Monday, June 12th
Hi everyone, Foster here! On Sunday we flew into Mwanza from Arusha. Once we got to the hotel, we had lunch and Julius took us all on a walk to see Lake Victoria, which was super beautiful around the evening when we went to see it. Later that day, we had a dinner with some of the doctors we would be working with this week at Bugando. It was really fun to meet all the other amazing physicians I’ve been hearing about before I got to observe cases and scrub in with some of them today. Even though most of the people at dinner from Hope Ministries and Bugando already knew each other, it was a great opportunity to build some camaraderie before we started work on the week ahead.
I started today in the operating room with Dr. Pruitt and some of the residents at Bugando, and I observed 2 cases. The operating rooms at Bugando were very different from the ones at Selian, and so it was really interesting to see throughout the morning how Dr. Pruitt adjusted his teaching to accommodate the new environment. I definitely learned a lot about how to reduce fractures in the arm, and I’m excited to see what else I can pick up as the week goes on. In the afternoon, I got to see Dr. Johnson (my dad) and Dr. Reeder assist with a brain tumor removal. I’ve never seen a brain operation before, so I tried to observe as obtain as much information as I could during the procedure. Luckily, Dr. Reeder and my dad switched off helping assisting Dr. Gerald, so I got to ask tons of questions during the operation. Below is Dr. Gerald receiving donated medical supplies for the neurosurgery department give to him by Dr. Reeder and Dr. Johnson. God bless them for these great donations.
Overall, it was a great first day at Bugando, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the week has in store, including tomorrow when I visit the orphanage here in Mwanza.
Some of the doctors also had some updates to share on how the day went for them. Both Dr. Johnson and Dr. Reeder were really impressed with how knowledgeable and skilled the staff at Bugando were during both procedures they did, and they were also impressed with all of the equipment they had which helped each procedure to go more smoothly. They did 2 brain tumor removals today.
Today was also a special day for Dr. Wheeler. Today he got the opportunity to operate with Dr. Baraka, who was a resident that Dr. Wheeler sponsored several years ago. It was a joy for Mama Gayle to see these two working together and was so impressed on how well Dr. Baraka is doing.
Will jumping in here. I had an amazing first day at the orphanage. First thing in the morning, Julius and I went out to meet the staff of the orphanage, and after a short meeting, we decided to go to the market to get the kids some food for that should last for a few months. The market was a really interesting look into a real world situation here, and after we bought some rice, flour, and sardines (yum!), we brought the food back to the kids. I spent some time teaching a little English, ate lunch with the kids, then spent the rest of my time learning the games they like to play. Overall it was an eye-opening, heartwarming experience and a good way to start the week.
(Click on the the IMG 2521 and then click the pop-up and watch this cute video of Will playing games with the kids! Love it!
Mama Gayle here. I can’t wipe the smile off of my face. To see the 4 surgeons work and do such difficult cases today and all went well. These doctors are wonderful about teaching other doctors and residents. As Julius always tells everyone about Hope MInistires…they don’t give them the fish, but teach them how to fish. And yes the education is such an important part of Hope Ministries. I was a proud Mama as I was able to see some of the doctors Hope is sponsoring at work in surgery . They are doing so well and I all I could think about is all the patients they will continue to help over the years. We were able to work in OR with our orthopedic residents we are sponsoring.
Another big day of surgeries. Please pray for the team and our patients.
