time

Today was the final day of the Teaching and Learning Course. Again, it is impressive that staff and residents are willing to sit in a hot room on Friday afternoon to discuss feedback and mentorship. Amélie and I realized the feedback scenarios that Ruth and I had designed for Halifax would not fit in Rwanda. Theo created a couple of scenarios that worked beautifully - involving themes of communication with techs, fragmented responsibility for the patient etc. Amélie did a great job role playing as the learner. The group participated in a good discussion of mentorship and they now are planning to build mentors into the residency program.

Then we had the sad task of saying "goodbye" to everyone. This was not fun.  A year seems much too long to be away from them. The goodbyes only reinforced our close friendship and bond.

Needless to say, they all want Amélie to come back.  Amélie and I are working on a "5 year plan" that will ensure she returns...

Time is a mystery.  On one hand, it seem like ages since we arrived in Rwanda, jet lagged and without our bags. On the other hand, time has flown by. There is no complacency here. The overwhelming quality is vivid. Each day was rich with experiences, both disturbing and joyful.  Even a little thing like crossing the road requires great attention and care.  There are few routine anesthetics. The work is tough but rewarding. People here always have time to talk, hug, share a meal.

Amélie and I will head to the airport later tonight to get on a flight at 2:15 AM tomorrow morning.  We fly to Istanbul together and then she will go on to vacation in Morocco and I will return to Halifax. I am so grateful for her wonderful companionship, humour and enthusiasm.

Best wishes to you all,

xo
Patty

Michelle and Patty with new young friends

people

I used to think the work in Rwanda was all about programs but it is becoming more apparent that it is all about people.  It means mentorship to support partners in fulfilling their goals. It means helping them to give skills for success.  It also means trust.  More and more this visit I've been pulling back a little and marvelling at the capability of my colleagues and students. The residents are bright and keen to learn.  The junior staff are blossoming in leadership positions.

Rwanda is not only warm physically.  The people radiate open heartedness.  So many smiles, so many hugs. It begins with the most wonderful expression, "you are welcome".  I feel incredibly lucky to have Rwanda as my second home.

On the bright side, nobody almost died today

Amélie here.

Patty and I just had the busiest last OR day in Rwanda. We were at King Faisal Hospital, which is by far the most well-equipped in the country. Trouble is, it’s obviously not as well equipped as we are at home but cases got quite complex.

We started off with a simple cysto. No trouble there. The next case was a thoracotomy for repair of a thoracic spine fracture. Lung isolation and arterial line? Sure, you got it. Then Patty helped guide a Rwandan staff in doing facet joint injections for a patient with chronic back pain. No sweat. Or actually, lots of sweat in the heaviest lead gown I’ve ever worn.

It’s all added up to an exhausting day.

Thankfully, we can still enjoy the oasis that is the Serena for another few days.

P.S. I dodged GI illness after the goat brochettes but I’ll be surprised if I leave Rwanda without malaria. The mosquitoes here have the stealth of ninjas.

helping Paulin with facet joint injection

It will be hard to leave Kigali...

African dresses

Today was our last academic day. It should probably have been cancelled because today is a national holiday and it seemed bad form to insist the residents come in for teaching.  This was not our decision.  The morning session went well and was topped off by a fine session of Jeopardy with cash prizes - a huge hit with the residents.  We intended to pop out to the buffet for lunch but there was no buffet, on account of the holiday, and we had to order à la carte.  Huge mistake.  It is a true fact that the food took 2 1/2 hours and even then the chicken brochettes were undercooked. We made the best use of the time by having the residents write the end of unit quiz (one hour), grading it, discussing the quiz and giving feedback for the month.  It has gone much to quickly.

We picked up our tailored dressed today (see photo).