We arrived at the Firestone guesthouse Friday night and were treated to a scrumptious dinner before turning in after our 24-hour trip from the United States. Saturday morning I had to be roused from my bed to go shopping. I bought two bolts of fabric that a local seamstress will turn into dresses for a granddaughter and some great-nieces. 

Sunday morning I woke up much better rested. We were out the door promptly at 7 a.m. and on our way to Firestone Duside Hospital, where many children and adults were waiting for us to be screened for surgery. I’m an anesthesiologist, so I spent the first part of the day looking for, unpacking and storing supplies. Mr. Peye, one of the Duside nurse anesthetists, briefed me on how to distinguish between a 110 and 220 volt outlet. I stocked my cart and set up my anesthesia machine and monitors. My big coup of the morning was guessing the password to set the clock on the monitor. It’s “biomed.” (Please keep that to yourself!)

After eating lunch with some of our hosts, I went to the screening clinic where I saw half a dozen patients for pre-op clearance. There I met a 10-year-old girl who was scheduled for an inguinal hernia repair. I talked  to her mother with the aid of one of the Liberian nurses and learned that the girl had bloody urine once a month. I talked her case over with Dr. Janelle Fox, one of our urologists, who was interested and got the girl’s surgery put on her schedule in case she needs a cystoscopy. 

It was a satisfying day, although I prefer the days that we do surgery. Tonight we’ll have another meal together, and I plan to turn in early as we leave for the hospital at 6:30 a.m. Monday morning for our first surgical day.

–Dr. Kevin Healy, CSI volunteer anesthesiologist

View more photos on CSI’s Flickr site.