tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83370120024874068102024-03-06T00:57:03.118-08:00HEALING HEARTS NORTHWESTThe Life and Times of our Kigali, Rwanda Medical Missionpatrick.cotehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04474635562511569377noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-1610505644855795152015-10-15T03:56:00.001-07:002015-10-15T04:04:21.848-07:00Joanne-CCU nurse<br />
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Joanne is the youngest of 11 children! Her parents were farmers and she grew up in Othello. Education was emphasized in her family and all of her siblings are accomplished. Joanne chose nursing as a career because she always wanted to help people. As a young child, she would help her Dad with his feet as he had a bad back and couldn't reach his feet. She has worked as a nurse for 7 1/2 years. She worked as a nursing assistant for 15 years at Providence Sacred Heart before becoming a nurse. Joanne is married and has 4 children ages 20 to 15.<br />
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To reach her goal of getting and paying for her trip to Rwanda, Joann made and sold 120 boxes of homemade chocolates: caramels with and without almonds, coconut clusters, peanut butter chews! She had always given them as Christmas gifts but her friends paid them for her support.<br />
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Joanne went on the safari to Akagera and was one of the lucky ones who saw one of the lions!<br />
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<br />Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-77354709056374383132015-10-15T03:29:00.002-07:002015-10-15T03:36:06.642-07:00Laura Schaffer-tele<br />
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Laura has joined HHNW for the first time as a telemetry nurse but is no newbie to mission work. In her 4 years of nursing she has volunteered in Mexico, Peru and Senegal. About a month before leaving Spokane, Laura became a thrift shop pro. She purchased an entire wardrobe which she packed and is wearing it all while here and plans to leave them for women in need. Laura also knit hats for many of her patients and has been a life saver with programming our phones. What will she do with all the space in her suitcase? She has visited Abraham's shop (2013 blog post) and will have no trouble refilling her suitcase!Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-14603272212287821092015-10-15T03:17:00.001-07:002015-10-15T03:17:09.897-07:00HHNW Surgical Techs<br />
Meet our surgical techs Monica, Erica and Jessica:<br />
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Monica has been working as a tech for 8 years and presently works for Kot Hospital She has 4 children aged 17, 16, 13, and 12. Monica has fallen in love with Rwanda. She went on the excursion, "A Day in the Life" it has changed her life. She met a mother of 7 whose youngest baby has a medical problem. Monica is ready to sponsor the child and cover her medical costs if not adopt the baby! She also is having her wedding dress made by a tailor at the market using some of the fabric she got on the excursion. She is going to be married in May! Stay tuned.<br />
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Jessica has worked for 6 years as a tech and started in orthopedics and moved to open heart. She chose to be a surgical tech because she really wanted to be "hands on". She also was adamant about working with hearts. Jessica persisted in applying for the open heart surgical position and it took five rounds of applications to land the job at Providence Sacred Heart. She is fascinated by the heart and the "life force" of it.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTGU1wTiSoIA199ev-ghLhRdeLN16CUixXv4wBM-hzL5LfRWSwxnx9mKS1W6JNA6VYpEOXAxm9GdloC_UrWg4tNnRe4b84_-X9BPdqoM4Plr-F94WPkJnNNH30CtTOMMLaWjJw4cAyUD5D/s1600/jessica.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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Jessica also has 4 children, 3 boys and 1 daughter 15 to 7.</div>
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Erica also works at Providence Sacred Heart and has been a tech for 13 years, 8 of them at Sacred. Incidentally, both Erica and Monica went to the same community college in North Carolina to do their training (at a different time and did not know each other). She has always wanted to do a mission trip and is really "hooked" on being here. Eric has 2 children and she often returnins from work excitedly sharing her day's stories with them.<br />
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All of these women emote a passion for their job and their joy in being here in Rwanda.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Open Heart OR friends, Jessica, Monica and Bethany</td></tr>
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<br />Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-27827130293613942992015-10-15T02:03:00.001-07:002015-10-15T02:03:11.136-07:00Drs. Fidel Sebahungu and Robert Karakire<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Dr. Fidel and Dr. Robert are the two wonderful Rwandan residents from King Faisal Hospital who have been of tremendous help to HHNW. Fidel is a 4th year medical resident who describes himself as a dreamer and idealist. He strives to share his skills and in return feels the satisfaction of his work. At age 41, he joins in the medical careers of his sister, and RN, mother, a hospital social worker, and his father, a Physician Assistant. His goal is to organize and run a comprehensive health care center, either in Kigali or in his home area of Gisenyi to give further purpose to his life. His wife is an engineer working in IT and they have 2 sons.<br />
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Robert is a second year, orthopedics resident, who prides himself in thorough pre and post-operative care. He and his wife are expecting their first child next week! Like Fidel, his efforts are apparent in their knowledge of and care for our patients at time of their surgeries. Robert and Fidel are thoughtful citizens and readily discuss the state of their country, their culture and their future. We are honored and privileged to have their valuable assistance.</div>
Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-3073064571020332712015-10-15T01:51:00.000-07:002015-10-15T01:51:11.682-07:00Erin San Angelo—CICU RN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Erin is no stranger to new people and places. She grew up in a career navy family, and
moved 16 times by the time she graduated
high school. Her early years were spent
in Japan, Guam and the Philippines, and moved to the United States for the
first time at age 14.</div>
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Erin has been a nurse for 9 years. The first 7 were spent at Providence Everett,
and the past two at Providence </div>
Sacred Heart in Spokane.
She originally began studying to be a veterinarian, but she would have
too difficult a time with putting an animal down. Erin’s aunt is a nurse, and helped her find
her way to nursing school and a career she loves.<br />
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Always involved in volunteering, Erin has participated in 4
other medical missions in South America.
These involved hiking into remote villages to teach preventative health
care. Interacting with different
cultures comes easily to Erin, and she was excited to join this HHNW mission to
Rwanda. She has been most surprised at
the concentration of population, even in the remote areas, for such a small
African country.</div>
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Spontaneity is the word that most describes Erin. She loves to experience life with little
planning. For fun Erin has a passion for
snowboarding, golf, fishing and scuba diving, which she has done since a small
child with her Navy seal dad. Her dream
is to live in New Zealand, snowboard, and have sheep!! </div>
Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-41875375971312975522015-10-15T00:36:00.000-07:002015-10-15T00:36:18.475-07:00Mollie, RN, FA<br />
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Mollie comes to HHNW with 38 years experience in the OR and the past 25 years at St Luke's<br />
Hospital in Boise, Idaho. Originally from Indianapolis, she and her husband moved to Boise for the<br />
outdoor activities. She enjoys hiking, biking and downhill skiing.<br />
Mollie works as an RN FA (first assistant) having many of the responsibilities as Bethany. A first assistant also has some of the responsibilities as a surgical assistant like Jason (see 2013 blog post) . Washington state does not have the designation FA. She likes heart surgery because it is "clean".<br />
Mollie has traveled to Europe but this is her first trip to Africa. She has been most surprised by the age of the medical equipment used at King Faisal and that there are no railings on patient beds!Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-43973765638264800772015-10-15T00:32:00.000-07:002015-10-15T00:32:22.537-07:00Bethany, Our OR Lead<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Bethany is our lead in the OR. This means that she organized and oversaw packing for all the OR supplies that we shipped or carried to Rwanda. This is her second trip to Kigali with HHNW but her first as lead. It has been a challenge but she has learned and grown from her experience. <br />
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Bethany is an RN in charge is in charge of prepping the patient for surgery, making sure all paperwork is complete, consents signed, doctors' orders are verified,works with the anesthesiologist, tracks vital signs, sets up the OR tools and then during surgery, she acts as a circulator who is available to fetch anything needed outside of the surgical field as well as counting and tracking sponges, needles and instruments used.<br />
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Bethany was born in Spokane and then moved to Fairbanks, Alaska until she was 18 and returned to finish nursing training at Gonzaga She has worked at Providence Sacred Heart for 2 years. She has always wanted to do open heart OR.<br />
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When she was 18 she visited Uganda and knew she wanted to return to Africa to do some healthcare work. To keep "her eye on the prize", she had the map of Africa tattooed onto her foot. This helped to keep her motivation. It must have helped because she has been here twice with us and loves the work and Rwanda!</div>
Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-62436329491951481552015-10-14T07:39:00.002-07:002015-10-14T07:42:18.694-07:00Rwandan SurnamesRwandans more often than not do not use a family name as a surname (last name). Instead, they give a surname that has a personality characteristic that the family would like to impart to the child or about event that may have happened around the birth or hopeful wishes. Often they reflect God For example:<br />
Evariste <b>Munyensanga:</b> surname means "shepard" which is what he is doing by sheparding prospective and past cardiac surgery patients through the process (see blog on Evariste)<br />
Diane <b>Uwase:</b> means "daddy's little girl", patient<br />
Blaise <b>Bugingo: </b>"good, strong life", patient<br />
Grace U<b>wibajije: </b>"follow God's plan", patient<br />
Clomany <b>Mugisha: </b>"blessing", patient<br />
Anatasne Ntakirutimana: "God is great", patient<br />
Emmanuel <b>Nkurnga</b>: our artist friend here is Kigali. His surname means "warrior" and he is that fighting for the arts in Rwanda.<br />
Innocent <b>Nkurunziza</b>: is Emanuel's brother, our friend and a prolific artist. His name means "good news"which he spreads about art in Rwanda around the world.<br />
Alex <b>Mucyo: </b>is our nurse who follows our patients here, his name means "light". He is shining his light and guiding our patients through recovery.Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-27834687426235673782015-10-13T09:24:00.000-07:002015-10-13T09:24:34.261-07:00Larry Keyser, PA and Elaine Rosato, RN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This Super Couple, Larry and Elaine, have been on every trip taken by HHNW, in addition to their fundraising efforts and support of HHNW at home. Larry is a cardiac PA who trained at Duke (a VERY long time ago!) and works for Heart Clinics NW in Spokane. While in Rwanda, he describes himself as a "traffic controller", facilitating patient flow from admission, through surgery, post-op care, and finally assisting in discharge planning. Elaine is a telemetry nurse and has graciously accepted the mantle of telemetry lead nurse this year. <br />Each trip they have availed themselves of the wonders of Rwanda, becoming familiar with the language, being purveyors of the local arts (thank you, Emmanuel, Innocent, Timothy, and others!), frequent visitors to Akagara National Park for wildlife viewing, and an ongoing interest in Imigongo, the traditional art-form of painting on a "canvas" of dried, odorless calf dung! (Just ask them, they can give you all the details!)<br />
While noting the tremendous local advances over the 6 years of coming to Rwanda, they also note the difficulties that remain with infrastructure and healthcare delivery. They are particularly mindful of the progress made by the Rwandan healthcare team, who are assisting our team in all aspects of our mission.<br />
In his spare time, Larry is an avid bicycle fan, as well as avid rower, either at home on his trainer or on the Spokane River. Elaine is described by Larry as a "Power Online Shopper", and is known to act as an "personal shopping agent" for some fortunate friends. <br />
HHNW is grateful to have these two on all trips and we look forward to having them on future adventures.Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-79117692063097090562015-10-13T05:03:00.000-07:002015-10-13T05:03:06.271-07:00Rwandan Excursions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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While in Rwanda, we try to offer interesting excursions for our staff when they are not working. Kim Harmson, volunteer does an awesome job of communicating with tour companies and drivers months before we leave Spokane. Someone just aptly named her "Ms Fun and Games"! Her work definitely allows us all to have more fun and enhances our cultural experience while we are in Rwanda. Here are our excursion options:<br />
<b>See the gorillas in the wild</b> in the Volcanoes National Park. Take a 2-hour drive north to the park, meet a guide and porters and hike to where the trackers find a gorilla family. Sit and watch them eat and play for 1 hour (or follow if they move on)!<br />
<b>A Day in the Life: </b>travel about 1.5 hours south of Kigali, meet a Rwandan woman and her family. Work alongside her as she would normally spend her day: tilling the fields, hauling water, attending to her children, cooking and join her for lunch. Fascinating conversations were had through an interpreter.<br />
<b>Akagera National Park</b>: travel by car 2.5 hours east to the wildlife preserve and see many native animals in the wild<br />
(hippos, giraffes, antelopes, zebras, water buffalo, chimpanzees etc) This year one of the two lions that were recently re-introduced was spotted!<br />
<b>Mountain Biking with a Team Member of the African Rising Cycling Team: </b>this year 9 of us took a small bus 2 hours north near the Volcanoes National Park to ride mountain bikes with Refiki and Rodger from Team Rwanda as our guides. What a day! We took single track trails and rutted, rocky dirt roads through many villages and were constantly mobbed by thousands of children waving and smiling.<br />
<b>Coffee Plantation:</b>drive 2 hours to see how coffee is grown and processed.<br />
<b>Genocide Memorial:</b> There is a very well done, sobering memorial in Kigali<br />
Lots of shopping in the markets and at our favorite shop keeper, Abraham!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Day in the Life<br /></td></tr>
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<br />Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-15863442935198428122015-10-13T04:40:00.002-07:002015-10-13T04:40:39.527-07:00Leticia Kayumba<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Leticia joined HHNW this year after discussing her interest with Brooke Hendriksen, RN, a seasoned veteran of HHNW trips during a graduate school course. Leticia is Rwandan but has lived in Portland for 20 years where she earned her BSN and is now a tele/cardiac RN at Providence Portland Hospital. She is from Gitarama, Rwanda, and came to the US in 1990. Her parents and brother still live here and she likes to visit every 2-3 years. She knows first-hand the importance of cardiac care, not only because her vocation, but also her family.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She has three sons and loves to spend time with them, as well as volunteering with young African refugees in Portland. She loves her work as a nurse and feels that it is a privilege to offer her skills to others. She is grateful to her family and coworkers in Portland for helping to make her trips here possible. She is hopeful for continued peace and prosperity in Rwanda, emphasizing that the country cannot return to its past, but must continue to improve its standard of living, to include improving health care.<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Thanks, Leticia for bringing your talents and smile back home!</span></span></div>
Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-86375247231575210052015-10-13T02:25:00.000-07:002015-10-13T02:25:23.852-07:00Dr. John Omara<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. John conferring with Cecilia, sonographer</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John taking a break while mountain biking</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_509964704"></span><span id="goog_509964705"></span>Dr John Omara rejoined us this year after unofficially helping us in 2013 while he was in Kigali on a teaching assignment with HRH/Clinton Foundation. John went back for more specialized cardiac training in the interim and has thus been invaluable in his critical thinking and evaluation of our current patients.<br />
He has had a fascinating career so far, having studied at U Conn and then did his residency at Montifiore in NYC. He then went to Kenya for a year and returned to Dartmouth for fellowship and work from 2005 to 2010. During that time, he spent 1 year in Uganda with Doctors Without Borders, where he worked with HIV and TB patients. After Dartmouth, he came to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he helped start a cardiology fellowship between 2010 and 2014. Finally, he completed another fellowship at Swedish in Seattle (also home of our nurses Joy, Michelle and Corri) and continues to travel and do wonderful work in the Third World. After leaving Rwanda, he will travel back to Ethiopia for a week to assist in pacemaker placement.<br />
In his "spare time" he enjoys running, rock climbing, tennis, and reading. We hope he has time to join us again on our next medical trip, not to mention visit us in Spokane, where he might enjoy refining his new-found enjoyment of mountain biking!<br />
LKF (Little Known Fact): John is fluent in Japanese, and speaks some Swahili, French and Spanish.<br />
(It makes me tired thinking of all he has done, and he is still so young!)</div>
Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-78634588884856586302015-10-13T01:18:00.001-07:002015-10-13T01:18:53.224-07:00Dr Michael Liang<br />
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Dr. Liang is on his second HHNW trip as a critical care/pulmonary specialist. As he was about to finish his research year at University of Washington, he realized that he would like to expand his experience in medicine and was happy to have been offered the opportunity to come to Rwanda in 2013. He gets great satisfaction from, and marvels at the gratitude shown in the faces of, the patients cared for here, even when there is an obvious language barrier.<br />
Michael is from a medical family. His father is a retired general surgeon in Monroeville, Pa., and Michael attended Penn State and medical school and residency at Jefferson Medical School in Philadelphia, before moving west to UW for Pulmonary and Critical Care. He now is one of 7 pulmonary specialists in his current position at Providence Everett Medical Center.<br />
LKF (Little Known Fact) about Dr. Liang: While his friends were busy trying to get into graduate school, he was a "master" sandwich maker at a Jewish deli in Pennsylvania, and considers his Reuben sandwich a masterpiece!Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-1806098495986797832015-10-13T01:15:00.001-07:002015-10-13T01:15:27.170-07:00Dr. Reed Saunders<br />
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Dr. Reed Saunders joined HHNW from DD Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Springs, after a "persuasive Sandy and Hal" convinced him of the merits of the mission in Rwanda. Dr. Reed trained at the Navy Medical Center in Bethesda for one year then had an amazing 3 years in Hawaii as an Underseas Medical Specialist, where he worked in hyperbaric medicine, working with dolphins and sea lions in special Navy research. Afterwards, he trained in anesthesiology and cardiac anesthesiology at University of Maryland, then returned to his roots in Southern California, where he has lived and worked for the past 25 years. He is one of 4 cardiac anesthesiologists (total of 21 anesthesiologists) at his institution, and is grateful that he was able to take time off to join HHNW.<br />
In his spare time, he likes to golf (thank you, General Eisenhower for developing the golf community in the desert!), and works on vintage cars (1959 Austin Healey, and 1998 BMW 633). In his spare time in Africa, he has visited the market (had a dress made for his wife), been on safari, and hiked to see the gorillas in Volcano National Park.<br />
His most remarkable impression about medicine in Rwanda has been the youth and resilience of the patients here, in stark contrast to that of our "typical" patients in the US. He would like the team to know how appreciative he is to have been welcomed into our group. He will be warmly welcomed back on our next trip!Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-5323229522249743562015-10-12T01:20:00.001-07:002015-10-12T01:20:32.030-07:00Neil Worral, Cardio-thoracic Surgeon<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil enjoying a Rwandan beer before his flight to return to Spokane</td></tr>
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Neil is one of our cardio-thoracic surgeons and has been on each of our five missions to Rwanda. He went to medical school Washington University in St. Louis and did his cardiac surgical training at Harvard Medical School, the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Boston Children's Hospital. He focuses on pediatric heart surgeries at Providence Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane. After his training, he and his wife, Dawn, moved to Spokane and have lived there for the last 15 years. They have a son, Peter, who is in his second year at West Point and a daughter, Emily, who is finishing at the University of Washington in her 3rd year. Emily joined us in Rwanda for a week this trip and hopes to go to medical school.<br />
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To Neil, surgery provides technical solutions to the body's anatomic and/or physiological problems.<br />
He enjoys the focused attention to detail during surgery as well as the highly technical nature of cardiac surgery. He also enjoys the intense but finite interactions with patients and their parents.<br />
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When Neil is not working, he loves to hike, ski, travel and reading history and current events.<br />
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Neil, in his 5 years of returning to Rwanda, has noticed a slow but steady maturation of Rwandan society and a significant increase in the numbers of westerners here. He has loved each trip.<br />
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A little known fact about Neil is that he immigrated to the US in 1974 from the UK, and lived in Chicago. He figures that because he is an immigrant (legally!), Donald Trump wouldn't want to have him do surgery on him!! We at HHNW are proud and grateful for Neil's work.<br />
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<br />Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-64775745221392222292015-10-12T00:11:00.000-07:002015-10-12T00:11:01.036-07:00Sunday 10/1115<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAI26dejX-BxD90Y7NcPnSI6cYtk0Phg6UYeyKO9-CiZRhgQLZmMMYBVSVcQlFuc-_vHEqbsE-M9nCLUbP1pHz9WAGa9fDCUz7NswNl2jSd45_Ps3Ri-GjQud3fdXzplr3sbTyToq0Fwso/s1600/clomany+%2526+watch.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAI26dejX-BxD90Y7NcPnSI6cYtk0Phg6UYeyKO9-CiZRhgQLZmMMYBVSVcQlFuc-_vHEqbsE-M9nCLUbP1pHz9WAGa9fDCUz7NswNl2jSd45_Ps3Ri-GjQud3fdXzplr3sbTyToq0Fwso/s320/clomany+%2526+watch.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clomany, 14 years old, trying on Dr. Joseph's Apple Watch. He did not go home with it!</td></tr>
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Sunday 10/11/15, we will have completed 12 surgeries and discharged the first 2 patients. Tomorrow is a day off for the OR staff to enjoy the Kigali. They return Monday and Tuesday 10/13 to do 4 more surgeries. We will have done 16 surgeries, changed many lives, enjoyed the Rwandan culture, several excursions and made new friends.Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-11547505436588868152015-10-10T08:25:00.002-07:002015-10-10T08:25:57.598-07:00Raj, Our Photographer/Videographer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgwIRdOtB1cPtk1sBvhTzgK5_iwq_2O55rhS3dxUxkksjxUA2kgBIYUWg-i_l0YXsWhXLEcVLygqsVHBeQc9EJ6ZbFtv9MjMnabpJRnNxwqhJD72Vx_ltDkPveDrYIcELO8pTbfHSZfeb/s1600/Raj.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgwIRdOtB1cPtk1sBvhTzgK5_iwq_2O55rhS3dxUxkksjxUA2kgBIYUWg-i_l0YXsWhXLEcVLygqsVHBeQc9EJ6ZbFtv9MjMnabpJRnNxwqhJD72Vx_ltDkPveDrYIcELO8pTbfHSZfeb/s320/Raj.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Rajah Bose is our volunteer photographer/videographer. Presently Raj is the official photographer for Gonzaga University, based in the marketing department and teaches a photo journalism class . He has been into photography since his early teens and has worked as a photojournalist for the Tri-City Herald , the Spokesman-Review, and the New York Times. His Gonzaga position involves photography for the publication of recruitment and alumni communications, magazines and websites. His challenge now is juggling the demands of Gonzaga's growth and staying fresh in his presentations.<br />
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Raj's father is from India and mom is from Wisconsin and he is the eldest of three. He has traveled to India about every 5 years and feels it is a second home. He wants a deeper understanding of the country's mystery and his connection to it. Using India as a reference for his experience in Rwanda, he is surprised at the demeanor of the Rwandan people. He finds them kind, helpful, and curious. They do not ask for anything (begging is strongly discouraged in Rwanda). He feels Rwanda is trying to re-brand itself as a country and the people are working hard to survive but also to support their country as it continues to rise. <br />
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As he works full-time, he also is pursuing a masters in creative writing at Eastern Univ. He loves telling stories and wants to enhance his photography with the written word. He also wants to continue to think outside the box in expanding his artistic repertoire with new media art. He would eventually like to be a film director.<br />
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While not behind his camera or writing, Raj plays violin in a Spokane-based hip hop band, the "Flying Spiders" and Americana music on his guitar, often writing his own songs.<br />
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Raj plans to write an article about HHNW and his experiences for the Spokesman Review as well as produce a short documentary for HHNW. We are all excited to see Raj's re-creation of our 2 weeks at King Faisal this October 2015.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1AJ3IxxZUO3ZGxo_nPRHn_YopV6C0_96Hr0ngq4XpNiSS7vgWSPwXVj0mAhbEFqwL_e0wCp9hYSgPooCgik9shyphenhyphen6ZR4nF8dYJQ3wvmLsxESJWlmjT77UYMH1i1VAhO1uEy_kgQcvwGNaJ/s1600/rajboys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1AJ3IxxZUO3ZGxo_nPRHn_YopV6C0_96Hr0ngq4XpNiSS7vgWSPwXVj0mAhbEFqwL_e0wCp9hYSgPooCgik9shyphenhyphen6ZR4nF8dYJQ3wvmLsxESJWlmjT77UYMH1i1VAhO1uEy_kgQcvwGNaJ/s320/rajboys.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raj talking with some kids outside the hospital</td></tr>
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<br />Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-47607503878575505372015-10-10T07:21:00.003-07:002015-10-10T09:37:38.800-07:00Erin San Angelo's Post<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">Here are some of Erin SanAngelo's Facebook posts, Thank</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">You ERIN! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZfgM-56ZHma9MWQobuk4HLpjFlwpffJBhfgwvsFaybUbYTC5bckYTAnaYYh-9iffixYlmhnn5AP7b6GhIZZZluutZys2vZ2dFfmMk8gB5kF3fmWL-9PJNYAmMiD0FfrZpC0H9c9Osq1r/s1600/erin+and+pt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZfgM-56ZHma9MWQobuk4HLpjFlwpffJBhfgwvsFaybUbYTC5bckYTAnaYYh-9iffixYlmhnn5AP7b6GhIZZZluutZys2vZ2dFfmMk8gB5kF3fmWL-9PJNYAmMiD0FfrZpC0H9c9Osq1r/s320/erin+and+pt.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">"Her name is Annonciata, she was my first heart patient here in Rwanda, her smile will melt your heart. She loves singing and dancing, is a mother of two, and lo</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">ves the color Red and Blue. She lives in a rural area in the hills approximately 1.5 hours away from tis hospital. She was so happy to have her family visit today!!!! She said " thank you to everyone at HHNW!!!"</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #141823; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">"Today is day 3! Meet </span><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100003500024668" href="https://www.facebook.com/blaise.bugingo" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; text-decoration: none;">Blaise </a><span style="color: #141823; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">is one of our heart surgery patients doing awesome! He is a native to Rwanda and teaches English at a local high school! He cannot wait to continue his passion of Karate, currently a brown belt, pursuing black belt. HHNW has the pleasure of giving him his life back!I"</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcon-VgeIlQmJrdxbm8ZRyiP-VG-JTPlD11YhnoU6gmh03UatA461tunsfPVeaNHLjf5wtCw7k74gOcsT-BiJHbp1hmVAnG4UZiUMxAB4IlwD4uuX04lFBDP-Mjyd6GqRt0Z_s-wIklWLR/s1600/Erin+%2526+Blase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcon-VgeIlQmJrdxbm8ZRyiP-VG-JTPlD11YhnoU6gmh03UatA461tunsfPVeaNHLjf5wtCw7k74gOcsT-BiJHbp1hmVAnG4UZiUMxAB4IlwD4uuX04lFBDP-Mjyd6GqRt0Z_s-wIklWLR/s320/Erin+%2526+Blase.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #141823; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">Today, Saturday 10/10 is Blaise's 30th birthday. He thanked the team and individual nurses. His shared his birthday wish: when he is recovered, he wants to return to school for his masters and maybe his phD in English! Wow, a new life put to great use!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2mMc-7U_JAE8FNKwwVrZhJDC3gGbdtfzeRDbg43Dw-V8LxhtxEaQtD-D1PNjUTv6Xqh7qzo8d8B0QXJbBtxBrJ2T4YuKDM5HtrGETep62FEAxQ5dNqCk1EFWNYNwxyE3BkFQk3tCdYYJ/s1600/blaise.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2mMc-7U_JAE8FNKwwVrZhJDC3gGbdtfzeRDbg43Dw-V8LxhtxEaQtD-D1PNjUTv6Xqh7qzo8d8B0QXJbBtxBrJ2T4YuKDM5HtrGETep62FEAxQ5dNqCk1EFWNYNwxyE3BkFQk3tCdYYJ/s320/blaise.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #141823; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;"><span id="goog_2133690096"></span><span id="goog_2133690097"></span><br /></span></span>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-6533191462003269712015-10-10T06:19:00.001-07:002015-10-10T06:19:42.689-07:00Laura's Blog<b>In order to get you the most information about our 2015 trip, I am borrowing blog posts and experiences from some of our HHNW staff members. Here is a post from Oct 6, 2015 by Laura Schaffer, one of our telemetry nurses.</b><br />
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"Woke up this morning unsure of what I was going to do. That is perhaps the best feeling on a trip. Live in the moment, don’t worry about an hour from now.</div>
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Ran into a few of the volunteers at breakfast this morning, and decided to go with them on their errands. I got to experience the “Walmart” of Kigali, which is basically a huge store full of everything, just like Walmart! Got a watch (kind of important as a nurse when there are no clocks on the wall) and then got to see basically the stuff behind the curtain. In order to make this trip possible, a lot goes on behind the scenes.</div>
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There are newsletters and phones to be programmed and things have to be bought in order for us as a team to be successful. And that is only one part of it! We have one guy whose job it is to make sure we have all of our electrical needs met and that our equipment doesn’t blow up when we plug it in. And that we have the correct plugs for everything. And we don’t put the power out in the entire hospital!</div>
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Speaking of power, our rooms are powered by our keys! So in order to have any electricity work in the rooms, there is a little place for your key to go and that turns on your power. Talk about never forgetting to turn your lights off!</div>
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We also had to basically buy all new phones when we got here. The teams in the past used cell phones with minutes when they got in country, but somewhere between two years ago and now, they got lost. The cell phone companies want everyone to have a smart phone, so they wanted us to buy all new smartphones for $50 a piece! multiplied by 20-30 people (we were able to find some of the old phones), that is a lot of money. So we went to one of the Rwandan nurses, who was able to take us to the black market to purchase some dumb phones for $13 a piece. Much more reasonable.</div>
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Of course then we had to program them all. Sandy and Cecelia programmed 38 of them, not an easy feat. It took 6.5 hours, and they had a Sim card to copy too!</div>
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Since I decided to volunteer today, I decided to take a crack at the last 7 phones. I had tips from previous times thankfully, but I’m pretty sure it still took almost 2 hours.</div>
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Tomorrow we are off to hike a mountain to see a species of gorillas of which there are only 300 left in the world. Only downside is I have to be up at 4 am. At least it is a long car ride there? Until tomorrow then…"</div>
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<b>Thanks, Laura</b></div>
Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-14073340183156466412015-10-10T04:28:00.002-07:002015-10-10T07:38:18.685-07:00Evariste, Why We Come To RwandaEvariste had his heart surgery in 2011 by HHNW. At the time he was 23 years old, he was enrolled in college but was bed-ridden, had very little energy, suffered from constant headaches and could walk only short distances because of his shortness of breath. It was a 2 year process for him to get to surgery. In 2009, he was identified as a candidate for surgery but the system of paperwork from his rural area to Kigali hospital dragged on as he became sicker His surgery was April 18, 2011, receiving a mechanical valve replacement. By May 2nd he was recovered enough to re-enroll in university, the School of Finance and Banking with a scholarship from the government. He graduated in June 2013 after 3 healthy years in school and then began his masters in September, finishing August 2015 with a MBA, specializing in project management thanks to the financial assistance of a HHNW member. His biggest health challenge after surgery was stabilizing his INR, which took about 1 year.<br />
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Together with another post surgery patient (Team Heart 2008), Jean Paul, Evariste works with the Rwanda Cardiac Patient Network. This is a network of 521(to date) patients in Rwanda who have had cardiac surgery. Evariste coaches them and their families to come up with a treatment plan that is unique and workable for their particular situations, He also works as a project manager for a micro finance program started by Team Heart (Boston) to help post cardiac surgery patients write business proposals to receive micro-financing to start small, sustainable businesses. Some of his "projects" were giving money to a woman who makes fabric bags and jewelry; another man works with a cell phone company who transfers money by cellphone. The man earns a living on the interest charged with each transfer. Another patient is selling charcoal and has earned enough money to buy,his wife a sewing machine so she can sew curtains, adding to their family income. The list of small business includes agriculture as well.<br />
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When each of the four international cardiac surgical teams come to Kigali to operate, Evariste always visits the patients in the hospital, counseling and advising them to allay their fears about the surgery and life beyond. He is definitely a poster child.and dedicated patient advocate.<br />
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He also works with the Non-Communicable Disease Alliance for East Africa in conjunction with the Rwandan Heart Association and the Rwandan Diabetes Association to raise public awareness of rheumatic heart disease.<br />
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Evariste is indebted to both the Salvation Army and his parents. In 1994, post genocide, the Salvation Army came to Rwanda to give humanitarian aid to vulnerable families. In 1995, Evariste was school age and the Salvation Army paid for his primary and secondary school He is an active member in the Salvation Army. During his illness, his parents lost everything in order to pay for his medical expenses. Evariste is so proud to have recently purchased a new home for his parents in their village.<br />
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Now feeling healthy and strong and running 5K each day, Evariste dedicates his work in gratitude for his cardiac surgery. He recently quoted on his Facebook page, "Without you (HHNW), my name does not exist on the map of Rwanda. Thank you HHNW for what you have done for us Rwandans, you have saved my life". <br />
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This is why HHNW comes to Rwanda.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV36sx9pRTExAU1QrsLB-gV44Ks7jPHuI1BwnQI0oDXKYINEk5KRsuj1fO18Sw-SdqgqulVHdaOe0LQDlXGpA9OrTKFFZn_ZoiWwj4WJnJd6lsyX7abZcq__DymrCCtgOEF77kryaH8rzk/s1600/IMG_0238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV36sx9pRTExAU1QrsLB-gV44Ks7jPHuI1BwnQI0oDXKYINEk5KRsuj1fO18Sw-SdqgqulVHdaOe0LQDlXGpA9OrTKFFZn_ZoiWwj4WJnJd6lsyX7abZcq__DymrCCtgOEF77kryaH8rzk/s320/IMG_0238.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evariste and Dr. Sam Joseph 2015</td></tr>
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Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-64419469990732553842015-10-10T03:13:00.002-07:002015-10-10T03:13:38.744-07:00Rwandan Money<br />
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Every trip to Rwanda, we write about the Rwanda money. We are always struck by the conversion rate from $ to FRW (Rwandan Francs). The sheer amount of bills plus coins is shocking. To exchange money, one brings fresh, clean $100 bills to a money exchange kiosk (not a bank if you want the best exchange rate!). The bills have to be have been printed no later than 2007.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rwandan Franc Converter:</span></b><br />
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$100.00 @ FRW 75000 $ 10.00 = FRW 6000<br />
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$ 50.00 = FRW 37500 $ 5.00 = FRW 2500<br />
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$ 20.00 = FRW 1300 $ 1.00 = FRW 500<br />
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<br />Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-42797242178629032542015-10-10T00:49:00.001-07:002015-10-10T00:49:45.150-07:00Hal's OMG Speech<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span class="im" style="color: #500050;"> Wed night 10/7, Hal Goldberg spoke at our group dinner. We wanted to share his witty comments. Some you may understand others I will try to put in reference.<br />OMG: We really are in Africa!<br />OMG: We really are staying in a hotel!<br />OMG Hal tried to blow up the electrical supplies.(there is a different current here)<br />OMG Sat morning: Look at all these boxes! (<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_795911689" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Saturday </span></span>morning was the first day of unpacking).<br />OMG <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_795911690" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Sunday</span></span> evening: It really looks like an OR, ICU and Telemetry unit!<br />OMG: Jamie, our pharmacist: "My blue stacked medicine holders are gone!"<br />OMG (as of Wed.night) We have operated on 6 patients: complex heart disease and this is a testimonial to our surgeons, physicians and staff. Four out of 6 were repairs of valves rather than new valvular replacements.<br />OMG We really did bring the right medicines!<br />OMG Does Jim Dixon (biomedical engineer) ever stop working?<br />OMG We admitted 7 patients <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_795911691" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Monday</span></span></span>OMG The physicians changed the schedule again!<span class="im" style="color: #500050;"><br />OMG George is here from Australia? (George Shortis, pharmacist with 25 years humanitarian trips)</span>OMG Josh arrived from Istanbul not Amsterdam.<br />OMG we can really care for patients 2000 miles from home.<span class="im" style="color: #500050;"><br />OMG That really is a lion! In reference to the group that went to the National Park reserve Akagera where there are 2 lions that are not often seen. We have great excursions with great snacks!<br />OMG They have changed the schedule again!<br />OMG The pregnancy test is STILL not back!<br />OMG Hal is drawing another diagram.</span>OMG The gorillas were found at 7000ft elevation! (reference to the excursion/hike to see the gorillas in the wild).<br />OMG Corri's mom is GREAT! <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_795911692" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Sunday</span></span> night, Corri "facetimed" her Mom and introduced her to a lot of the team that were with her.<span class="im" style="color: #500050;"><br />OMG In Summary: We really are in Africa!<br />Then Hal graciously and sincerely thanked Sandy (his wife) for her tireless work to make this trip happen successfully.<br /></span></span></span></blockquote>
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Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-5868843772800792862015-10-08T07:00:00.001-07:002015-10-08T07:00:34.001-07:00Cecilia, sonographer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Meet Cecilia, one of our sonographers otherwise called echo techs. Cecilia is originally from Colorado but citizen of the world would be more apropos at this stage of her life! Shortly after college, she worked in a lab where her job would be cut. Her supervisor suggested she become an echo tech because she loved to travel. She attended school in Spokane where she met Jeff Harmson. HHNW's other sonographer. (See Jeff's profile in this blog 2013)<br />
Cecilia's career moves are a checkerboard of the world map. She started at Duke Univ in North Carolina then went to Sydney, Australia, Singapore, California, Colorado, Utah, Massachusetts, and Saudi Arabia. She has always practiced her skill either directly with patients, teaching other sonographers how to use equipment, and working directly for research and development for HP/Phillips Co. She also has a passion for lavender and had a 1 acre farm where she harvested the lavender for sachets and/or essential oils. She recently moved to Florida to be near her brother and his family. She truly loves her profession and revels in where it can take her.<br />
Cecilia is also a white water guide (in her spare time) and enjoys guiding private groups. Her life's desire is to visit each of the 196 countries of the world. She has been to 51 now and says she needs to live to 104 years to be able to accomplish her goal. Rwanda is her 51st country and first visit to Africa. We are happy to oblige her as she helps out HHNW this year.<br />
<br />Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-84664478985487843072015-10-08T05:56:00.001-07:002015-10-10T07:36:53.426-07:00Jen Gregory<br />
This year, Jen is our lead in the ICU and this is her second trip with Healing Hearts. Being a<br />
lead means scheduling of all the nurses, packing all supplies to ship or bring to Kigali from<br />
Spokane and unpack and set up the ICU here at King Faisal Hospital.<br />
Jen has always wanted to be a healer and came to nursing through massage therapy. She<br />
trained in massage in Minnesota and used her training as a stepping stone to her nursing<br />
career. She loves that massage has given her a holistic approach to healing and still<br />
incorporates it in her nursing. She used to see herself as a pediatric ER nurse but really loves<br />
adult ICU. She likes the autonomy she has in the ICU as well as its' fast pace and using her<br />
critical thinking skills.<br />
Her short term goals are to finish her online training for her BSN which she is working on now<br />
while working full time. She is putting her Global Health class to test! Becoming a nurse<br />
practitioner and possibly a hospital administrator is perhaps in her future.<br />
She loves HHNW mission here in Rwanda. What she likes about being here is the spirit of the<br />
patients, ministering to their recovery but also being able to teach the Rwandan nurses how to<br />
care for the post surgical patients. She sees a lot of growth and advancement in their skills<br />
because of the teaching that has been and is being done by the 4 worldwide teams that do this<br />
surgery at King Faisal. She recently saw a quote that rang true for her, "I need Africa more than Africa needs me."<br />
Jen has two interesting connections with HHNW. On our 2013 mission, Ingrid Barte joined our<br />
team from San Francisco, knowing none of the Spokane team members. Jen and Ingrid have<br />
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kept up their friendship and will be traveling in South Africa together after this trip. The other<br />
connection is when Jen was younger, she babysat for Sue Silver's two sons. Sue joined us this<br />
year as a volunteer!<br />
Just before Jen left for Rwanda, she became engaged and we congratulate her lucky groom!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rahema after surgery 2013</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rahema returned 2015</td></tr>
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<br />Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8337012002487406810.post-13943009824195437912015-10-08T03:34:00.001-07:002015-10-08T06:39:56.002-07:00African Coffee<br />
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Rwanda has a rich history of and present day production of coffee. We have found a drink and we are crazy about it! King Faisal hospital has a new coffee cafe and our staff have enjoyed this delicious pick-me-up. There are numerous add-ins to the coffee but ginger is the constant while other spices or chocolate may be added. Here's an approximate recipe.</div>
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1 shot espresso<br />
1-2 teaspoons grated ginger (yes, it is spicy)<br />
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon (optional)<br />
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)<br />
1 Tablespoon drinking chocolate (optional)<br />
1/4-1/2 Cup milk, heated or steamed</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">Add the freshly grated ginger, spices (if using) and/or chocolate to the hot milk. Let sit 2 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">Add the hot coffee to the above mixture and stir. Strain into a mug or cup</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;"> or chill it and try it cold!</span></div>
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Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00150980298103725880noreply@blogger.com0