Uganda Day 2
Contributed by Rachelle Lieberman
Today is our second day in Uganda and we are hitting the ground running. The words “jammed packed” have several meanings for us today. Our schedule is packed with appointments. We were at Mulago hospital by 8 am this morning. Immediately we began to examine all the prospective patients for this year. We also followed up with patients who had surgeries in previous years.
Below is a picture of some of the patients in the spine ward.
Izzy with Stella a patient he operated on in 2010 who is doing great!!!
Izzy examines one of the kids from the orphanage.
We ended up examining over 40 people in a matter of five hours. Today was undoubtedly another emotional day for all, but the look on the kid’s and parent’s faces when they find out they are going to get the surgery they need makes it all worthwhile!
Doctors examine a patient in the Mulago Spine Ward.
After all the patients were seen we then planned out the entire first week of surgeries as well as some of the second week. It is truly amazing to think about how many lives we are going to touch in just two weeks.
Izzy giving Dr. Nyatti a book Dr. Jack Zigler authored about spine trauma.
When I said earlier our day was jammed, I didn’t just mean at the hospital, I also meant the traffic! We were stuck in multiple traffic jams while traveling back and forth between the hospital, apartment, and dinner. To paint you a picture, imagine a small town with only a stoplight or two. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. Now imagine no driving lanes and no rules of the road – other than honking your horn gives you the right of way. This was slightly stressful for those of us on our first trip to Uganda, but it didn’t seem to faze the mission veterans.
We have another full day tomorrow starting at 7:15 am. Two surgeries scheduled on the books so far, as well as lots of other meetings and organizing to do. More to come soon…