December 3 2009


This is our final entry. Several of our team arrived home a few weeks ago, but most of the Kelowna team stayed longer to go on a safari in Tanzania (a totally different adventure).

Because internet access and availability was unreliable we decided to summarize upon our return and quite honestly, one needs time to reflect upon everything we experienced and accomplished.

We were a team of 28, 23 Canadians, 15 from Kelowna and the balance were from Vancouver, Calgary, Nelson, and Comox. We did 85 operations over the seven surgery days. Approximately 75% were cleft lips and palates and the balance were much lengthier operations (sometimes 5-6 hours) repairing contractures from burns, mostly on the hands; some unusual surgeries such as a tumour around the ulna nerve which affected the young girl’s ability to use her arm, partial removal of a hemangioma on a young woman’s head which was encroaching on her eye and affecting her ability to see, and as mentioned earlier, a gunshot wound and a severe dog bite.

The surgical days were long, arriving at 7:00 am; several staff not leaving until the last patient was out of recovery and settled in the ward, which would often be around 7:30. The local health authority had loaned us a bus and a driver so they made several trips at the end of the day making sure we left no one behind!

The work days seem longer than at home because of the difficult hospital conditions, equipment breakdowns, shortage of supplies ,the need for translators to solve the simplest problem , compounded with the lack of sleep due to the poor accommodation - bedbugs , malaria mosquitoes ,and various other sundry pests . The change in eating habits also contributed to everyone having at least one bout of tourista - some survived on granola bars and peanut butter. (It was handy travelling with Drs and nurses, as they came prepared with various remedies –so we all survived!). In fact these challenges seemed to gel the team as we all worked extremely well together! Consider that many of us had never met and were thrown together for the first time.

Thursday November 12 was “clinic day” where we hoped to see the results of our work several days post op. Some of the children stayed the whole 7 days in hospital or nearby (maybe under a tree) because they lived too far away and /or their surgery had been complicated, i.e. skin grafts. About 35 children returned for clinic which was a joyous and tearful occasion to see the smiles on everyone faces. We also performed 3 dressing changes under anaesthesia that day.

Dr. Solomon (an Ethiopian plastic surgeon now living in San Francisco who travelled with us ) was able to organize follow up care with Dr .Merku from the local hospital – so return appointments were made for several of our burn surgeries.

After the clinic we said our goodbyes - to the patients and their families (many we had a special bond with); the Ethiopian hospital staff from the cleaners to the nurses; and our Rotaracts – the young people who were invaluable ,who made our job so much easier and fun. A very emotional time for everyone .

I know I am speaking for everyone on the team - we not only changed the lives of 85 children and their families but our lives have been changed forever and somehow the world seems a little bit smaller.

Most important of all, we could not have done this without YOU our donors!!

Ameseginalehu (thank you).               Jean Bird