WHOA MAN!

JULY 24th, 2004

Hey everyone!! thanks so much again to all who wrote via email. Oh, by the way, Simon, bro, i love you so much! write me you guys at: schano@alumni.sfu.ca  cos trying to keep track of 3 different email accounts in angola is crazy...esp when i don't have that much time to check!

ok! are you ready for this? First off, we went back into the 'bush' to do 'circumcision camp'..yup, that's right, we did 10 cicumcisions back to back in a mock surgical unit in an abandoned house..kinda...i think i can do one in my sleep now. ;0)

I am now officially traumatized by surgery.  I assisted on one of my sadder cases yesterday.  This poor lady with a prolapsed eye sticking out of her right orbit.  So we literally cut the eyeball out but then found a tumour deep inside and she just bled like crazy.  I didn't even have scrubs on and blood was pouring down...i've got blood on my shoes to prove it.  I dont' know if she'll make it.  i wanted to cry but i managed to compose myself in time between walking out of the OR and into the clinical consult room....no time to waste....oh dear

Then today, we took out a really gross, cauliflower-looking tumour from this poor guy who had transitional cell CA of the bladder.  We did a 'partial cystectomy'.  And i had my fingers and hand into his belly...yah, i don't mind it, like i like looking at surgery and stuff, but i now totally know i will not be a surgeon!  Nope, not for me, thank you very much! ;0)  this is particularly funny cos i had aspirations (faint ones, i might add) before med school to be a trauma surgeon! hahahah!

On tues, i went with Dr. Steven Collins (by the way, my preceptor, Dr. Foster; Dr. Collins and Dr. Karen ___ are all Mac Grads!!! GO MAC!!!  they all practice here now! amazing, isn't it? inspiring!) to the caves! oh my goodness, it was an awesome day...caving, then lunch with the nuns, then took a nap on the awesome breath-taking hills somewhere in angola, more exploring...wow!

You can please be praying and thinking of this coming week.  We leave 5:30am on tues for our 6 hour trip (really bad roads) into Kalakembe (it's not how you spell it, but how i think you pronouce it).  Supposedly, we will see patients who have been more affected by the war.  Usually, we fly in with a MAF light plane, but this time we'll be driving.  And we'll be doing surgery from morning till night from tues till sat.  Pray for stamina and please pray cos I'm really not very confident of my surgical assisting skills...i mean i even have trouble putting the scapel blade onto the handle.  I simply suck at it.  So i'm kinda nervous.  I'm looking forward to meeting the patients and smiling at them and holding them though.  I think i'll be sleeping in the hospital during the nights.

anyway, i trust that you guys can read between the lines to know what to pray for.
Other than that, i'm really enjoying angola and getting to know more people.  I can't wait to see you guys soon and show you all my pictures!
love,
s