Mount Elgon and Monday

On Sunday, Sarah and Lyanne went hiking at Sipi Falls, near (on? we're not entirely clear) Mount Elgon, about an hour outside Mbale. The scenery was breathtaking; the area is primarily a farming community (growing San Arabica coffee, and Matooke 'bananas'), so it was very lush and green. The hike was "at times strenuous," but we made it -- even though at one point, as we huffed and puffed up a hill, we were passed by a couple of girls who looked to be about 10 years old, both walking barefoot, both carrying giant bags of corn on their heads. :)
Monday we were back on the wards. Sarah had two quick catches while Lyanne stayed with a lady who was having her first baby. It was Lyanne's first time doing an episiotomy, but our tutor, Angela, kept reassuring her that the prompt delivery probably saved that baby's life. The baby needed a little bit of resuscitation, but was doing well within a few minutes. The two of us also did a resuscitation for a cesarean all by ourselves -- a milestone for both of us!

We had offered to do a quick course on neonatal resuscitation for some of the clinician students who we've been encountering at various times on the ward. One of the more outgoing students, Denis, had asked Angela if we could teach him how to resuscitate a few days ago, and Angela offered that we could do a quick course for him and some of his colleagues after their classes today. We were expecting maybe 4 or 5 people to show up -- there were over 30! We had students standing in the back of the room, and peering in through the windows to get a better view! Among other things, we emphasized not holding the baby upside-down by the ankles -- hopefully if nothing else, a few of the clinicians will take that message away from the session.

We have discovered that Mbale seems to specialize in (East) Indian food -- we tried out a new restaurant today and it was fantastic! We certainly didn't expect to be enjoying excellent palak paneer and chicken tikka masala in small-town Uganda!

And at last -- we managed to upload photos! (Sorry it took us this long, Mom!)

The ant hill in the garden on the hospital grounds in Kampala:

 Lyanne and Sarah outside lower Mulago hospital, in Kampala.

 The labour and delivery ward in Mbale:

 Bicycle parking at the hospital in Mbale:

 The toilets at the Trade Show. Let us never again complain about the port-o-lets at the PNE!

 View from above Sipi falls. Note the ubiquitous cows.

 Intrepid trekkers, with one of the Sipi Falls waterfalls in the background (and another cow. If you've ever donated to a charity that bought a cow for a family in Africa, I think we've met her. The cow, I mean.)

 Eat local!