June 19,2025 

Good morning and happy Juneteenth! I was hoping to write last night, but a storm came through and we kept losing power, so here we are. Before I forget, thank you for the comments on the blogposts. I do read them, but for some reason I have not been able to reply, so I will try to respond in the following posts. Diane, this is a shorter trip than usual, only a little over 2 weeks long. I will leave Uganda on July 2nd, returning home on July 3rd.

Yesterday was exhausting but rewarding. What started out as "We might have an ultrasound for you." quickly progressed to "We have another one for you!". My training on this trip is focused on the midwives that have already completed my 4-week basic course, working on advancing and fine tuning their scanning skills. Dinah was assigned to work with me for the day, so she would scan the patient first, we would discuss patient history, differential diagnosis options, ultrasound results, and treatment plans, then I back scan the patient (which means I scan the patient to confirm and compare findings and measurements). 

I was also called to scan a couple of emergency patients, one of whom was a possible placental abruption, with known premature rupture of membranes. Baby was in distress before, during, and after delivery. We were finally able to stabilize mom and baby for the evening, and I'm hopeful they are doing well this morning. What an incredible group of midwives here at the birth center, I am constantly in awe of their humanity and skillset. 

A massive rain and hailstorm blew in, and although I have a rain poncho, I did not have it with me. Because of the emergency, I had to run through the rain from the ultrasound room to the birth center, instantly soaking me through, but was one of the few people not overheating because of my soaking wet dress. 😁 We found out the hard way that the front stoop of my hut is not high enough, so I had some flooding inside. While I scanned the emergency, Michelle kindly squeegeed out the water. 

Today, Rachel and I will be meeting with a Sonographer candidate, fingers crossed it will work out. I've finished breakfast, so I'll head back to the hut to get organized then spend the day in the birth center. Although my new hut is farther from the kitchen and dining area, it's closer to the birth center, which is better for emergencies. The midwife students have started their shift work and seem to be managing well, most of them very excited about learning some ultrasound as well. I've offered to streamline, and cherry pick my curriculum and put together a small packet of point of care ultrasound information for the students. Michelle would also like me to give a few lectures, if time and schedule allows. 

Time to get to work! 🥰

Much love, MB/Jo