Today is our final day in Addis Ababa. There were a few more cases performed in the OR, and the patients from yesterday were checked on. The most important part now is to make sure these patients will be cared for properly when we leave. The plan of care for each patient was discussed with the residents and they should be able to follow-up with everyone and make sure they are healing well. Our audiologist has continued to perform hearing exams at Makanissa and she has also fit some children for hearing aids. Before we left Cure Hospital, the staff had a going away celebration to express their gratitude. I have learned so much from the beautiful children of Ethiopia, so it is hard for me to say good-bye. Many of these children have suffered, but they are still making the most out of their situations and finding ways to survive and even smile and play the way children should. This trip was a great success and it is because of all the hard work from donors, the staff who traveled and the staff at Black Lion, Cure and Makanissa. I have also learned how difficult these trips can be, but with everyone working together no task is impossible.

As the end of our trip draws near there is a push to complete the tasks we set out to do, and make sure patients are well cared for when we leave. At Cure, there were more tympanoplasties, tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies performed. Every morning before we start OR procedures, we follow-up on the patients from the day before, and change their dressings. All of the children are doing well one day after their procedures. One boy was actually outside running around outside, playing with friends when we went to check on him. This brought a smile to everyone’s face, to see that one day after surgery he was doing so well. At Black Lion Hospital there was bad news about the young lady who had come in with difficulty swallowing the first day we arrived. It turned out she had a tumor in her esophagus and would need further evaluation to determine how to proceed. This creates a significant challenge because we must now wait for pathology results from a sample that was taken. This young lady has a long journey ahead of her, and even though we were not able to “cure” her on this trip the surgeons will return and work to treat her condition.

As the day began efforts were being made in order to secure business Visas for the staff to work at Cure Hospital. While that was going on I went to Black Lion Hospital to work with most of the staff in the OR. The day started with an adorable 4 yr old named Omar, who unfortunately had Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis (RRP). He was diagnosed in January 2010 and since then he has had 13 surgeries in order to treat his condition. When this young boy was diagnosed he had a history of 4 months of hoarseness that eventually progressed to sever shortness of breath. According physicians at Black Lion this is common. Many children do not have access to doctors and they are only brought to the hospital when their symptoms become life threatening. Many of the children from Black Lion Hospital suffer from RRP and often require tracheotomies because they present at an advanced stage of their disease. The second case was an 8 year old boy who also had RRP. His condition was more severe and required him to have a tracheotomy. Both patients underwent microdebridement  in order to remove the papillomas.   A majority of the papillomas were removed, but both of these young boys will most likely undergo further surgery in the near future. Seeing the children at Black Lion was a sad reminder of how poor access to healthcare has devastated the lives of many young children.  Yet, many of these children still find joy in their lives, and even if they are not able to speak their smiles speak volumes.