Children's Hospital Boston in Ghana

Words from the Team

    This was my first trip to Ghana. I was ready, excited and willing to help. The Friday morning after we arrived I was asked to help in the clinic. Wow, I thought we need to get all the children screened so they can have surgery. We started that day and never stopped. It was one big room divided by chairs or an invisible line that consisted of giving each patient a name and number.  Next were the vital signs, seeing the cardiologist and then stepping behind the curtain for an echo.  Each child had a story, not usually a happy one but none the less a story. More and more faces became familiar and when I asked them where they were from,  the question was always “how many hours did take you to get here”. The answer was usually no less than 1hour and up to 4hours.  They had all heard about the chance for their child to have surgery, lifesaving surgery. Surely I thought we can help them, but when I realized the scope of how many children needed surgery and just how many our team could physically handle, I knew this was monumental. We saw and screened many children over the week but after the first day I moved to the ICU. We now had to start taking care of the patients that were having surgery the next day.  As I walked out of the clinic at the end of the day passing by the many families lined up waiting for hours, I knew this
mission was like no other.

     Over the week, I cared for many patients as we learned more about their stories. The young child
from the orphanage whose mom and dad had passed during the previous year only
to be left alone.  I remember my colleagues telling me the families had to bring in their own food from home for their children. I thought they were joking, but the joke was on me. Medications
they needed for discharge were all supplied by us because there was no place they could get them considering the distances they lived from the hospital.  Any person needing a
prescription had to wait in line outside the hospital with as many as 300
people, but the pharmacy was only open for 8hrs, that meant they may need to
come back the next day. I thought to myself, how would  that work if you live 4hours away.  Oh yes, 
Rhoda,  Jethro,  Jesse, Abdul and Enoch just to name a few.  It is all about the children, their parents
their love of life. 

      The end of my journey to Ghana can be summed up this way. One heart, one mind, one child, one
nurse, one team who went to a country to help the people who had nothing and try  to help them get what we here in the United States expect and will not settle for less.  One cannot help but say to themselves  “There by the grace of God go I”

-Mona

 

Through The Years...

On Sunday, October 14, 2007--the Hearts and Minds of Ghana team performed the
1st pediatric cardiac surgery in Kumasi.  It was our first mission to
KATH; so many unfamiliarities, and uncertainties intertwined with strong
feelings of compassion and trust.

And now on Sunday, October 14, 2012--the Hearts and Minds of Ghana team
performed their 81st pediatric cardiac surgery in Kumasi.  This was our
7th mission to KATH; the unfamiliarities and uncertainties were less but the
feelings of compassion and trust even stronger.

The date October 14 holds even more significance to me.  It is my
husband's birthday.  He has been my rock, my foundation and without his
unconditional support and everlasting love--none of this would have been
possible for me----from the bottom of my heart, thank you, Paul.

Happy Anniversary Hearts and Minds of Ghana!!!

-Judy

 

Recycling Ghana Style

 

I am honored to be a part of this fabulous mission.  Each year as we work so very hard to teach, evaluate, perform operations and give exceptinoal care to the children, I am unable to process my feelings in the moment;  mostly because I am exhausted, both mentally as well as physically.  It takes me some time at home with the experiences fresh in my mind to process my thoughts.  As always, I am in awe at the patience, resilency and creativity of the Ghanian people, the patients, their parents and our co-workers.  I am struck as well by my individual blessings and how much I appreciate them; a warm home, electricity, running water, goods and services at my disposal whenever I want them.

In the operating rooms at Children's Hospital, we have a recycling program.  Different clean plastic, cardboard and paper are placed in a separate container to be recycledd.  This program requires some "buy in" from the staff.  Effort must be made to keep the product clean, separate the materials that can be saved and "oversight" so that contamination doesn't occur during the procedure.  Various members of our staff have different committments to this program; however, I am very passionate about it.

In Ghana, the operating room does its own form of recycling and repurposing.  All of the towels we use in the OR which are meant to be disposible in the United States are saved and laundered in Ghana.  The plastic containers and pitchers which come on our sterile set up are collected after the procedure, cleaned and used in other areas of the hospital. They even save the plastic bottles the normal saline comes in.  The plastic bins that the perfusion/bypass tubing comes in are saved and cherished.  One evening when I was leaving the hospital and walking the short distance to the bus which would transport us back to the hospital, I saw a woman with one of our plastic perfusion buckets on her head filled with oranges!  I have no idea how she obtained it, but it was being repurposed well.

We even saved the basins that came on our set ups, for the patients.  These basins performed many functions after the surgery including: storage, sponge baths, washing cloths and even became a favorite parting gift.  On a past trip we were unaware of how popular the basins were until we ran low near the end of the mission and two patients did not recieve their "gift from the OR'.  They were non-pump cases so we had not needed to open a basin.  The next day the ICU nurses taking care of those patients came to us asking for their basins.  The families really wanted them!  Needless to say we found two basins and made sure we ordered basins for every mission so that every family would get one.

There was a time in the United States, not so long ago, when we as a society repurposed or repaired instead of replaced goods.  My grandmother used to darn socks and made rugs on a loom from cloth scapes.  Cloths were passed down from sibling to sibling and TV's and radios were repaired instead of replaced.  Sometimes I think we need to get back to that lifestyle, back to our roots where we appreciate everying we touch everyday, like the Ghanians do!

-Lisa

 

 

 

 

 

Home at Last

 

We arrived in Boston today at 9:30am after 30 hours of traveling, exhausted but happy to be home.   Loved ones were anxiously waiting for us, as we arrived in the baggage claim area.  The team has grown very close the last 12 days, so everyone was hugging goodbye and already planning when we would get together again.  Over the next couple of days the enormity of what we have accomplished and experienced, will slowly be processed.  Each of us will have our own stories and experiences to share with you.  I will share comments from the team members in the next couple of weeks as they become available.

This is my fourth trip to Ghana and I have had the privilege to see many positive changes.  The power only went out 3 times this trip, more people appear to have electricity, the internet was more reliable and the roads are slowly getting better.  There are also remains many differences.  Many still do not have running water or electricity and there are fewer social programs than we have in the United States.  Each of us began this journey with the hope of making a difference and I think we are slowly doing this, one child at a time.  This simple principle was brought home to me today as I sat beside a couple from San Diego. They were returning from Ghana after adopting two girls, Gifty and Sarah.  This will expand their family to six children that they have adopted, four from Ghana and two from Guatemala. They had there hands full with their two new daughters, who were frightened and crying at times with the new stimulation and experiences. I was impressed by their love and patience for their new daughters.  As the plane began to descend into New York this morning, the father kissed Sarah's head and said "Welcome to America". There were tears in my eyes thinking of the enormity of what those three words would mean in Sarah's life. I am so proud to be a part of the Hearts and Minds of Ghana team and am thankful for the opportunity to make a difference.

-Susan

Forever Changed

Our time in Ghana is coming to an end. The realization of what our mission means to the Ghanaian people became apparent as we were entering the hospital this morning. From the short walk from the bus to the second floor, I had three people take my hand and say “God Bless You”. We walked through the doors into our wing of the hospital and the parents had already started dressing the children in their best suits and dresses.

 

The team finished packing our supplies, and finished decorating the room for the patient party in the clinic area. Balloons had been inflated and streamers hung throughout the room. Each child had a before and after picture hung on the wall with their name. Patient Wall Photo Gallery

The excitement of the children was apparent as some were playing soccer in the hallway while others posed for final pictures and played games.

 

Jethro

Talking Tom was a hit with all of the children

At 1 o’clock we were ready to start the procession to the clinic area where we were holding the party. The procession began with Enoch, who was closely followed by Rhoda through the packed hallway. Rhoda was wearing her crown and waving to everyone with a big smile on her face. The children felt like they were celebrities going down the red carpet.Patient Party

Each child was presented with a soccer ball and bag full of gifts. Speeches were made and photos taken of each group with the children.

 

Francis and Christian

 Francis and Kwami

 

OR Team

Clinic Team

ICU Team

After the presentations, Jethro’s mother thanked the team and led the group in a prayer. Spontaneous singing then erupted with a local song thanking God for their blessings and the team started dancing with some of the children. Tears flowed and the hugs were abundant.

 

Most of the patients are now heading home, while a few patients will be kept in the hospital to be monitored until they fully recover. We are all exhausted, yet exhilarated by what we have accomplished in the time we have had in Ghana. The full reality of what we have experienced will not register with most of us until we are comfortable at home and have time to process the events of the past week. Tomorrow morning we will be leaving for the long journey home. Half of the team will be traveling to the Cape Coast, while the other half will go the The Le Palm Hotel in Accra and do some last minute shopping. I will continue to add to the galleries over the coming weeks and will be adding posts from team members, so please continue to follow the blog. Scenes from Ghana

At the conclusion of this mission, The Hearts and Minds of Ghana Team will have completed 88 surgeries and changed hundreds of lives. I wanted to give a special thank you to Bev, Christine and Judy for their countless hours of work, planning and coordinating this trip. A special thank you to Francis for without his dedication and vision, this mission would not be possible. I have tried to provide you with a peak into our daily lives and share our experiences while we were here in Ghana. Hopefully I have succeeding in making you feel like you were a part of this mission. We began this journey ten days ago in Boston, hoping to come to Ghana and give as many children as possible a chance at a new life. In reality we are the ones coming home changed.

-Susan

Winding Down

The bus ride to the hopsital was bittersweet this morning.  We were glad that the 12-14 plus hour days were drawing to a close but sad that today would be the last day that we could operate on the children that so desparately need us.  It will also be hard to transfer the patients that need to stay in the hospital to the ward not knowing if their needs will be met.  We completed a record number of pump cases this week, which means the child has to be put on a bypass machine.  Out of the 16 cases, 15 were pump cases, meaning they are more complicated repairs which can lengthen their recovery.  We will be in touch with the local doctors regarding their care and we will be available for consult if needed.

Francis and Brenda

Today we completed two surgeries: Jessica and Mohammed.  We had to cancel the surgery for Gifty because she had a respiratory infection.  We have already made arrangements with her family to come back next year to have her surgery.   Jessica and Mohammed did very well and were both alert when we left the hospital today. 

Jessica

Mohammed
 

We also had to take Rahinatu back to the OR to insert a chest tube to drain some fluid from around her lungs.

Rahinatue

The clinic was busy doing post operative echos and seeing a few additional patients today.  We had 3 new patients come to clinic and 2 from previous missions, Fati and Abel.

 

Fati

 

Abel

Fati and Abel looked great!   Abel had on a pressed brown suit and Fati had on a very colorful outfit. It is like they were here yesterday, they came running in for a hug and asked for crayons and coloring books.  It is so great to see the changes in the children that we have helped on previous missions.

Today was the first day that most of the children were out walking up and down the halls.  We had colorful hair extensions that we put on the older girls along with lip gloss and nail polish. 

 

Even some of the staff enjoyed the hair extensions!

Rhoda proudly wore her crown this morning and managed a little smile for us.  All of the children are getting stronger by the minute and amazing us with their strength and courage .

Tonight I am sure we will spend a little more time talking at dinner about the week, knowing we do not have to get up for the early bus to the hospital.  Most of us will sleep in a little and take the 9am bus to the hospital.  We will finish packing the supplies for the next mission and prepare for the patient party at noon.  Wendy and Peter were busy today decorating the clinic area and preparing the gift bags for each patient.  After the patient party a group will travel to Kente Village and the rest will go to the Cultural Center for any remaining gifts they need to buy.

I am catching up on publishing galleries from the week.  Please visit the Gallery from the Wards that we visited on Tuesday.

I will leave you with this parting shot of Mohammed looking out the window as his dad prayed.

-Susan

 

Reunited and it Feels So Good!

Today began much like everyday as this trip.  Breakfast, then on the bus by 6:45 am and off to the hospital.  What made today a little different was, when we arrived at the hospital all of our supplies in our supply closet had been moved.  Karen and Lilly were working last night and Karen started craving some chocolate.  When she went into the store room, I guess it was raining from the ceiling!  Just imagine, this is the room we keep all of our supplies for the ICU.  As always they made the best of the situation and even documented it for the blog.  Happy Birthday Lily!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The previous patients had a good night and were resting comfortably this morning when we arrived at the hospital. 

 

Ernest

 

Lillen

Today we had three patients scheduled for surgery; Eunice, Abdul and Emmanuella. 

Eunice

 

Emmanuella

 

Abdul

We also needed to take Jethro back to the OR for a short procedure to insert a chest tube.  All of the  operations were completed by 7pm and all of the children did well. OR Gallery

Jethro

Clinic was once again busy today, finishing the echos on the Liberian children and also seeing patients from previous missions which brings me to the title of todays blog.  To totally understand the story I am about to tell, you need to be familiar with last years blog and the romance between Tony Blair and Ester.  I had walked down to the ICU to see how things were going and in walks Tony Blair and Ester hand in hand with their mothers!.  You would have thought the Queen and King had arrived!  Everyone received  hugs and we had our cameras out like the paparozzi. 

 

They were so cute together.  Their mothers made their rounds through the rooms with our post surgical patients, shaking their hands and giving their well wishes to the children and families.  It was such a kind gesture because they knew what the families are experiencing.

After talking to their mothers, they had not come together after all, they had just happened to run into each other at the hospital before they came upstairs.  As you can see, I think there is still a connection.

Also in the clinic we saw Frederick and Benjamin from last year.  It was wonderful to see all of the returning patients and their smiling faces.  Everyone looked wonderful.

Frederick

 

At 2:00pm today a group of us took donations to the Kumasi's Childrens Home.  As we pulled up the circular driveway, we were greeted by the children.  As is the custom, I went into the office of the orphanage and stated our mission, which was to bring donated gifts and supplies to the children as well as spend some time playing with them.  After a short presentation we were given a tour of the grounds and allowed to play with the children.  Kumasi Children's Home Gallery

We had given them two soccer balls so it was inevitable that a soccer (football) game broke out between our bus driver and Peter against the children. 

They had a wonderful time.  The children that were not old enough to play soccer were entertained on the swings and other play ground equipment.  If only for a few hours, it was nice to see the children smile.

Tomorrow we will be doing our last day of surgery and clinic.  We are hoping to do two more surgeries tomorrow and see any remaining patients in the clinic.  I want to end with a few words from Peter, one of our volunteers.

-Susan

 

 

I’ve been working in the clinic with the kids all week.  It is very fun to entertain them, but it is very busy.  As soon as I take out a balloon for a balloon animal, I get a giant crowd of children forming around me asking for one.  Some kids get a balloon, take it apart, get another balloon, then pop that one, and repeat.  So my hands are very tired from making balloon animals all day.  In addition, the volunteers have had the kids color, and we have hung up their drawings all over the walls.  Finally, I have been giving donations of soccer cleats to some patients that I got from teammates on my high school soccer team.  I gave a pair of cleat to Ian, a patient who seemed to really like the game of football (soccer).  When I gave them to him, he was being checked up on his echo and was not suppose to move during it.   As soon as he saw the cleats, he started squirming and was very excited to get them.  Although it caused a delay in the nurse’s examination, I like to see how the patients cherish the cleats when they get them.  In other donations, I’ve seen patients hug the cleats for dear life and try them on within seconds of giving it to them.  Something that was very special and memorable for me when I gave Ian his cleats was that when I saw him in the clinic later, he would always call me Uncle Peter.  Also, his father was being very friendly with me, talking with me, and offering me plantain chips to show his thankfulness.  Everyone in Kumasi, Ghana is very friendly, they are always asking what my name is and remembering it so they can say “Good Morning” and “How are you?” to me directly. Yesterday, we traveled to Mother Teresa’s Nursery to donate clothes, toys, and books. Today we went to the Kumasi Children’s’ Home, and gave donations to them, too. I played in a soccer game with them also. They were very good. I’m having a great time in Kumasi, Ghana, and I will have lots of stories to tell when I come home.

=Peter

Helping One Child at a Time

We arrived at the hospital this morning a little passed 7am in our small white bus.  Since most of the staff are going in on the early bus, along with our German friends, the bus is filled to capacity.  We have to put the jumper seats down so we are sitting four people across.  When we arrive at the hospital it is like getting out of a clown car!

The entrance through the emergency room is something that you can never forget.  First of all, the smell hits you like a brick wall. The smell  is overwhelming! Some of the patients are still lying there from the previous day.  We make our way to the second floor anxious to see how our patients did over night.  Pam and Patrick greeted us as we entered the ICU with smiling faces, ready to give report and go home to get some rest.  Our first patients, Gerald and Christian were doing so well they were released to go home after they had a morning echo.  

Gerald with Dad

 

We introduced Christian to Talking Tom on the iphone.  We knew that would make him smile!

The three children we operated on today were Kristen, Enoch and Ahmed.  They all did very well and were resting comfortably when we left the hospital.

Ahmed

 

Enoch

Enoch is another patient that has touched us all.  Last year his mother was feeling dizzy so they rushed her to the hospital, but she never made it.  She passed away before they arrived.  If that were not bad enough, his father died 6 months ago, so he is living with his grandmother.  Our hearts just break for him.  The fear in his eyes is heartbreaking because he is so scared that something is going to happen to him.  We are trying to reassure him that everything is OK.  Please keep him in your thoughts!

 

Kristen 

The clinic opened today at 8 am with the hope that we would get our broken echo machine fixed.  We had  post operative patients to echo, the 17 Liberian children, as well as any new patients that came into clinic.  Around 11am the echo machine was repaired and we found an ultrasound machine to help us as well.  The excitement only lasted about a half hour, until we heard that one of the machines was malfunctioning.  So the clinic had another exhausting day. 

My day was made a little brighter when Hassim walked through the door and ran into my arms!  He was a patient that we operated on last year that I really bonded with.  He looked wonderful and is doing very well, we had a great morning.

Another patient that we are always happy to see is Kelly.  He and his mother traveled from Accra to be seen in clinic today,  As usual, he was showered with lots of hugs and kisses.

Bev and Kelly

 Christine and Kelly

A group of us traveled to the Sisters of Charity Orphanage to drop off some donated gifts and play with the children.  The orphanage is a place we have been visiting for quite a few years .  When we pulled into the driveway, Ernest, the Public Relations liason, from the hospital went to find the sisters.  They were at their daily devotions in the chapel. We waited for a few minutes before we left the bus, not wanting to interrupt.  We were given a tour of the home.  As usual, the place was immaculate!  The sisters kindly told us stories of each of the patients as we played with and held them.  It is heartbreaking to see the children who were abandoned, but  gratified to know they are so well cared for by the sisters. As one of our nurses, Patrick said about the sisters  tonight at dinner, "we come here to help 2 weeks a year and they help these children everyday of their lives".  The sisters are truly special people!  Two years ago, I had collected money from my department at Childrens Hospital to give to the orphanage.  When I presented it to them, they were excited that they could get a new floor installed. The sisters felt the old floor was so cracked that it was hard to keep clean.  I was happy to find two rooms had new beautiful tile installed.  Thank you to everyone that helped me make that possible.

Next, we traveled back to the hospital, loaded our pockets with candy and beanie babies and walked over to the old hospital wards to visit the children.  As usual, some had never seen a white person so they were mortified. Their fears vanished as soon as we gave them a lollipop (they call them toffee) and their faces would light up.  The wards consists of one large room on each floor with beds about a foot apart where at least one parent is sitting.  There is no air conditioning or fan, it is so hot!  The windows are open, but that does not bring much relief.  Patient families have to bring their own bedding as well as food, but you never hear a complaint.  We are happy we can provide at least a little comfort with a smile and a piece of candy. Ward Gallery

 

 

We arrived at the hotel tonight at 8pm, exhausted and ready for dinner.  By the time everyone dropped their belongs in the room the skies opened up with the heaviest ran you have ever seen.  We were escorted to dinner, which is under an open porch about 50 feet away, by a hotel employee with a large yellow umbrella about 6 feet in diameter.  Something tells me they have had to do this before!  Dinner tonight consisted of whole, deep fried red snapper, yam balls and the same carrots and cabbage we have had all week.  We were so relieved when Brenda decided to break out cheese, crackers and pringles that she had brought from home.  Then Bev shared her homemade peanut brittle.  It was like we had not eaten in days!

 We have had our challenges and obstacles this trip, but we have all over come them knowing that we are helping one child at a time and hopefully making a difference even if it is just making a child smile.

-Susan

If You Build Them They Will Come

Today we arrived at the hospital at 7am anticipating our 3 scheduled OR cases and 12 echos as well as the possibility that a couple of patients were going to arrive from Liberia.  The team discussed the patients that we had operated on yesterday and then the team got to work.  The OR was prepared for Rahinatu, the first case of the day,  and the clinic was opened with patients already anxious for our arrival.

Rahinatu

The other patients for the day were Jesse and Rhoda, whom you met yesterday. 

Jesse

 

Rhoda with Frantz

Around 8:15am, we were plugging along in clinic when a group of 16 Liberian patients arrived with a physician, nurse and families to be evaluated.   It was like day one all over again! The Minister of Health had assisted in organizing the team from Liberia and they had flown to Accra in a UN provided plane free of charge.  They were charged a $150.00 processing fee and are staying in a guest house in Kumasi.  Our team quickly adjusted to accomadate the influx of patients with people coming from the OR to assist with the clinic.  It was a busy day to say the least, but we managed to complete all of our scheduled echos as well as evaluate all of the Liberian children.  The Liberian children will be returning to clinic in the morning to have their echos.

Three patients came to clinic today that we operated on during previous missions.  Everyone remembers Abdul.  He met us after his surgery with two thumbs up, from last year.  Well as you can see he is as happy and cute as ever. 

 

There was also Bright from 2007 and Bishop from 2010.  All were healthy and doing well.

Bright

Bishop

We also received an update from Clement who works for Ghana Health and Education Initiative, regarding Porchia. She was in Kumasi last week with her father and it sounds like she is thriving.  They went by the office of GHEI to thank them from the bottom of their hearts for the corrective surgery that was provided for Porchia.  Her father said that Portia never used to smile, but since the surgery she is quick to flash her cute grin.  Please read the full article at Portia's Mended Heart

We have also had a group visiting for the past 2 days from Hamburgh, Germany consisting of a physician, anesthesiologist and perfusionist.  They are observing our team and considering starting an adult mission in the future at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Ghana.

Tomorrow we have 3 more surgeries scheduled; Ahmed, Kristen and Enoch.  We will also continue to evaluate children in the clinic.  It is about the time in the mission that team members begin to share their experiences from the week.  I will leave you with a few words from Wendy, one of our volunteers.

-Susan

For all the times you have waited in a doctor’s office..15, 30,45 or an hour.  Or all the times you have waited and become impatient because it is not your turn or someone went ahead of you.  Please stop, think and remember you have a doctor, you have access to a hospital and specialists and someone will eventually see you and you will get medical attention.  But the children and families here do not.  They wait months or years for the Hearts and Minds of Ghana Team to travel to Kumasi.  They travel for hours to get here and are up the first day by 6am for clinic to open at 8am.  The potential patients sit for up to 12 hours, many who are told to come back the next day or another day for additional tests; never knowing when or if they will be one of the lucky ones chosen for surgery.  Remember Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?  That is exactly the sense of heightened anticipation and emotions that they feel at every step of the process, waiting for a miracle.  I am amazed at the quiet strength and exhaustion of each mother, aunt or family member as they sit patiently with siblings at their side waiting…waiting and waiting for their name to be called to see the doctor, get and echo and then wait for the call that may or may not come.  My role as a volunteer is not to save lives as I have no medical training, I have never worked in a hospital, but as a mom, sister, daughter, aunt and friend, my hope is I can bring and offer a sense of hope to them all as I sit through clinic playing, entertaining, soothing and caring for those which they wait.

-Wendy

Until Every Child has a Chance

We arrived at the hospital today at 7am eager to get the day started.  Bev and Patrick had worked the night shift, so they were happy when we walked through the door.  The team gathered in the room with Christian and Gerald to hear the report of how they did during the night. 

Gerald had already been out of bed and walking around.   After rounds Bev and Patrick took the bus home for a well deserved "nights" sleep and Lily took charge of the ICU. ICU Gallery

 By 10am, Christian and Gerald had been moved out of the ICU to rooms across the hall where the rested the remainder of the day.

 

The team then began preparing the three cases for today.  Jethro was the first case of the day and was in the OR by 8:20am while Christian and Gerald anxiously waited for their turn.  I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post that Lillen and Ernest were on the schedule last year for surgery but they both contracted Malaria and could not have surgery.  We were all so pleased that they both got this second chance!

Around 1pm, Awura Abena, a patient from 2 years, ago came to clinic with her mother for a follow up evaluation.  She looked great and is doing very well. Clinic Gallery Day 3

 

The clinic was busy again today with 14 echo’s.  Even though we are still functioning with one echo machine we completed all of the echo’s by 6pm.

The volunteers had the chance to begin organizing the donated items which we will bring to area schools and orphanages later in the week. 

Between the second and third surgeries today, the team met to finalize the schedule for the remainder of the mission.  We are hoping to complete 16 surgeries before the end of the week. 

 

Every year you meet a child that really touches you.  This year it is a nine year old girl named Rhoda.  She was hit by a motorcycle last year and was not expected to survive.  After hearing her story during clinic, the entire team had fallen in love with her.  We were so excited that she was chosen for surgery.  We were still in clinic today when Rhoda and her father came in after receiving the call that she had been chosen for surgery.  She walked in the door and went straight into Judy’s open arms.  There was not a dry eye in the room.  That is why we are here!

Children’s Hospital has a slogan “Until every child is well”, here in Ghana our slogan is “Until every child has a chance”.

-Susan

PS.  Mrs. Horn wants to remind all of her CCD kids to please comment on the blog!

A New Day

The day began at 6am with a breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs (white yokes today), beans, toast and fruit.  Then we were off to the hospital to do our first surgeries.  Since it is Saturday, the traffic to the hospital was minimal which made for a quick trip, but we missed seeing the school children walking to school in their colorful uniforms.

We arrived at the hospital just after 7 am and made our way to the second floor.  The families of our first two patients scheduled for surgery, spent the night in the hospital, so they were waiting for us when we arrived with smiles on their faces.  Half of the team opened the clinic and the other half began preparing for the first surgery of the day.  The first case today was Gerald who has a VSD. 

After receiving oral sedation, he was carried into the OR.  He was a little hesitant but easily distracted by his new truck.  Soon he was intubated, lines in and we were on our way.  The case went very well and was completed before noon.

The second case was Christian, who has Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF).  To help expedite the day, the team had intubated Christian in the ICU in preparation for surgery.  His case was a little more challenging but he did well and was extubated in the OR. 

The OR team was assisted today by 3 Ghanian nurses during the surgeries.  Each of them has been with us in the past and was eager to assist and continue to gain more knowledge. 

 

The clinic was busy as well.  We evaluated 10 new patients and completed echos on 14 patients.  It was a busy day!  We did our best to keep the children entertained, during the long hours of waiting.  Since we are down one echo machine, the day took a little longer than expected.  The children were very stoic and the parents were very patient.  At one point we were showing 2 of the children a video on my computer and one of them kept turning it towards Judy so she could see the screen too.  How adorable is that!  Clinic Gallery

 

After the 2 cases were completed today, the doctors and nurses met to discuss the next cases.  This is always a very hard decision to make. We would love to be able to operate on all of the children that need surgery but it is not possible with our limited resources and time in the country.  So we do our best to help as many children as possible.

A decision was made on three children for tomorrow.  The first is Jethro, who is a child with a VSD that is sponsored by the Children’s Lifeline.  His father lives in the United States and contacted the Children’s Lifeline through email about his son in Ghana.  He was evaluated yesterday in clinic and found to be a good candidate for surgery.

The second and third cases are Lillen and Ernest who both have TOF.  I will post pictures of Lillen and Ernest tomorrow.

Tomorrow we will continue evaluating patients in the clinic as well as the three surgeries.  The volunteers will  be helping in clinic as well as begin the process of organizing the many generous donations to be taken to area schools and orphanages later in the week. 

Today was a good day.  Two lives saved and many more changed.  What will tomorrow bring?

-Susan

 

A Few Obstacles!

Today everyone met for breakfast at 7am after a good nights sleep.  It was the usual menu; eggs (with yellow yolks), beans, fruit, beanie weanies and of course peanut butter!  We arrived at the hospital a few minutes past 8 am eager to get going.  We went to our usual area for the clinic but it has been occupied by the OB-GYN department since our last visit.  We were taken to a new area across the bridge where we held our conference last year. 

After a near miss with a temporay wall falling down, we commenced to setting up the clinic.  Like a well oiled machine, everyone chipped in and the clinic was functioning by 10am. 

 

All of the children waiting were entertained with coloring books, crayons, stickers, dancing and soccer with a ball of paper. Peter was an expert making balloon animals for everyone.  At one point Peter had a line of eager children waiting for balloons and a few anxious to learn how to make them. 

 As expected, the room was filled with children waiting to be evaluated.  They were moved outside under the large canopy and Judy handed out numbers so we could keep track of everyone.  We had a total of 50 patients to see today.  Things were running very smoothly with a check-in desk, 2 nurses and 2 doctors evaluating patients and 2 echo machines running.  Then it happened....one of the echo machines stopped working!  So after it was evaluated by Frantz and the Ghanian biomedical team we called the company in the United States.  It was determined that a board was bad, which is not a  good thing, so we set out to find an alternative.  We finally found an ultrasound machine that was available; while not optimal, it allowed us to continue evaluating patients.  It made for a longer day, but it was amazing to watch everyone working together to find a  solution so we could continue to evaluate all of the patients. Clinic Gallery

 

 

The OR and ICU were also set up today and we already have 2 patients scheduled for surgery tomorrow.  I will post their pictures and stories as soon as they are available.

Tomorrow we will begin the day with breakfast at 6am, then off to the hospital by 7.  More patients are expected in the clinic and we will continue to do cardiac evaluations. Later in the day we will meet to finalize the schedule for the remainder of the week.  Wish us luck!

-Susan