June 14, 2001

We made it here safely!  It was quite an adventure from the airport in Accra to the hospital.  Our driver, Johnny, was a life saver.  He knew exactly how to handle the border patrol between Ghana and Togo.  we were on paved roads most of the time in Ghana, but about 1/3 of the 6 hour trip was dirt roads.  We passed small cinder block houses and also mud huts.  Most of the houses were painted with cell phone logos.  Johnny told us that they promised to pay the families to put the logos on their houses, but they usually never paid them.  The money usually go "lost" on its way to the families.  There were goats everywhere!  Johnny was dodginggoats and chickens (along with potholes) the whole drive.  Near each toll booth there were tons of vendors selling bread, fruit,jewelry, and pillows.  The border patrol was very interesting to say the least.  In Ghana, we had to sign out at the customs office.  It was a small building with a fan and a tv.  The agents were friendly and made sure we had all of our papers.  Between the customs office in Ghana and the customs office in Togo was about a mile long, one lane, dirt road through the jungle.  The customs office in Togo was a tiny shack with no electricity and one border patrol who wasn't wearing a shirt.  Johnny gave each of the security guards at the checkpoints a loaf of bread as a peace offering.  We finally made it to the hospital and got checked in to the guesthouse.  We had a good night's rest and woke up to a full day's work.  It's pretty hot and there is not much a/c, so I got woozy.  However, I saw alot of different things.  I watched the doctors do rounds on the ICU, men's and women's wards.  I also went to the clinic with my dad.  He saw alot of patients from C-Sections post ops to men with hernias.  One older woman  had advanced cervical cancer, but there isn't much that can be done.  She could have major surgery to remove the cancer, but it would just come back without radiation which is relatively unavailable here.  My dad also did a D&C for a retained placenta.  The woman was bleeding heavily, but she got fixed "right up".  My dad was surprised that he scrubbed in to do surgery with only soap.  There is not much infection, so soap must work fine.  The people of Togo are so strong and reilient.  One woman had stitches removed today and she barely flinched.  It is also amazing to see the women carry huge containers full to the brim on their heads.  Most of the women have a baby on their back and a container on their head.  This is definitely an adventure, but I'm loving it!