Day 8

Hello friends, family, and newcomers. Welcome to or welcome back to my blog where I am documenting the process leading up to and during my first humanitarian mission to Eldoret, Kenya.

Today is Sunday, April 6th, marking our third day of mission work. We woke up at around 6 AM, got dressed, and went downstairs for breakfast. I always ensure I eat before we leave so I'm energized for the day. After breakfast, we loaded into the van and set off for the hospital. I changed into my scrubs and attended the morning meeting in the conference room.

Last night, we reached 71 cases, and anyone familiar with surgery or any type of procedure knows how incredibly challenging this is. It feels amazing to know that we are achieving exactly what we intended and assisting Gynocare and their staff in providing more care to more women. Gynocare operates 365 days a year, and Dr. Mabeya continues the work when we are not present, but the pace significantly slows down. We are pushing everyone involved, and it is extremely impressive to see how everyone is responding. The local staff has quickly learned how to use the colposcopy and laparoscopy equipment.

Morning meeting time!

My morning began with marking colostomy sites for individuals scheduled to receive colostomies today or later in the week. This process involves identifying optimal locations on the abdomen for stoma placement by marking quadrants. To achieve this, the patient is observed both sitting and standing to assess the abdomen's appearance in each position, aiming to avoid any folds. The marks are placed a few inches from the midline and outside the rectus abdominis muscle. It's important that the patient can see the markings, as they will be responsible for changing their pouch and caring for the stoma. I learned all of this from Betsy, for which I am grateful. The WOCNs I collaborate with in Cleveland have been incredibly supportive during my time here, and I truly appreciate their assistance.

While sitting in colposcopy with Dr. Virginia, several people came looking for me, and I noticed several missed calls on my phone. I then followed them back upstairs to the operating room.

So surreal, can not believe I am here.

When I walked in, Dr. Mabeya said to me, "We had everyone looking for you, even on social media." He needed my assistance to place a pouch on a nine-month-old baby who had undergone a colostomy. I remembered meeting this patient during my rounds in the wards and feeling very sad for her and all she had endured in her short life. Unfortunately, like many others, she was born with a congenital malformation. This means she was born without an anal opening, so any stool exits through the vagina. In some cases, an anus can be created and connected to the rectum, allowing the colostomy to eventually be cl

Each day, just when I believe I've had the most incredible day of my life, a new day begins, and I encounter yet another amazing experience. Being involved in these moments and realizing that my skills are crucial and valued is one of the most wonderful feelings in the world.

After a hectic morning, I had another wonderful experience with the women and children of Beyond Fistula. We took them out for a day filled with various activities. Our first stop was a recording studio, which was incredibly fun since it was my first visit to one, and sharing this new experience with everyone else was truly special. Dr. Abbas's daughter had written a song for the women of Kenya, and we wanted the girls from Beyond Fistula to have a recording of them singing it, so their voices could be heard loud and clear. I even got to participate in one of the takes, making the moment even more memorable. Once we finished recording, we treated everyone to lunch at KFC and ice cream. While dining out is a common activity in the US and other places, it is considered a luxury here and not done frequently. Families often struggle to afford food for the table, let alone dining out. After ice cream, we visited a store to buy supplies for school, art, crafts, and reading. These supplies will be a surprise gift for them later on, and I am eagerly anticipating that moment.

In an earlier post, I mentioned my friend Tayler, who launched her own company, Omy No.2 Bags, where she designs ostomy covers. She generously provided us with nearly two dozen covers for the women and also created a video demonstrating how to make them, complete with sample pieces to use. Today, after most of the girls returned to Beyond Fistula, we accompanied one of the seamstresses to a textile store to select fabric designs for making ostomy covers for the shop. I truly wish Tayler could have been there to witness this wonderful moment, but we are incredibly grateful for her contributions. I even picked out some fabric for Tayler, which will be sent to her for her own use. With so many designs and fabrics to choose from, it was quite challenging to decide. We then took a taxi back to the hospital, dropped everything off at the social workers' offices, and I changed back into my scrubs.

During the later part of the evening, I checked in on the ORs and rounded on patients to ensure everyone was doing well. In the OR, I observed a biopsy being taken from the abdomen of a patient with a history of cancer. I was asked to mark two more patients and, after completing that task, I returned to the conference room. We organized the schedule for the next day, sent out the assignments, changed, and got into the vans.

Upon returning to the hotel, the group gathered and we all enjoyed dinner together. It was a fun experience. Following dinner, we went upstairs, had some tea, and then I prepared for bed.

All smiles for food and good company :)

Today was another incredible day filled with experiences, learning, and inspiration. Although there is much positivity, there are also challenging moments, not physically, but mentally. I knew that there would be difficult days, however, there was nothing that could have prepared me for them. I have had feelings of anger, sadness, desperation and for these women and their situations. For our patients with female pelvic fistulas, the stigma that exists and the way that they are treated like outcasts in society breaks my heart. No one should be getting shunned because they are leaking urine after a horrendous birth where the child may or may not have survived. Then they wait YEARS for treatment because they can't afford it, or they do not have easy access to a hospital, or they are made to feel that there is no hope for them. I guess that is the beauty of being here, being able to gift them back hope and dignitiy. But it doesn't take away the fact that they had to endure everything they did to make it here.

Until tomorrow :)

All Love,

Meg