Monday July 22

Sleeping on the couch was alright, but this morning there was still no sign of Melvin or Comfort. So Security from the Presidents house came with a locksmith who pried open the bedroom doors; he came back later and replaced the locks, so now each of us has a key. Mr Bernard, Aunt Jenny's husband, aka Uncle Jeff, came to check on us and was as happy as we are that all is well. Comfort also showed up and told us that she had gone home yesterday to cook some food for her son, but was robbed of the food and her phone.

Mr Bernard has an interesting story told to me by Debbie. Under President Tolbert in the late 1970s, he was in the government as Minister of Youth and Sport. When Samuel Doe staged his coup in 1980, his troops took the President and 12 cabinet Ministers down to the beach where they were executed by firing squad. It happened that Mr Bernard was in Ghana at a sports function, and that is why he is still alive today. Aunt Jenny and their sons were able to escape the country, and I believe they all ended up in the US for many years afterwards.

Macintosh and I left just after noon to deliver some instruments to Robert at his New Eye Clinic. I was able to see him briefly as he had just finished operating for the morning, and we made plans to have dinner in September. We then went to Harbel to the Firestone Hospital for me to meet Dr. Lawrence Sherman who is a surgeon and Chief of the Medical Staff there. I have heard a lot about him over the course of my visits, and he had heard about me, so we were both happy to finally meet. We had a wonderful conversation, and then he toured me around the hospital, and then we had more conversation. Firestone Hospital is quite clean, and certainly appears to be well run. They have significant amounts of fairly up-to-date equipment: a laparoscopy unit, but they are unable to obtain CO2. The only places that have bottled CO2 are the Coca-Cola factory and another industrial place, but neither of them will sell CO2 to the hospital. So they are looking for another source. They have a med tech guy who fixes everything for them, and they have a supply area with at least 2 inventory clerks who label and track all supplies, donated and bought, and they make sure that the supplies closest to expiration get used first. Basic inventory control, but it requires organization and thought, and I think JFK needs more of that.

Debby was off meeting people about education issues today. Tonight we are going to the Mamba Point Hotel for dinner and then probably an early bed. Tomorrow we go back up country, and we have been told to pack for a few days traveling.