1/11/26

Hellooooooo!

Well, here we are in a new year...and I'm already exhausted. Anyone else feeling the same? I would be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about what is happening in our country and how it may affect the work I am doing overseas. All I can do is fight the good fight, cause good trouble, and keep going until someone stops me! 😬

I closed out last year with travel, of course, both for work and fun. I spent a week in Chicago, working at a massive, global Radiology conference. I had almost forgotten how much I love Chicago; it's been decades since I've been there and wish I had gotten more time (and had a little more energy) to enjoy the city. My first evening in the city, I managed to walk around for a few hours and a few of the engineers and I did spend a night at the Christmas Market. The conference was massive, with Radiologists from all over the world, which was interesting and fun. 

Although I enjoyed the conference, it did reek some havoc on my knee, so I had to give it a bit of a rest. In early December, I spent a week in Chattanooga with one of my besties, and started some serious gym PT, which I have kept up. With approval from my actual PT, I have been working out every other day, slow and steady. It makes me want to scream. 😂 I'm trying to be patient. TRYING. 

Leading up to the official holiday season, there were quite a few very early and very late zoom meetings with the CoP (Community of Practice). In March I will be attending the International Maternal and Neonatal Health Conference in Nairobi. It was suggested by the DAK Foundation that we offer to host a breakout session at the conference, with representatives attending from each of the six countries in the CoP, as well as Mariella and I as the Maternal Health Specialists. This offer was accepted by the conference, so we are now scrambling to get the subject matter narrowed down and formalized. In the meantime, Mariella and I managed to have introduction meetings with all of the CoP members, and I am trying to wrap my head around all of the very different Ultrasound Training curriculums used by each country. Most of the countries I am working with take a month off for the holidays, so next week means they will all return and the meetings will resume. I am looking forward to meeting everyone in person at the conference, and Rachel and I plan to spend a few days on Lamu Island afterwards. 

The midwives in Uganda are doing very well, and check in often, Max has been diligent in continuing the mentoring and it is really paying off. Last week I woke up to a string of messages in WhatsApp. The midwives at the birth center were able to identify an abnormality during a scan and sent multiple photos and questions. The abnormality was a benign finding, but I was so proud of them for recognizing it as "not normal" and the images they sent to me were excellent! The training is working!! Max checks in with Rachel and I on the regular and he is fighting to get more time with the midwives who are further away from Atiak, trying to coordinate with their employers to get them more scanning time. He has been a real gift to us. 

As of now, I will return to Uganda in June and again in October, to train two new groups of midwives. I have already started collecting more blue towels, items for more knit kits and I have a dear friend sewing more bags. If you are looking for items to donate, I am always accepting:

- newborn baby hats (knitted or purchased) *for those of you knitting/crocheting, I know the newborn hats look small, but many of the babies are born much smaller than we see here in the US*

- Etsy and/or eBay gift certificates (I purchase a lot of supplies from small business owners, but no longer use Amazon)

- Yarn (Worsted weight is best, but I will gladly take DK, or Bulky)

In the meantime, I am going to keep working away and I may actually consider taking down my holiday decor before February...maybe. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season; however you celebrate, and I will check in with any updates. 

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Much love, MB/Jo