Riley/Rotary Vocational Training Team Trip 2014 to Uganda Heart Institute- Day #6 A Long, Busy Day!

One of our honorary teammates departed this morning…Riley Echo Tech Amy Potter joined the team outside of the grant/VTT team and booked her own trip to spend some time seeing what her Riley friends do on their “vacations”…She is off now with a friend outside of Kampala for new adventures!  Thanks, Amy!

Barbra and Amy last evening

We arrived at UHI this morning and Dr. Mastropietro and Trina have been busy all night managing Princess. She is doing well, but has required lots of attention all night long. Good thing Fredrick is low key!

Fredrick Postop Day #1

Dr. Mastropietro and Trina changed over information to the day team. They changed and were on their way back to the hotel with George the driver. They worked hard all night long. Thanks team!

Morning Shift Change-over

The first patient in the OR for the day is 3 yr old Ukasha with Tetralogy of Fallot. He is a sweet little guy who apparently loves to go pantless! Every time we would go into the ward, he seemed to be sans pants… His mother would put some pants on him, but he would continuously try to pull them off. He is the youngest of 10 children, so mom is not rattled by much! She apparently called for dad when we approached last night as he appeared and was able to speak English to us. Ukasha was diagnosed just 3 mos ago. His sats are in the 80’s%, so he definitely squats when he plays and is tired and winded easily.

Ukasha (pulling on his pants!:) )and his Father

Dr. Walker takes him back to the OR. He did very well and sucked his thumb the whole way. Dr. Schimmelpfennig, Dr. Walker, Chas and Ashley get him all set with the UHI team with lines and IV’s needed for surgery. Dr. Joseph, the anesthesiologist is unable to come today, but another Anesthesiologist, (incidentally a Rotarian!) is assigned with the team today from UHI. Murra and Mike are busy working together on the bypass machine as well. Ukasha’s case goes well with the UHI surgeons scrubbed alone until on pump and then again to close. Ukasha is back to the ICU about 2 PM after starting the case at 8:45AM.

Dr. Walker and Ukasha

Sara and I spent the morning with Barbra and Patience in the step-down unit. They had amazing, fun, and outgoing UHI nurse Sylvia with whom every day feels like a party for the kids, it seems! She speaks Patience’s language from Northern Uganda, Acholi. Can’t begin to tell you how much this has helped in the recovery of Patience! The girls seem to be having a ball and feeling so much better today. They had a busy morning of walking to the ward, reading aloud, coloring (“shading” as the Ugandan children say), working puzzles, and having water and goldfish snacks. Patience is certainly warming up to us… She is letting on that she may know more English than she wanted to let us know initially. Although they do not speak the same language and they are separated by 3 years in age, these beautiful girls are forever bonded by this life-changing experience…We are so happy to have witnessed this amazing bond this morning!

Barbra ready for the paparazzi!

Patience a little less likely to ham it up initially for the camera!

shading

Barbra reading out loud a wonderfully long book to IPP Sara and Patience.

Puzzles! Patience’s first English words and communication with us… Celebrating with a fist pump and a “yay” with EVERY matched piece! 🙂

The RC of Kampala South Rotarians joined us today to meet the children and support the team. They were escorted by our Host Rotary Club counterparts from RC Kampala North. They filled the ICU in 3 groups and had a great group pic! Of course, all readers from Riley would be amazed Dr. Turrentine would allow this many visitors in the ICU, I’m sure! 🙂

Sheila in the ICU with visiting RC KN and RC KS Rotarians!

Rotarians visit the team and the children!

The team shifted through a fantastic lunch when they could of Chicken curry, rice, veggies, and for the more traditional fare-pizza (still a little different from home 🙂 ). Our RC Kampala North Rotarians Barbara and Grace have been taking great care of us with waters and coffee(and Doritos for Dr. T)! Dr. Schimmelpfennig went to get Priscilla. Finally, her third time scheduled is a charm and she was taken to the “line” toward the OR by her mother Jennifer and her aunt. Her eyes looked a little fearful, but she posed no fight to the OR. Again, her surgery went well with the UHI team doing most of the repair of her VSD.

Priscilla with her mom (Right) and her aunt.

We had planned a third case for the day with Benita who is 3 yrs old also. She has a sizable ASD and was just admitted yesterday. Her mom’s only child, she was found sleeping by her mom, propped on her belly and wrapped in the bends of her legs. She was really sweaty when it pulled back her sheet that covered her to examine her, so I worried she was in some congestive heart failure. However, her xray was considered OK and the exam not reflective of any troubles, so I guess it IS Africa and she was just hot! :). Dr. Cordes had not seen her echo, so Dr. Aliku, the pediatric cardiologist who has been here yearly from our first trip in 2010 does her echo with Dr. Cordes looking on. Dr. Twalib Aliku has traveled from Northern Uganda-his new post as only the third Pediatric Cardiologist in all of Uganda since finishing his fellowship at UHI- to spend a fifth week of skills training with us. He is such a kind and knowledgable doctor. As Dr. Cordes says, “Some people are just meant to be doctors…and he is one of them.” He actually identified and referred Patience, our first surgical patient of the week. It was so special to see his proud smile as he walked to the ICU to see her Tuesday with his teaching rounds of residents behind him. This may have been his first patient to see through to surgical repair… His face said it all…he may have been as happy as her parents! 🙂

Dr. Aliku with Benita and Dr. Cordes

Dr. Judith is an adorable, smart, outgoing fellow in her first year as a Pediatric Cardiology fellow. We so enjoyed having her in the OR yesterday as she asked questions and enjoyed the view of the new video headlight. It seemed she had never seen such surgery or at least from that point of view! When she finishes, this would make her the first female Pediatric Cardiologist in Uganda (and only the fourth overall!)

Becca, next to Dr. Cordes as he teaches from the trunks and Dr. Judith

Dr. Schimmelpfennig later went to the ward to check out Benita also, but she was eating! They had been told her surgery would be tomorrow so she could eat. So, obviously we would not have three cases today and will do two tomorrow. The team wants to help as many children as possible while here, but teaching is a key part to the Vocational Training Team concept and grant that brought us here through Rotary International. Tomorrow, Benita!

Dr. Schimmelpfennig and Benita and family

Our internet connection was out most of the day in our normal corridor, so we went to another hall/stairway/patio to have access to online info and brief connections back home. The views you see here… Add to the list of things you will never see outside an American hospital…Although somehow beautiful…

We finally have most of the nursing staff furnished with the Rotary surgical hats…Fifty-five hats were snatched up in no time! Here are three of the many wonderful nurses here- Anna, Harriet, and Sylvia. We are so thankful for their hard work on these long shifts!

Anna, Harriet, and Sylvia

Priscilla returned to the ICU and transitions well. Dr. Mastropietro and Trina arrived a little late due to terrible traffic, but they were ready to work. Dr. T had plenty of time to visit the celebrities in the step-down unit…

Dr. T and Barbra

We too encounter some unusual traffic jams on the way to the hotel at 8PM on a Thursday, but everyone is pretty tired and skips the late group dinner option for retiring early to the rooms. We will rest, relax (and blog 😉 ) and be ready for a last full day of operating…