2 Clinic Days, Pool, and Patties
Friday and Saturday were spent with Rick seeing patients at the Mission. As usual, the days were jam-packed and went from 9:30-4, without any breaks. I still can't figure out how Rick survives most days without eating or drinking. The majority of patients were spine or heart patients, but it is extremely exciting to hear a heart murmur and be able to say something other than "yeah, hmmm, it sounds like water rushing through a pipe." Among the more interesting cases, there is a patient with potential Wilson's disease, a child with Madura head, and a child with Windswept Syndrome. Crazy, crazy stuff. It's odd how normal it seems to see a patient with TB of the spine with a shape like a > or worse.
I have been spending a lot of time with Rick's boys, which has been a total blast. They are the warmest, kindest, most fun group of teenagers I have hung out with since the 10th grade. Semegnew, Dejene, and Mesfin are all home for the summer and we have spent countless hours hanging out at the house, playing pool (gambling may or may not be involved in some games...mom, please send more money), and doing other special activities. There are a handful of other new faces around the house but some old friends including Werkeneh, who is still living in Malibu after his amazing hand surgery for Ollier's disease two years ago. We saw Transformers 3 last night (an incredible orgy of machines blowing up, military commandos, and a cute girl) and spent 3 hours playing soccer in Entoto today.
Playing soccer in Entoto is always something of an adventure. Our audience consisted of people on their way to/from church, donkeys, a herd of sheep, and a few grazing cattle. One of these cattle was kind enough to fertilize the field, but in our haste, we decided to play before the patty had time to dry and my shoe(s) decided to keep half of the patty for itself. The two teams were comprised of Rick's kids, Entoto locals, and the 2 faranjis (the JDC volunteer Shaun and myself). Out of bounds is the road and the fence of the neighboring property. The latter sideline is protected by a 2 foot deep moat that serves as a warning/obstacle to anyone headed headfirst into the fence. The quality of play is hard to judge due to the holes, rocks, patches of grass, and lack of shoes for some of the players. Easier to judge is the difficulty of running around at 8,000 feet - it's hard. I am still catching my breath 3 hrs later.
As for this coming week, I am going to try and stop by the CURE Hospital tomorrow, attend student case presentations at Black Lion Hospital on Wednesday, and hang out with Rick again on Friday and Saturday. I'm sure there will be plenty of other shenanigans mixed in there, but you'll have to wait until my next post to hear about them.
I have been spending a lot of time with Rick's boys, which has been a total blast. They are the warmest, kindest, most fun group of teenagers I have hung out with since the 10th grade. Semegnew, Dejene, and Mesfin are all home for the summer and we have spent countless hours hanging out at the house, playing pool (gambling may or may not be involved in some games...mom, please send more money), and doing other special activities. There are a handful of other new faces around the house but some old friends including Werkeneh, who is still living in Malibu after his amazing hand surgery for Ollier's disease two years ago. We saw Transformers 3 last night (an incredible orgy of machines blowing up, military commandos, and a cute girl) and spent 3 hours playing soccer in Entoto today.
Playing soccer in Entoto is always something of an adventure. Our audience consisted of people on their way to/from church, donkeys, a herd of sheep, and a few grazing cattle. One of these cattle was kind enough to fertilize the field, but in our haste, we decided to play before the patty had time to dry and my shoe(s) decided to keep half of the patty for itself. The two teams were comprised of Rick's kids, Entoto locals, and the 2 faranjis (the JDC volunteer Shaun and myself). Out of bounds is the road and the fence of the neighboring property. The latter sideline is protected by a 2 foot deep moat that serves as a warning/obstacle to anyone headed headfirst into the fence. The quality of play is hard to judge due to the holes, rocks, patches of grass, and lack of shoes for some of the players. Easier to judge is the difficulty of running around at 8,000 feet - it's hard. I am still catching my breath 3 hrs later.
As for this coming week, I am going to try and stop by the CURE Hospital tomorrow, attend student case presentations at Black Lion Hospital on Wednesday, and hang out with Rick again on Friday and Saturday. I'm sure there will be plenty of other shenanigans mixed in there, but you'll have to wait until my next post to hear about them.
Comments