Children's Hospital Boston in Ghana

What a long strange trip it's been

I am at a loss for words to describe the experiences I have had this week. Anyone who knows me understands this is a statement in itself. This week has been a roller coaster of emotions. We touched many lives this week, both in and out of the operating room, but I hope that we can make even bigger changes in the future.

We have been embraced wholeheartedly by the hospital staff and much of the community as friends and colleagues. One thing I am sure of is that the 28 of us who took this journey together will forever be connected to each other. I am honored to be part of this team.

Thank you all.

Karen Hinsley

Things are a bit different in Accra

Our bus ride to Accra was nearly eight hours, but wound through the beautiful mountains of Ghana, so it was an enjoyable ride. I can already tell that Accra is a very different city than Kumasi. The streets look more like you'd see in a U.S. city, with beautiful buildings and seemingly fewer cars than filled the roads of Kumasi.

Our hotel is also different. It's the Novotel Accor Hotel and feels just like something you'd find in the States. There's also (joy!) high-speed wireless Internet! I don't think we'll know what to do with all the free time we'll have now that we won't have to bang our heads against the desk while we wait for the Internet to work.

If you have a minute, check out the small gallery I put together using said wireless Internet. It shows, appropriately enough, my fruitless journey to find Internet access in Kumasi (I wrote briefly about in "Technical difficulties" on March 11).

Now that I have more reliable access, I hope to post several messages from others on the team as well as a number of new photo galleries from this week, including the going away party that we had with the patients yesterday.

- Matt Cyr