Monkey Brain Musings

 Hi, Folks! I wanted to check in before I take off early Wednesday morning. Someone called out sick this morning, so I am actually going into work early, when my original plan was just a short shift. The house is a series of piles and lists, my suitcases are half packed, and I have some last-minute errands to run, so all is as it usually is immediately before my trips!  I got some family time this weekend, going to a local pumpkin patch and corn maze with my nephew and his friends from the Special Olympics, and taking an early morning hike to Bridal Veil Falls with my sister. The rest of the weekend spent on random house projects, pulling out supplies, and making lists of last-minute things to accomplish.  I have bagged up a lot of yarn, that I will send to the birth center for the midwives (and I still have 2 huge bags left over, thanks to the generosity of my fiber friends!), and Dinnah has plans to teach some of the village midwives how to make baby hats. On the Uganda...

 Hello, friends! How's everyone doing? I thought I would jump on here and give a quick update on everything. I want to start by saying THANK YOU to everyone who donated to rebuild the collapsed dining area. As a reminder, this was the result of a 10-year attack from local termites... Construction started during my last trip in June, but I have just received a photo of the finished enclosure and I couldn't wait to share it with you all! The base is now a concrete slab, with high brick walls making the dining area usable during the rowdy rainy season, and electricity for evening meals. They are so grateful!  My next trip to Uganda is on, and I will be flying out on October 14th, returning on the 27th.  A much shorter trip than usual, but the travel time will be longer, almost 30 hours of travel each way. 😫 I will fly into Entebbe as usual, then travel to Lira, where I will teach 15 midwives for 1 week. Rachel and I are hoping to figure out a way for me to see everyone at t...

 HELLOOOOOO!  I'm still here! 😁 Dozens of times I have sat down to catch you up and then something distracts me, or a meeting gets scheduled and I think "I should wait in case this turns into news", and then my aunt came to stay with me...and here we are. Weeks later. Better late than never?  We are just on the cusp of fall here in the PNW and its Sunflower Season! I love this time of year. Now on to business... Unfortunately, Rachel has yet to receive more machines or funding from DAK, although they have told her that they plan to. So, the October training has been cancelled. In the meantime,  Seed Global Health reached out to Rachel about her midwifery program, and more specifically POCUS training. Rachel is very optimistic that there is potential for partnership for both of us, so I sat in on a meeting with them last week. It was...interesting. They want training for 15 midwives, they want training to take place at LIRA University, and they are not at all intere...

 Hi Folks! I'm home, safe and sound. Sorry I didn't check in sooner, gotta love the mind-numbing time zone adjustment! I got home Sunday late afternoon, and I have spent the past few days slowly unpacking, squeezing in a few appointments, and trying to get organized before I am back to work on Friday. I almost wept with joy when I climbed into my bed, but that was after I took an incredibly long, hot shower and deep conditioned my hair. I have washed the Ugandan dust off of all of my clothes, washed the beautiful fabric I brought home, and the luggage is back in the garage. I still have a pile of stuff on my dining room table that needs to find a home, but I will work on that when I am finished here.  Rachel and I are still waiting to see if DAK will donate more machines and offer some funding for the October training. Worst case scenario, we don't get the machines, training is suspended, and I work like a rented mule and start saving to go back next year. We are both hopef...