Days 1 and 2
After months of preparation and nervous anticipation, July 11th finally arrived. Our team reunited at DFW Airport to begin the long journey to Uganda. Departing from Dallas were several USSM veterans — scrub tech Sherri LaCivita, equipment tech Rob Davis, nurse Marlene Ortega, and neuromonitoring technician Hannah Givens — along with first-time team members: scrub tech Steven Miles, nurse Shelby Smith, equipment tech Sadie McCarter, PA Jennifer Shivers, and, last but not least, graduate student Edwin Shivers.
The team together in the DFW airport, excited for the travel ahead!
The excitement was palpable as we departed for JFK and continued on to Amsterdam, where we met up with Dr. Hisey and Dr. Stephen Gorolick. Together, we made a quick sprint through the Amsterdam airport — pausing only to admire the world-famous tulips — to catch our connecting flight to Kigali, where we had a brief refueling stop before the final leg to Entebbe. After nearly 25 hours of travel, we finally arrived around 11 p.m. local time — exhausted, but grateful to have reached our destination.
Despite the late hour and heavy bags full of medical supplies, the entire team powered through customs, collected our totes, and made our way out of the airport, where we were met by a warm welcome and a big Uganda Spine Surgery Mission banner held by Dr. Lieberman and nurse Brit Prescott.
After we exchanged hugs and took pictures, we crammed onto the bus for the now-familiar ride from Entebbe to Kampala. By the time we arrived at our new home for the week, the Koki Hotel, it was well past 1 a.m. We were scheduled to have a bright and early 6:30 a.m. wakeup call for breakfast, so we all made our way into our respective rooms for some much-needed sleep.
The members of team two, upon arrival in Uganda!
Pictured left to right: Hannah Givens, Shelby Smith, Sherri LaCivita, Jacob Bazbaz, Sadie McCarter, Marlene Ortega, Brit Prescott, Rob Davis, Steven Mills, Dr. Lieberman, Jennifer Shivers, Dr. Hisey, Dr. Gorolick, Edwin Shivers.