Our briefing from Vicki included instructions from her that we needed to perform several surgical procedures on some of the children. Some of them needed wound cleaning and debridement as well as cast revisions under anesthesia. Some of them may also need surgical procedures done the following couple days after today.
The weather was nice today. Very sunny and windy. I am still feeling a little tired though from getting little sleep last night, but I am re-energized, excited to be seeing the kids from Jimani. I got to know some of the guys from Arizona this morning. They appear to be very nice folks. Later in the afternoon, we all piled into the minivan and headed on our way to the clinic which was only 10 minutes away.
We arrived at the clinic and proceeded to the lobby. As we entered the first room where some of the kids and their families were, we noted a "clean" smell in the air! Seemed that the D.R. nurses working in the clinic that morning had bathed the children! Everyone had smiles on their faces! They were happy as a clam! LOL.
Mark, who was our other anesthesia colleague was already busy, getting things straightened out in one of the operating rooms. Both Barb and I got busy right away in helping Mark get things ready and organized for this afternoon's surgical procedures. The first thing that we all got busy on, was organizing our drugs, which were not organized. Both the anesthesia machines didn't work properly. We only had one big oxygen tank in one room and none in the other. This meant that procedures in that room would have to be simpler, requiring little to no oxygen supplementation from the anesthetist.
The other members of our team who came that afternoon also got busy with organizing the supply rooms, pharmacy area, as well as getting those children ready for their procedures later on in the day. Thankfully, both operating rooms were air conditioned. It was surely a more controlled and cleaner environment than what we were accustomed to back in Jimani.
The 3 of us anesthetists took turns in providing the necessary anesthetics to the children who were scheduled to have their procedures done that afternoon. When I wasn't providing anesthesia, I went around and mingled with the children, some of whom were already playing with other members of our medical team. What a change in them, I thought to myself. They appeared to be happier and more lively. The families were also very appreciative of what we have done for them. Many were smiling and thanking us as we walked around.
We did 6 surgical procedures in total. More are scheduled for tomorrow. It was time to head back to the house. Three of the Arizona team members, all of whom were registered nurses came to take over and care for the children for the night. I wasn't going to be working the night shift anymore. WOW! What a relief, I thought!
When we got back to the house, the rest of our team members who were left behind in Jimani had arrived! We briefed them on what went on today, as they were all going to be joining us tomorrow at the clinic. We soon had dinner and got ready for bed an hour or so after. I'm hoping to get some sleep tonight. Hopefully, the guy below me won't keep me up...
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