On the move

We are on the move! We'll be moving to Kalukembe tomorrow (Priscila's birthday) to spend our last 2 months in Angola there. We have plans to return and work long term at Kalukembe as well. Our time at CEML is now finished.

Since our last post, we went back to Chiulo together for two more one week stints and Priscila had more in-depth vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) training at CEML. We've been packing up as Pri's been fitting in a number of gyn surgeries. And yesterday, we celebrated Zeke's 2nd birthday! Don't have the camera with me to upload those pictures yet, but lots of balloons and Zeke going wild over more trucks to play with. Other pictures below.

One of our favorite things about Chiulo are the abundance of baobab trees. Such fun-looking trees, we also love the "popsicles" that people make out of the fruit.

Malnourished 7 month-old twins, A and E. The mother's breasts had been severely burned months before and they were faring poorly on milk from other sources (no, she did not have money to buy formula). Chiulo has a consistent flow of children 'failing to thrive,' as we say in medicine. Unfortunately, even in the rainy season with fruits available, there are always on average 20 children in the malnutrition program. The pediatric census stuck overall around 80-90, most with malaria as the admitting diagnosis.

Before heading to Chiulo in March, we flew to Huambo for Priscila to give a talk with Dr. Steve Foster to the Women's Organization of Angola (google image search "oma angola" and several lines down, you'll see a picture of zeke from our blog :) R to L: The Most Beautiful Presenter holding the Rascal That Kept His Papa From Hearing the Presentation; the event organizer (sorry, forgot his name);  Steve Foster; Esther Chin, OBGYN resident extraordinaire from Ontario who came for 2 months; Matthew Chen, her fiancee and family practice doc who also came and helped with everything from pulling teeth to operatively delivering babies to accompanying me on interminable rounds at Chiulo; our master pilot, Brent Mudde

Zeke loved walking to school in the mornings with Dr. Laura Marin (lovely public health doctor with CUAMM at Chiulo) and her two daughters (and friend)

Ladies from Kalukembe (and a few of their spouses) who were flown to Lubango for their fistula repairs. Priscila was instructed by Steve Arrowsmith (see if you can spot the white urologist in the picture), who came for two weeks. Around twenty fistula repairs were done. . . i better ask Pri how many. i know she was operating every day, but i lost count.

Not every surgery during those 2 weeks were fistula repairs. This was a a stone i removed with Steve Arrowsmith from the bladder of one of the ladies who had a fistula in the past. Yes, i forgot to clip my fingernails for the picture.

Zeke, sporting his new favorite truck clothes and his favorite sapatos; gifts sent from our friend Julie Carter! Thank you, Julie!