Hurry up and wait

1/19/12

Things continue to progress well down here. We are definitely feeling a bit more at ease in our environment and are at least developing a rapport with the local staff. I was able to fix a hernia today with the local Bolivian surgeon so we could share techniques. Turns out, he lived in Bellefontaine, Ohio for about two years via some connection with the Mennonite Central Committee back in his college days. Small world indeed. Dr. Henry is doing a slew of orthopedic cases today with Dr. Nitabara, the local Othopedic surgeon and they are developing a good working relationship as well. Things like this bode well for future projects in this area and hopefully they will become more effective and efficient as a result.

During the frequent lulls in activity, the team has banded together and created a detailed inventory of all of MMI Bolivia's surgical supplies. A daunting task to organize and inventory 40 some suitcases of randomly sorted supplies, but now we can send it out to upcoming participants so they can gather supplies to fill the shortages. I give Jon Henry and Jon Klatt full credit for starting up the idea, but everyone pitched in and made short work of it.

I got to visit the local internet cafe last night and was also able to make a phone call to Wendy and the girls. It was fun, but the girls still are not very talkative with me on the phone. It was still fun to tell them I love them right as they were going to bed.

The day is winding down for most of the team. Dr. Henry is still in fixing a pelvic fracture, but the rest of the team has left the hospital. The clinic team is staying out in the bush tonight, or at least in a small school in some remote village I can't pronounce. They have to stretch their mosquito nets over school desks and lather up with DEET to avoid Dengue. Mosquitos haven't been to bad in San Juan.

-Matt