I'm Here!

Internet time is at a premium, so this will be short (I need to share with the rest of the team). We have arrived safely in Santa Rosa del Sara, Bolivia. We are truly in the middle of nowhere. The weather is quite hot during the day, but the evening is pleasant. We have had our orientation to the hospital and have sorted supplies. We start seeing patients in the morning and start OR cases tomorrow afternoon. This is the first MMI project in this town and they will be the first operations performed at this hospìtal. Needless to say we are short on supplies and using almost entirely what we have brought and what MMI already had on the ground in Bolivia. That said, it looks like it will be sufficient for the type of operations we have planned.

we have arrived. Where are we

We have arrived safely in Santa Rosa del Sara, Bolivia.  We are truly in the middle of nowhere.  Look it up on Google Maps and you will agree  Neither it nor the road it is on is in my Bolivia guidebook ($20 well spent).  The weather is quite hot during the day, but the evening is pleasant.  We have had our orientation to the hospital and have sorted supplies.  We start seeing patients in the morning and start OR cases tomorrow afternoon.  This is the first MMI project in this town and they will be the first operations performed at this hospìtal.  Needless to say we are short on supplies and using almost entirely what we have brought and what MMI already had on the ground in Bolivia.  That said, it looks like it will be sufficient for the type of operations we have planned.  They have installed a new air conditioner in the OR.  So far it doesn´t work.  They are going to try and fix it in the morning while we are doing preop exams. 

 

Communication might be scarce as we will be busy and there are few internet cafes open after hours.  I´ll update you as often as I can.  As for now, I´m going to share the PC with the rest of the team. 

 

-Matt

It's been awhile...

I just realized that I haven't updated this blog since March of 2009. I can't believe blogspot even still has it up. What began as a serious blog about international surgical adventures had degenerated into anecdotes about decapitated Barbie dolls and the waterboarding of Elmo, so maybe it needed a break.

Seriously, though, the blog took a break because I was unable to blog about the location of my most recent journey (to the land we must not speak of). In short, it was a wonderful experience which will hopefully turn into many more. I thank all who prayed for Wendy and me. I believe doors were opened to some fruitful work in the future and we had wonderful times with some of my most precious friends in the world.

The blog is being resurrected as I will be leaving this Saturday for a short project in Bolivia. I will be travelling with Medical Ministry International (MMI - www.mmint.org) to Santa Rosa del Sara, outside of Santa Cruz at the foothills of the Andes. The project is only one week long and the focus will be general surgery (thyroid, hernia, gallbladder, hysterectomy... three out of four ain't bad). I am excited to be travelling with Dr. Obregon again - he got me into this whole surgery/ mission thing, but I realized I haven't gone anywhere with Pete since Rwanda in 2003 when I was still in medical school.

Preparation for the trip has been a bit hectic. I have been very busy here in Wisconsin (I guess that's a good thing) with work, family, and church. I have struggled with getting supply donations from surgical product vendors, but they still have a few days to come through. The team is coming together and thankfully God has provided an Anesthesiologist (one for three surgeons - he'll be busy) and a nurse - positions which were unfilled only a month ago.

I'm not sure about internet access, but I hope to keep the blog updated from abroad. I depart from Chicago on Saturday 11/6 and return Sunday 11/14. The project work dates are the 8th through 12th.