the end already?

I can't believe I am on my way back home to the States! I sorta feel like I just made this long journey, but then again screening day feels like it was 2 months ago. Monday we had 9 surgeries and then Tuesday we had 4 surgeries (2 lips, scar release, and a keloid removal) and then we packed up and inventoried all of the supplies we are taking home or sending off to Vietnam (for Operation of Hope's mission in September--specializing in burn injuries). We ended up getting back to the lodge around 4, so naturally Mari and I took a nap :) Then, it was time to head out for a group dinner at another local lodge called Amanzi...it was BEAUTIFUL! The restaurant itself has such a cool atmosphere (we sat outside, which had views of the pond/waterfall and we were serenaded by bullfrogs the whole meal), it was perfect for the last night with all of us together...delicious food was eaten, toasts were made, and then even more delicious dessert was eaten ;) 

Mari, Jen (the director of Operation of Hope and Mari's Mom) and Myself at dinner

ZIM TEAM 2012 

Group shot--can you tell me, Mari, Allison, and Kristie thought it was a "funny photo"? 

I am sitting in Joburg (South Africa) as I type, so I should be home in another 30 hours! Ready, set, go :) 

sunday funday

Today we went to the game park (that is what they call safari type things here)! When we first got there it turns out that we had to call ahead of time, which the group that organized this forgot to do, but they were able to work it out that we could do a 1.5 hour tour of the grounds in our bus...so all was forgiven ;) I think a lot of us went in without expectations just because we knew it was something that was organized really quickly and they threw a tour guide in our bus (by the way his name was Anyways - the names here are great). Haha. Fun fact: These photos were taken without the zoom...we were actually that close! 

Here is Mari and I on the main grounds of the place.

We started off the "safari" seeing the lions (one of my favorites...you can ask my old roommate Brooke- one night we spent 2 hours looking at lion videos last year...mainly at this one ) They were in cages which was kind of a downer, but cute none the less! 

Me and my new friend. 

The ellies (my new favorite nickname for elephants) 

And yes, that is me touching an elephant...what?! The thing was HUGE...he looks really calm in this picture, but that trunk was uncontrollable. Haha. That and the fact that the guide told us not to make eye contact made all of us just a tad hesitant to give his tusk a big hug ;)

And this is the adorable lady giraffe that was right at our bus...the guide put down food so she would bend down to eat it. Isn't that hilarious? They don't bend their knees, they just look like Bambi on ice when they eat :) 

Then we got out of the car and walked to see the rhinos. We were all on this huge rock and they came right up to us from about 200 yards away...a few people even touched them!

And lastly, these are the buffalo (the most dangerous animals there). Interesting story is this elephant was brought to the park when she was 2 years old and was the only elephant, so she started hanging out with the buffalo. Well, 40 years later she hasn't stopped...she thinks she is a buffalo! It's the cutest thing...she has seen the other elephants before and doesn't associate with them...because duh, she's a buffalo ;)

The safari far exceeded any of our expectations and we ended up having a great time! I can't believe I am only here for a few more days...I don't want to leave! 

more surgery days

Sorry again for posting so irregularly...I'm finding that blogging at the end of the day is not the easiest, being that by the time we all get home and get dinner, we are exhausted! The last few days have been great! We have had some ADORABLE kids and it always helps that they just love being held :) Here are a few pictures from the past few surgery days: 

Joseph Junior. 

His after photos don't even look like the same kid! 

The PACU team: Gina, Ashley, and Ali 

Godknows: His personality was un.real. 

Can you tell? He put on a 15 minute dance for 7 giggling/dancing ladies. Video to follow :) 

This little girl had her palate revised, but she was such a little diva after surgery. It was adorable. She was obsessed with the sunglasses we put in her post-op goodie bag...I snagged a super cute picture of her today on the ward with them on! 

Everything is going well, tomorrow (Friday) is our last day of surgeries for the week, and then the weekend! This weekend we are planning on all hanging out, shopping, eating, dancing, and going to a game park (animal safari type thing)...it should be fun! 

Surgery Day 1

Monday was an amazing first day of surgery! We only had one surgeon for Monday, but 5 surgeries were completed, all celft lips. The ages of all the patients were older than average, but it was a great day :) Below are some pictures of patients! 

Chiyedza (3 years old) 

Is this not the most beautiful girl you have ever seen? She was so enthralled with seeing herself in the pictures after we took them, it was adorable. 

Winnet (8 years old) 

And this is what I get to witness...little girls seeing their beautiful new faces for the first time :) 

Winnet and I. 

Winnet and her SISTER Constance who BOTH got their cleft lips fixed, and their proud mama. The guys on the right are nurses here in Zimbabwe that have been helping us in PACU! 

This is Sakhile (27 years old) who used to wear a bandana around her cleft lip because she was embarrassed. She has never gotten a B in schooling and has not been able to get a job because of her facial deformity. With this new smile, she has a whole world of opportunities awaiting her! (Before photo to follow-someone else got that on their camera). 

The craziest thing about working PACU is getting to see the before and getting to see the immediate results when they come out after surgery...they look like a brand new person :) 

* These are nothing near the amount of photos I took, but internet is off/on so it's hard to upload...I will eventually upload more once I am in the States! 

Screening Day

Sorry for not posting yesterday, it was a busy day full of screening! We got to the hospital at 8 am and started screening families in the waiting area (over 70 people were screened). It was interesting trying to spell names, to say the least. Haha. It required a lot of help and patience from them. The kids are SO incredibly adorable and have such personality! Everyone there was so grateful to be able to have the chance at surgery...some families traveled for 2 days in order to get there! Many of them had incredible stories, which I'll elaborate on once they have surgery and I can show you their pictures...for now, here's a few:

This was one of the moms outside of the hospital during screening day

Here some of us are taking a quick break in between patient's and managing to sneak some lunch. 

(R to L: Me, Yvonne- RN from North Carolina, Lisa- CRNA , Kristie-RN from North Carolina, Martha- Nurse from Zimbabwe) 

Wish I could upload more pics, but the internet is super slow and it's getting late here, so I'm off to bed! Hopefully I can post tomorrow about what we did today :)

arrived.

After 4 countries, 3 planes, 6 in flight meals, and a whole lot of movies and naps, I am finally in Zim! I'm not quite sure if I can tell you what day it is, but I'm here :) Thankfully, even with all of the connections not a single one of my flights were delayed, and when I arrived in Zim 2 other Operation of Hope volunteers were on my flight so we drove back with rotary volunteers together. We are staying at a lodge in Harare that has different little bungalows on the property and all 12 rooms are Op Hope people, so we have the whole place to ourselves! I got in around 4:20 pm and took a quick nap and then we had a team meeting where we met everyone and then we all had dinner in the dining room. For dinner we had pea soup, fresh bread, salad, chicken curry, rice, veggies, mashed potatoes, and a pineapple cobbler for dessert! The team seems great and there are people from all over; North Carolina, San Diego, Idaho, and Sacramento. Tomorrow is screening day where all of the patients travel to Harare to get evaluated for treatment. I'll be sure to bring back some good stories, and hopefully pictures! Now, I'm off to bed!