Mali

I had the opportunity to got to Mali (not to be confused with the tropical vacation island of Bali) with Interplast, as head nurse for our surgical team. It was an exhausting, rewarding 2 weeks and I love being able to use my nursing skills to travel and help improve peoples lives. We worked long days and did some big cases; 70 procedures in 8 days of work! I love meeting and working with the medical team on these trips. It's nice to associate with like minded people, many of whom put me to shame with the number of these trips they have been on and places they've traveled. (Most of them are twice my age, I guess i have time to catch up).

Gabriel Torre Hospital was our home for 2 weeks. All I saw of Bamako the first week was our hotel, the hospital, and the 2 block walk from the hotel to the hospital.

We hit the ground running. While the physician's were running clinic (evaluating patients for surgery), the nurses were setting up the OR getting ready for the coming days. This was the clinic waiting hall, at the end of the day. We had people waiting when we arrived, filling 3 hallways.

I limited pictures i took in the OR, I love surgery, but realize that most people get a little grossed out by it (and i was busy working!)

Our resources are very limited on these trips and we get creative in how we do things. We used a gown to cover the feet, not to keep them warm, but to cover the smell!

There are always a few patients that catch our hearts. There was a 16 year old boy who was like a gazelle (tall and lean). He grabbed a live wire and was electrocuted, he has burns on both his legs leaving him without skin from his knees down. We did a skin graft on one leg and a dressing change the next week. He got to know the team members names and would great us when we did rounds. He was so sad that we were leaving and wouldn't be able to help him with the other leg. I wish we could have done more. (This is the gazelle and his mom in his hospital room he shares with 6 other patients. There is no hospital cafeteria, the patient family members cook in the hallways to feed them. Nursing care is minimal).

There was another little girl, about 12 years old, that was picking fruit with a stick and hit a power line. She has holes in her wrists and palms, and severe burns below both her knees. As we were removing her bandages to prepare for surgery her toes on her right foot came with the bandages. This is just one story among many, she's lucky to have survived.

The majority of our procedures were burn reconstructions; hand, arm, leg, and foot contractures. We all sat back realizing that every patient we saw and were able to help there were 100 more out there with similar problems. It was sad, yet rewarding to know that we were able to help so many people.

This was the only view I saw for the first week, from the supply room. It was fascinating to watch the people and glimpse into their lives. This is a mosque. There was a man that filled the tea pots, the patrons took them, sat in the bench and washed their feet before they entered the mosque to pray.

The women's side was on the other end of the bench.


Another view out the supply room window.

We had a lot of help from the local workers, such a blessing!
Our nurse educator arrived a week before the rest of the team, did some teaching, and identified those that were interested in learning from us. I worked with 2 local OR nurses (Gandjingo is in the picture with me bel0w) during the week, they were a great help and eager to learn.
We had a whole gaggle of residents and interns watching and working. I reviewed sterile procedure and proper gloving with them many many times in the weeks we were there.

One of our helper was Moussa. He was a man of many talents: washing our instruments, gathering linen, transporting patients, or anything else that was needed. We could not have made it without him.
Marion was my fellow OR nurse, a very experienced OR nurse. Her goal is to make it to as many countries as she can. She hit at least 50 so far.

These are my fellow "young" team mates. Richard is the Webster Fellow and will be traveling on most of the Interplast trips this year. He coined the phrase of the trip:
"T.I.A. This Is Africa"
We used it constantly. Things never went as we planned- (T.I.A.)

Manon was my roommate. She is fabulous! It helps liking the person you're rooming with for 2 weeks.

I have to give a little shout out to this fabulous drink: Gingembre.
It was my drink of choice when we went out. Basically it's ginger juice, with fresh squeezed ginger! Everyone made it just a little different, sometimes it was so strong it made your eyes pop!
We ate a lot of Capitaine (the local fish from the Niger River). Everyone served capitaine- fried, braised, kabobed, it was generally a safe dish to order.
Bamako was surprisingly diverse in it's food options, we had French, Thai, Tex Mex, and Italian.

A few views of Bamako...
We were able to get out and about over the weekend as well as our last day there.

We took a little boat tour of the Niger River. (The fisherman were catching Capitaine!)

The nice things about these trips is that we get the weekend off and have a little time to see the sights and experience the culture.
We took a 24 hour whirl wind trip down to Dogon Country on Saturday. We woke up early, took a flight to Mopti, got in a land cruiser, visited a few villages, slept at a dirty hotel (T.I.A), and flew back to Bamako the next morning!
This was the our guide in the male circumcision cave.

The adobe village

The Dogon bury their dead in caves on the cliffs.

I love the kids. Even if it was set up for the "tourist" the singing and clapping was adorable!

And the girls carrying water on their heads, amazing!
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This was the town elder. The people come to him with questions, he writes them in the sand, places peanuts next to the questions, and a fox comes at night, eats the peanuts and answers the questions...

I can't remember the significance of this building. The end of the day became a blur, but it's pretty.

This waterfall only flows during the rainy season (we were there at the end of it), there are cliff dwellings below it.

Timbuktu- we didn't make it there. Really wish we could have, just to say i've been...

Yet another eye opening experience. I am so grateful for the opportunity to travel and experience another culture and part of the world.