Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Well...the only thing constant is change. My trip to the island was postponed, so I spent Monday being crabby 🦀 and ran a few errands with Picho, stocking up on groceries for the week. I found some storage options for the massive number of blue towels that I brought, something to keep them from accumulating the red Kampala dust and worked on some projects for printing. I created some scanning guides for trainees, diagraming the landmarks for specific fetal biometry, and I plan on getting them laminated. I will have them sent to the trainees, where they can use them as a resource for continuing their scanning.  

I connected with Samalie and made plans to go to CHI today to help her with patients and give her a much-needed break. CHI is the for-profit ultrasound school affiliated with ITWA and designed to create income to keep the non-profit side going. CHI is located in a wing of a new hospital in Kampala, where they pay rent and operate an ultrasound outpatient clinic. The wing has lecture and conference rooms, allowing for trainees to come to Kampala for training and get scanning experience in the clinic.

This morning, I was surprised with a visit from John, one of the ITW mentors and sonographers that I met and worked with in Kenya last year. He lives on the western side of Kampala and came to town for a short trip, spending the morning with Samalie and I at CHI, before catching a bus for the 7-hour ride back home.

Samalie, John, Picho and I had a meeting in the morning, getting updates on the trainees from Kenya and discussing the details of my training in Atiak. Patients started to arrive, so I spent the rest of the day scanning OB patients, while Samalie handled the reports and paperwork. Recently, the clinical director of CHI resigned, so Samalie has been handling more than her share of responsibilities, while ITW looks for a business manager to replace the director. She was grateful for the break, and I was happy to be in her company! I also found out that she will be joining Allan and I on the trip to the islands, which is SUPPOSED to happen next week. 

Tomorrow and Friday, I will go to CHI and scan patients. Thursday I will stay in the office, writing up evaluations and narratives for each of the trainees from Atiak. So, that pretty much wraps up the past 2 days since you've last heard from me! 

One of my constant sources of entertainment in Uganda are the boda-bodas, motorcycle taxis that transport everything imaginable, as well as people. Considering all of the time I spend on the road; I have ample opportunity for this hobby of mine. I will leave you with a few of my favorites from this trip and I am sorry to say that I missed the chance to take a photo of the boda that was carrying a casket! 

Thanks for the long-distance company!

Much love, Jo/MB