Finally today we started back to work after the Easter holidays. It was nice to be off work for a few days, but I was really ready to get back to my routine. I worked some yesterday in the ward, but have only 2 patients there now. We are now beginning the VVF surgeries which are the surgeries that repair fistulas or holes in the bladders of women following childbirth and abuse in some cases. I don't know much about it yet, but am excited to see the results of the surgeries, as I've heard it completely changes the lives, demeanor, and attitude of these women. I will post more about this at a later date.


This is my patient Sifa, who came to have plastic surgery on her foot following a burn contracture release. She stole the heart of many people on the ward because she couldn't walk and she would just smile, reach her hands up, and open and close her fists a thousand times wanting you to pick her up. She constantly laughed the most hilarious little laugh. She returned about 2 weeks after leaving still being carried my her mother. I was concerned that she still wasn't walking and observed that the cast on her foot really made it difficult to balance and she needed a higher shoe on the other side. I tried to alter the shoe her mother brought in by increasing the height with rubber, but when one of the engineers saw me struggling with the saw, he handed me $5 and I gave it to the mother for custom shoes. I was shocked when she came back with these great little sandals that were made of leather and machine-stitched. She is now walking all over the place and is very proud of her new shoes.