Countdown: 2 days till accreditation...

Two days to go until the official accreditation visit at the Ola During Children's Hospital. The last few weeks/months have been extremely busy in preparing for this visit. A team of three fellows from the West African College of Physicians arrive tomorrow to conduct the official visit on Monday and Tuesday. This is an exciting time. Accreditation of the hospital means that we can start training doctors in a postgraduate paediatric residency training programme!

The last few weeks have been busy with a variety of activities from setting up side laboratories to making sure bed nets are hung properly to fixing lights on the wards to getting cupboards made for the rehydration corner. It's been a productive time and we're hoping for success. Fingers crossed.

Conakry to Freetown...

After my trip upcountry I headed back to the ship in Conakry to pick up Junior. Now 6 days post op, he was ready to go back to Freetown. Os and I were at the ship early in the morning and warmly welcome by my great friend, Allison. Junior and his dad then came and joined us in the car, and the four of us made our way back to Freetown. We had a good journey back and it was fun that some of the border police remembered Junior from our crossing to Guinea and were very pleased to see the result of the surgery. Late Monday afternoon we dropped Junior off at the orphanage and I headed home. It was a successful trip to Guinea for sure!

Trip upcountry in Guinea...

A while back, when I knew accreditation of the hospital would take place in April, I decided I would need a week off to recover. Well, of course the accreditation date changed to May, but I wasn't going to change my plans. The main reason not to change my plans was because of Junior's surgery. So, the trip went ahead and I spent three days in Conakry on the ship and was able to watch Junior's surgery. Then early Wednesday morning Osman and I got in the car and made the 8 hour journey to his parents' village (where I went last November as well). It was great to see his family again. His three brothers were already there - they have been working on building a house for his parents (which Os has been saving money for and still is...). It was nice to be away from the city. There were mangos, avocados and oranges everywhere. It was great to be able to sit and eat the fruit right off of the trees. Delicious. We spent a lot of time chatting and discussing the house, and watching a television series in the evening. Of course, the usual visits to Os' family were made - sometimes I joined, sometimes I stayed behind. It was a great break. After three days in the village we headed back to Conakry to pick up Junior!

Surgery don don...

On Tuesday, May 14th, Junior underwent a successful cleft lip surgery! Praise God for that. And it was amazing to be a part of that. Firstly because I have known him since his birth and been involved in his life since then, secondly to be in the operating room with Dr. Gary Parker, who is a real inspiration to me and many others. It was great to be with my friend Allison as well! Once Junior woke up in recovery, his dad came in to see him. He was very pleased. I was then able to feed Junior. He hadn't eaten since early morning (his surgery ended up being at about 2:30pm) and so he was pretty hungry. He fed so much better with his repaired lip! God definitely has a plan for this little guy.

Waiting for surgery on the Africa Mercy...

Ibrahim, myself and Junior on the deck, the evening before surgery

Today is a big day for little Junior, his dad, Ibrahim, and myself. Since the day I met Junior, on his birthday on the 26th of November 2012, I have been looking forward to the day he could have surgery. Today is that day.

The past 5 1/2 months have not been easy for Junior and his dad. They have both been through a lot and it's been amazing to see how God has kept Junior safe and surrounded him with people who care. I am privileged to be a part of that.

On Sunday morning Osman and I picked Junior up from the orphanage at 6:45 am. We then drove to the East side of town to pick up his father, Ibrahim, who really wanted to be the one to make this journey with his son and take care of him. So, the four of us made the 7 hour journey from Freetown to Conakry. Thanks to Osman's good driving skills and ability to negotiate with the officers at the numerous checkpoints, we made it to the Africa Mercy in the afternoon. Junior was soon settled on C ward, ready for his admission the next day. 

Today, he is on D ward, waiting for surgery. He should be going to the operating room in a few hours time and I'll be there to observe his surgery. I am excited for this life-changing opportunity for Junior and thankful for Dr. Gary (my hero and role model!) and the OR staff that will be helping him through this surgery. More news soon.

Previous posts about Junior: 

December 2013: Acceptance of a little boy

December 2013: Little boy with cleft lip/palate returns

December 2013: Tragic loss of a 1-week old

March 2013: Remember boy with cleft lip and palate

April 2013: A new home

X-ray Project – Fundraising completed…

I am very pleased to provide you with an update on the x-ray project and happy to announce that we have reached our fundraising target! This is great news for Ola During Children’s Hospital and the children in Sierra Leone.

More good news is that the equipment is scheduled to arrive on the 18^th of May and a clearing agent is already processing the paper work so that we get the equipment out of the port within days of its arrival. Meanwhile, the recruitment process for x-ray technicians is underway and a Canadian radiographer arrived last week to help set up the x-ray department and further train the technicians over the next 4 months. The radiography staff will undergo a radiation protection safety training in May 2013 and the Radiation Protection Board will come to inspect the x-ray department in June, which is when we hope to have the x-ray department up and running.

I continue to be very excited about this project because I know that a functioning x-ray department will have a positive impact on the care we can provide for the children in the hospital. I look forward to the day that we no longer have to send children across town to Connaught hospital for x-rays!

I would like to extend my appreciation to everyone who raised money for this project, as friends and family of Welbodi Partnership staff made over 150 contributions over the past 9 months. I would also like to thank the various Foundations that have made significant contributions to this project.

Tenki plenti.

A new home...

I am thrilled to report that the little boy with the cleft lip/palate (see previous posts) has been placed in an orphanage. I was not very clear in the last post, but the 'safe' place the boy was staying at, was actually the Children's hospital. Not exactly an ideal place for a little baby needing a home, but better than no home at all and certainly better than him being taken upcountry to be sacrificed back to the devils! For five weeks his father took care of him in ward 1. It was pretty amazing to see the love this father has for his child. 

It was very surreal on Wednesday to be on the ward with a social worker from an orphanage, telling the father that the day had come. Finally, his son can be placed in a good orphanage. The father smiled with relief. Although he loves his son very much, he has struggled to take care of him and knew he would not manage outside of the hospital. A solution had come. 

So, after going through various processes, it was time for the baby to leave the hospital. He had now spent a quarter of his life in the hospital. The nurses were happy to know he now has a home but also sad to see their little friend go. It was great to see the way they sent off this little baby. Lots of hugs and kisses. 

The place he has been placed is a 5-10 min drive/30 minute walk from my house and so it has been easy so far for me to visit after work everyday. I am glad to see that he is being well taken care of. Unfortunately when I visited yesterday, he had a fever again so I am praying for a quick and full recovery for him. 

I'm not sure what his immediate future holds - what will his mother do when she returns from Freetown once she is well? what will happen after he has had surgery? - a lot of unknowns but for now, I know he is in a safe place with many aunties and other children who are eager to see him do well.

Paediatric Primary Exam...

It's hard to believe that it has been 6 months since I took the dreaded primary exam - the entrance exam for residency training through the West African College of Physicians. It's also hard to believe that I am planning to re-take it in 6 months time. It all seems very daunting, but I think I owe it to myself to give it one more try! So, soon I will be focussing more on studying...more time in the books. More genetics, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, etc. Hopefully this time I will feel more confident and the hours and hours I put into studying will pay off in the end. I suppose all I can say is that I am going to do my best and try even harder than last time. Fingers crossed I'll have a good result. 

To all those taking the exam this Friday - good luck!