112 Patients seen on SCREENING DAY #1 6/5/15 Ethiopia #3

It has been a LONG but wonderful day. Some team members arrived last night & we were all together for the first time this morning. The drive to the hospital wasn’t that bad…when we got there we saw 3 very dilapidated bldgs. – I was actually afraid to ask which the hospital was!!! One was almost an abandoned bldg. & that is where we were doing screening. We had one large room & another smaller room – there are about 8 stations (pt photos & medical records, nursing & vitals, surgeons, anesthesia, pediatrician, dentist, lab, speech then gatekeeper)  & typically each station is in its own rom or area so clearly this was a challenge but Laney & I decided to take on the task & with the limited “furniture” we had (benches, chairs, a few tables etc) we created a very efficient & workable space. I blame Doug for making me watch the Property Brothers renovation show for this new found skill of space transformation! We even took 2 VERY rusted out poles & made an area with some privacy for the older girls who needed some privacy as the drs listened to their heart & lungs.

When we arrived there were already several people waiting plus the bus that was bringing the patients from the shelter so once we started we were busy. I was the gatekeeper with Aziza and was training her in that role but honestly since she spoke Ahmaric SHE did ALL the work!!!  I helped with the structure and kept all the records & data  but the process of talking to nearly all 112 patients was up to her!  Laney & Jeanne also helped taking patients where they needed to go after they left us. There are LOTS of patients with primary lips & palates (84 to be exact!) that haven’t been repaired. In this environment repairing both is too high risk so they will all get their lip repair now & if they are old enough will get their palate repair in 6 mos on the next mission.

Many of the people in this group were from the Somali refugee camps at the border of Somalia & Ethiopia – a 1500 KM or 3 day trip that is in no way easy or include ANY of the travel comfort we are used to.  We have to have separate Somali translators for them & while I have never understood it they can at times seem to be a little more demanding that the Ethiopians – I took it as a reflection of their challenging life & just gave them an extra measure of kindness but to be honest I really didn’t understand how the refugee camps work.   Jeanne shared with me her experiences with some work she has done there & I feel like I understand more that to survive in their challenging conditions of being isolated in no country that accepts you it really is survival of the fittest, as Aid workers come in you have to be bold to get what you need….my heart broke for them just a little more as I thought of this hardship and that in the end these are moms just like me trying to get their children the medical help they need in a very uncertain world. We also had several Ethiopians who traveled from the northern part of the country in Tigrey – also a 2 day trip & Jimma a 1 day trip.
It was a BUSY day I really didn’t stop except once to have a quick protein bar. The bathrooms were disgusting – basically a hole in the ground in a room so I managed to not drink so I didn’t have to use them after Laney came out & said she was gagging!!! MY plan is to overhydrate at night & not drink much during the day to avoid needing to go to the bathroom – it has worked in the past – I just had amnesia about Ethiopian “bathrooms” that have no running water – YUCK!

Tomorrow we will screen again – probably not as many people I would guess. We will also set up the OR’s & Recovery room & patient ward. Our Cargo had not cleared customs until late this afternoons that was a challenge but it will arrive tomorrow. I had been trying to reach the LDS church here since we are in a larger city & wasn’t having much luck until I was text some contact #’s & tonight the first one I called had no answer then that # called me back & it was a set of missionaries. I explained I was here & was hoping to help some church members here as well as the people I will meet in Op Smile. They gave me a better # for the District President here & I also asked them if they would like to come help unload cargo tomorrow – he gave me the phone # of the zone leader here so I called Elder Thornton of Kama Utah & chatted with hm for a long while & connected him with Molly our coordinator & there will be 6-8 missionaries at the hospital in the morning to help us unload all our cargo – such a blessing to our team that there ae here & willing to serve. I am also excited to see them & let their families know what great work they are doing here!!!  After that call I spoke with the District Pres. Biru & had a wonderful conversation with him. He knows a woman who is blind & she runs an organization for disabled women & they sell goods they make. He is going to take Jeanne & Laney & me there tomorrow night. He also knows a young man who could use some help & we may get to meet him, plus there are many needs within the shelter & our patients. I am grateful for these “side opportunities of service”. It can be overwhelming to see the immense need and be unsure as to how to help but I have found that helping people directly is best & as you lift them they go on to lift others.

It is almost midnight again & the wake up call will be 6 with a schedule like yesterday so I need to get to sleep. A few things I don’t want to forget….as I went to brush my teeth last night I forgot I needed to use bottled water until I had a mouthful of toothpaste – I take for granted clean running drinking water, the “hair” dryer in the hotel looks like the 1960’s version you see on TV with the big hose & bonnet & 2 setting neither of which are warm or stronger than the other – needless to say I air dried my hair, the drain in the shower is a good 3 inches & doesn’t have a drain cover over it…creeps me out that something could come out of it!, the only “diet coke” is Coca Cola Light in bottles & really is disgusting, there is no thermostat in the room & the air is musty , they have TV’s but no channels that work???. Despite all of that there isn’t anywhere else I can picture myself right now…..I am absolutely in the right place doing the right thing at the right time & that doesn’t happen every day in life so for that I am immensely grateful. I miss my family but social media, texting & even a face time audio has helped. I feel the love & support of so many & only hope that as I have a chance to extend your kindness & service to these sweet people you feel it too.

 Good Night!