Day One in Kampala

Today was a first of many busy days.

At 9:00 sharp, we toured a new hospital called CoRSU which is 20km outside Kampala. It specializes in orthopedic and plastic surgery. We met a great crew of dedicated workers from the admin Irene to chief nurse Joy, to Michael, potentially our next new Gretta Scholar. They toured us throughout the facility and I must say that it surpasses anything that we have seen touring any hospital in Uganda to date.

We met many babies that suffer from birth defects such as cleft palates to club feet to injuries such as burns. It is heart breaking to see a baby malnourished because it can’t feed adequately from its mother’s breast or see a small child wrapped in bandages with missing fingers due to severe burns. Wounds are sometimes slow to heal and bone infections are everywhere. Some wards are dedicated to septic patients alone.

I was particularly touched when meeting a 17 year old girl named Barbara. She has cerebral palsy. She has been neglected most of her life because her mother is weak from AIDS. Her father died of AIDS so the mother is taking care of the family alone and she is overwhelmed. It was Barbara’s little sister, only 15, who sat by her side at the hospital. Barbara is there because she developed bed sores and no one at home is able to attend to her adequately. The nurses at CoRSU are not only providing loving care to Barbara, but teaching her sister how to care for her as well. Although Barbara can’t speak, her lovely spirit spoke volumes to me. We spent a few minutes passing a piece of red plastic back and forth. This random object was precious to her and she seemed to want to interact and play with me. No one knows what her chances are, but at CoRSU, they are doing their best.

They also showed us the morgue and were proud to inform us that it was empty and they were determined to keep it that way. I left feeling intense pride in the personal care the nurses and doctors gave there. They introduced me to each and every patient by name. What a testament to their commitment.

The afternoon was spent with our friends taking care of business at the International Health Science University (IHSU). Dee (Vice Chancellor), Dorothy (Finance), Evelyn (Registrar), and Gerald (Head of SON) are key to the success of our work in Uganda. IHSU is the home of our 5 Gretta Scholars. We will have more to report on the scholars and the crew‘s work on Sunday when we meet again. But I continue to marvel at the personal investment that they make with the scholars. They attend to their needs like they are their own children.

It is evening again and time to get ready for tomorrow.

Good night from Kampala.