74 Surgeries!

 Although I was confined to my hotel room, the routine of the team was clear to me in the sounds around the hotel each morning and night.  There was also a WhatsApp group chat that kept me informed. 

Early in the week I was able to help remotely by cataloging the photos of each of the patients that were registered so they could be pulled into a database that the head administrator was keeping.  This gave a visual of the patient to the nurses, surgeons, and anesthesia to verify their patient, in addition to other details they could use to verify patients and families.

What was amazing to me as the week unfolded is how hard the team worked.  They left the hotel at 7am and returned after 9pm everyday except Friday, which had a lighter load.  I had to wonder if this was too much.  The recovery nurses would be the last to arrive back at the hotel each night, often close to midnight.  It was grueling.  This is truly a labor of love for them because many of them return year after year.  The lead surgeon will turn 80 this year.  Several of the nurses that have been returning are in their 60's.   74 surgeries is a new record for this team.  Another major win is that the 4th surgeon was a local surgeon who had been trained by this team.  This is a model that needs continued development for future sustainability.  

I asked them to capture photos and videos throughout the week and spent my time on the last day compiling a video for them.  It's a little over 6 minutes long.  The actual length is 7 minutes, but the last minute is just music.  This will give you an idea of the whole trip from beginning to end.

https://vimeo.com/791293845

Miraculously no other team member suffered my fate, which is what I was most concerned about.  I guess vaccines work sometimes. 

I'm on the mend and will be flying home in a couple of days.