Quiz time. How many lions do you see?

First lion we saw in the Mara.

Hippo Point

Many submerged hippos at "Hippo Point" in the Mara River.

Ready for lunch at Mara Safari Club

View of Eldoret from the plane

Cessnas to Maasai Mara

These are the planes we flew in to Maasai Mara this afternoon. Girls in one and boys in the other. We have now safely arrived at the Fairmont Mara Safari Club.

Charles rockin' his safari hat

Saturday morning

Some of the team walked to the hospital to "round" for the last time this morning. I worked on packing up the supplies that we store here at IU House. Our "extra" luggage has been put in a van to be driven to Nairobi. We are awaiting our ride to a local airstrip where 7 of us will be flown to Maasai Mara in two small Cessna planes. We are now In vacation mode.

Farewell dinner

Friday night we were treated to a farewell dinner at the Comfy Hotel. It included a program of short speeches touting the success of this past week and the overall relationship of the Universities in general and the ENT departments specifically. Taha represented our group with a few words.

No caption needed

Re-stocking at IU House

Because surgeries lasted until nearly 10:00 last night, we had Momma Mia's deliver pizzas to IU House for a late dinner. And we emptied the drink cooler of all Tuskers.

This morning, it is being re-stocked. And guess what! Coke Light is back!

Chilly morning, hot afternoon

I could see my breath at 6:30 this morning. Low last night was ~50. Now at 8:15, the temp is 60, on the way to 86 today.

Mark and his iPad

Mark took his iPad to the O.R. to listen to music during the long case. And he left it there. On top of the anesthesia machine. He realized that he had left it after he took his first bite of late night pizza at IU House. So we had our driver, Maiyo take him back to the hospital to get it before it disappeared for good. Luckily, it was still there.

Thursday surgeries, continued

Taha chilin' after his last cleft case, before scrubbing in to help close the parotidectomy.

The big parotid case was finally completed around 9:45pm.

Mark's Dermatome

A Dermatome is a powered, bladed device that is used to harvest a skin graft. The upper photo shows Diana loading a blade onto it.

Mark harvested some skin from one of the patient's legs. It will be transferred to his face to cover the part of the pec flap that would otherwise be exposed. Let's suffice it to say that surgery is amazing, but brutal-looking to someone like me.

Props go to Mark for getting the Dermatome. Taha thought one would be useful and needed here since plastic surgeons use such things. Mark found this used one for sale on eBay and bought it and donated it.

Meanwhile, back in the O.R.

Here, Mark and Kim are "raising" a pec flap to fill in the defect left behind after the parotid tumor was removed.

I'll just leave it at that. And I purposely didn't show the "business" going on. It's not pretty, at least for us non-medical people.

Also shown is the CT scan. It clearly shows the mass. I'm sure that it tells the surgeons much more about which neighboring structures are involved, but even a lay person like me can see the basics of what's going on.

Hauling things

Outside the dry goods and hardware/building supplies stores, there are men with large two-wheel carts waiting to be hired to haul purchases for the buyers.

Bicycles are also frequently used to haul things since they have wheels. They are "walked" with their load as shown in the lower picture. Also, take a close look at his sandals. They are made from used tire treads; a common sandal in Kenya.

Slice of fresh pineapple anyone?

Afternoon off

Not for the surgeons. The IU House "guard" dogs have the afternoon off.

Drivers Education

If you see this car on the road, stay away. But then again, most drivers appear to have NO training,

Motorcycle taxis

Motorcycle taxis are popular here. They are readily available at many places in the city. This particular corner always has many ready to give rides. Residents of Indiana House are not permitted to use this service as it is deemed unsafe.

Another hot, dry, sunny day

Nothing better on a hot day.

Thursday surgeries

The team is operating in two rooms this week. In this room, there is only one case today. But it's a big one. They are removing the large parotid tumor that we saw in clinic on Sunday. Josh, an IU med student, is assisting Sisenda, Charles, and Mark.

Thursday surgeries

Taha and Henry are repairing a cleft lip. Taha is scheduled to perform 7 such surgeries today. This is the second one and it's already past noon. Dinner will be late again tonight.

Kenya happy dance

Here's Chuck performing his Kenya happy dance while waiting to start a case. He's getting antsy; better start soon.

(Sorry about the sideways video. Don't have editing program with us.)

Diet Coke crisis

Diet coke is popular with Americans in Eldoret, but not with the Kenyans. Diet Coke (or Coke Light here, like the rest of the world outside the US), is more expensive than regular Coke. Typically you can buy it at IU House, any of the bigger groceries in town, and many restaurants.

But now there is a shortage. It's not available anywhere. There is even a sign at IU House noting the shortage.

Men's room, near ENT clinic

This is the "trough" urinal in the men's room near the ENT clinic. Last year there was a little warning sign to not stand under the plumbing pipes that are coming from the ceiling above (waste plumbing from the floor above). If you were standing in the wrong place, you might get dripped on. Yuck!

Now, it is no longer dripping. In the Kenyan way of getting by with what you have, the pipe has been repaired. Sort of. As shown in the lower picture.

Who's who: Diana Sullivan, RN

Diana is now a veteran of three ENT trips to Eldoret. She is a nursing veteran who really keeps things going in the OR. She came ahead this year with Vickie to prepare for the team. I cannot overstate how much the success of the trip depends on her. The lower picture is from last year but I included it because it captures her attention to detail that keeps the team organized and on schedule.

Wednesday, post surgeries, post clinic, pre-dinner

Hanging out at IU House for "happy hour" Wednesday early evening.

Staff van

Here is the "staff van" that the hospital provides for us with Maiyo, our driver. The photo really can't show what condition this is in. The inside is far worse than the outside. And the smell. The exhaust fumes seem to be piped straight into the passenger area. But... It does the job!

Dust, dirt, and shoes

I have posted on this topic on previous trips. But for those who are new followers this year, the red-brown dust and dirt along the roads really does a number on your shoes. And that's why there are dozens and dozens of little shoe shine positions on the streets in town.

Operating Room pictures

Here are some OR photos from Monday. Note in the lower photo, they are operating on an infant (out of view), and while Taha and Sisenda are discussing the case, the anesthetist is manually bagging the infant, meaning he is regularly squeezing the bag, or bulb, to provide for the breathing function while under the anesthetic. In the US, this would be performed by a ventilator. They have ventilators in the OR's here, but not a pediatric version. So the infants are bagged manually. I imagine it takes a lot of concentration and stamina to keep this up for the length of a surgery.

Euchre

So if Taha and Charles were late in Skyping with their families tonight, its because they were busy defeating Susan and me at Euchre, 10-9 and 10-9. But we still had fun. There's always tomorrow.

Sent from Kyle's AT&T iPhone

Shoe shopping

After we arrived on Sunday, before lunch, Charles wanted to buy a pair of shoes to wear in the OR. His plan all along was to do this. He was traveling light and would buy a "disposable" pair of shoes. So he bought these shoes at a Bata shoe store. And so did Taha. Mark decided he wanted a pair, too, but they didn't have any more that were larger than an 8. We've looked at other Bata stores with no luck. Mark will go home empty-handed. And Charles likes the shoes so much that he now wants to take them home.