Long Live The Sar

It's been a few days since my last real update and though I have a few stories, it has been a great few days of typical Addis life. Thursday - Stu and I worked at the mission until Rick arrived, and after seeing his patients, Stu and I took Workinah (Olliere's Disease) and Firtuna (a beautiful 7 year old girl with Hodgkins) + family to a private clinic for blood tests. The tests were uneventful until we got in a taxi to go back to the mission. Right away I should have realized that the tire-size car part sitting at my feet in the cab was probably important, but off we "sped" (in 2nd gear...always). Everything was going swimmingly until we reached the big hill in front of the Hilton, that leads up to the Prime Minister's mansion; then the engine sputtered and died, and our cab driver skillfully manuevered us across 2 lanes of traffic back to the curb as we slowly rolled back down the hill. He pulled on the emergency brake, said "one minute," popped the t

Mosquito Kill Count last night: 40+   Everything is going well, lots to tell, but no internet as of late.  Sitting at Sheraton right now while Rick swims, about to indulge in some delicious cheese bread and the NY Times digest.  Consider a 4th of July treat....Happy 4th of July to everyone!   more to come soon....

Nothing too crazy has happened as of late, but a few small incidences are certainly noteworthy. On Monday night, Stuart and I went out for a few drinks with Bella and Naomi - Both are from Scotland, Bella is finishing her gap year before starting medical university, Naomi is visiting Bella. We started at a hotel bar beside the Taitu, the only people in the restaurant/bar. After a few drinks we moved to a literal hole in the wall I had found last year (for those who were reading last summer, this was the bar where i met the taxi driver who spent an hour trying to convince me he was jewish). This bar should be called the diamond in the rough (except for their expensive beers! 6 birrh/beer~60 cents). It was the most "authentic" ethiopian experience I've had thus far. By that I mean, it was the first time I was able to mingle with the local people in their haunts, simply as another bar-goer and not some strange faranji. This bar is about 30' X 60' with ~50 local

Today was a great day in Addis and one thing I had forgotten is how great life is here (at least for the visitor).  We worked from 9:00-11:30, and I found one patient that I will be paying close attention to over the next few weeks because I think he is a perfect candidate for special bandaging that should cut his recovery time significantly.  After work was juice, then lunch, then macchiato, then a great exploration walk around the mission area, then macchiato, then tea, then rounds with Rick. And I almost forgot, not electricity today in Sidist Kilo (the area of the mission), so we couldn't look at pathology slides with Bozuna...maybe tomorrow.      The subject of today's post is an interview Rick did with one of his patient's father.  Workinah is the 10 year-old male patient with severe Olliere's disease, or enchondromas all over his hands (particularly affecting his right hand).  He has recently been accepted for surgery at a hospital in LA and Rick is in the pro

Tired but content.  It has been a busy, busy few days here in Addis getting things set for the next few weeks.  Saturday, Stuart and I went to work the wound dressing clinic at the mission, slightly frustrated by the 1 hr of travel time required to get from Rick's to the mission via public minibus taxis.  It was a relatively quiet Saturday morning b/c there was a holiday in honor of some Christian saint, which Ethiopian Orthodox take very seriously (major crowds at every church).  It was business as usual - examining, cleaning, and wrapping - with a few surprising incidences.  2 patients of note: 1) a 50+ year old man from Harar who I treated last year, notable for the reason that he has an infected open wound covering more than half of his face, he is one of the most dignified patients we have and truly courageous in the face of what he deals with every day with his unspeakable injury, it is amazing that he is still alive; 2) a 2-3 year old girl that was missing an eye, it had bee