Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Settled In

We are settled in our old apartment, again. Barbara has made it cozy with her personal touches and has been using her little Italian oven. Last night she had a dinner party for five with candlelight and a wonderfully prepared “home cooking” meal. It was a delicious meatloaf. Someone (Laura Fitzpatrick) asked if she brought the meat with her from home! Can’t you see Barbara going through security at the airport with a pig under her left arm and a turkey under her right arm!
    Em and Glen Barden arrived on the 9th. They are from Lakeland, and Glen is a hand surgeon who teaches at the University of South Florida. He has seen some interesting cases; for example, a four year-old girl who fractured her forearm several months ago, and the family took her to a local bone healer who wrapped her arm with sticks and banana leaves. The circulation was cut off to her hand and she now has a Volkman’s ischemic contracture. The wrist and hand are flexed, and she cannot open her hand to hold anything. It is useless. Glen will operate on her next week. We are thankful that he and Em have come to share when there is such need as this.
    We received our Sign nails, and all is in order. My colleague, Dr. Hailu, registered Dr. Barden, me, and himself for a Sign conference at Black Lion hospital led by Dr.Yiheyis. We have been there daily, and the next few days we’ll be at the annual meeting of the Ethiopian Orthopaedic Society here at the Ghion hotel. This is not what I had planned for Glen, but he’s a trooper and enjoys meeting new friends from a different culture. Em and Barbara have made their contributions in non-medical ways.
    Dr Richard Koenig (surgeon) from Portland, Oregon, came with a bundle of supplies, and his twin brother from Holland arrived last night. They have been very supportive of the mission work here. They have arranged for the mobile-clinic vehicle to go out this Saturday to a rural area where Glen, myself and our wives signed up to spend 10 hours seeing 500-700 patients! I’ll report on that next week--after I recover!

-- Don

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