? Bananas in large baskets, sugar cane 4 feet long 15 at a time, 100 lb bags of four on their head!!!

The most memorable part of this day was when I showed my first patient, Faith, who is 7 yrs old, her repaired cleft lip in a mirror……this is why I am in Kenya.

Left the OR at 11:00 PM…long day…no dinner

Tues. Oct 5

Mary Lee knocked at 6:45 and we were the first to see Willie. I helped her get the breakfast things to the table. I followed her out back and was stunned by the primitive thatched 3 sided wooden structure with 2 large pots over hot coals containing boiling water and milk. Willie proceeded to dip a pitcher into theses pots and pour the liquids into the thermos.

We had 3 cases on the schedule. I scrubbed for the first cleft lip. ( 3 hrs ) I broke scrub ¾ into it talk to the director, Daniel Alushula MD, about getting more pts. It looks promising.

left the OR at 12:00 dinner was waiting in our lounge! wiped out!!!