Sunday March 9

Sunday March 9

After breakfast, all of the others went to the beach at the RLJ Resort; I stayed home trying to feel better from a head and chest cold. I re-read President Sirleaf's autobiography, and gleaned some new details which I found interesting after spending a lot of time here. She, and her family, made a lot of sacrifices along the way for her career; the choices must have been very difficult, but clearly she possesses an indomitable spirit with which she overcame all sorts of roadblocks.

I have a head and chest cold unfortunately. I am going with the "air conditioning" theory of disease, whether or not Louis Pasteur would agree ! I think the cold air blowing on me at night brought it on, and in the future I will be more cautious about it. The first couple of nights I was awoken because my feet were cold, and I then turned off the A/C; after a while I would get hot and turn it back on again. We live and learn.

We have completed our first week, and I think we have been quite successful so far. Our surgery volume is at a record-setting pace, and the team is functioning very well. Once again, having an anesthesiologist with us has been critical to our success, and having Philomina in particular has been great! She is adaptable, conscientious, smart, and always thinking of how we can do things better or faster. Kenna is a wonderful scrub tech who is organized, bright, and funny as well; I like to think that the Liberian scrubs are learning a lot from the way she does things. Yuk and Rakesh are doing an excellent job of keeping us organized and on target, and they are also obviously enjoying the experience. John Wasik is the gem of the trip: I knew he would be useful, but I had no idea that he would be able to do as much as he has done to repair and organize equipment. Finally, as always, Santiago is an awesome co-leader of this venture as well as a friend and compatriot. He brings wit, wisdom, and joy to the team which makes the experience better for all of us.

On to Week 2 !!