By Sarah Woodrow, MD
Cooper Neurological Institute

This is part ten in a series of updates from Dr. Woodrow’s mission to Ethiopia. View additional posts from her on the Inside Cooper blog by clicking here to view all posts tagged “Ethiopia.”

I always leave Addis with mixed feelings. Happiness – having caught up with old friends and made some news ones. Sadness - at all the pain and suffering that never seems to change. Relieved to know that, in less that 24 hours, I will be having my first hot shower in 3 weeks. Physically exhausted from the long hours of operating and the on-call duties combined with preparing and delivering several formal lectures a week. Emotionally exhausted from all the ups and downs. Pride as I look at the developing neurosurgical program here knowing that whatever little difference I may have made in peoples’ lives here these new residents and surgeons will be able to do so much more. Excited to be going to home to my new puppy whom I have left in the care of friends, hopeful that he will still remember me. Twenty-one hours of travel time leaves a lot of alone time to reflect on the last 3 weeks.

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By Sarah Woodrow, MD
Cooper Neurological Institute

This is part nine in a series of updates from Dr. Woodrow’s mission to Ethiopia. View additional posts from her on the Inside Cooper blog by clicking here to view all posts tagged “Ethiopia.”

Today’s entry is about hope – hope and the Ethiopian spirit. Looking back on my entries for the past week the frustration in them is clear. And I think it is accurate. But, no doubt, it may have caused some of you to wonder why I come over here at all? The answer is easy – it is the people. The people, their hope and their spirit.

Nothing exemplifies this more than the children at an orphanage I have come to know in Lancia – another area of Addis. It is a small place – currently 19 children in all – all taken off the streets of Addis. Some are truly orphans, others are runaways. Almost all of the current children were amongst those I met over 4 years ago on my first trip to Addis. The orphanage is run by YWAM (Youth with a Mission). It is an international Christian organization. Not being a religious person, I have to admit I am not particularly interested in the organization – or their message. I keep returning because of the children.

They range in age from 6 to 18. All are in school. That is part of the deal. They get food and shelter. In return they must attend school and church. They all have ambition and goals. I am sure that was not the case when they first came here. Read the full story

By Sarah Woodrow, MD
Cooper Neurological Institute

This is part eight in a series of updates from Dr. Woodrow’s mission to Ethiopia. View additional posts from her on the Inside Cooper blog by clicking here to view all posts tagged “Ethiopia.”

Things come to a head on Wednesday. It is our designated operating room day, but because I am operating by myself, it becomes a challenge. Between the language issues and the limited equipment, negotiating the OR becomes a nightmare.

They have scheduled me several small cases anticipating difficulty. They underestimated the problem. The first child arrives without any blood crossmatched. Given the size of the procedure and the age of the child significant blood loss is likely. I argue with the anesthetist that in the interest of efficiency the child should not be sent to the main laboratory to wait in line to have his blood collected. Instead, we should collect the blood there and have someone take the sample for urgent crossmatch. Eventually, I win the argument, but not before I have already managed to get someone to call for the next patient to come to the OR so we can start her case while waiting for the blood. My plan is quickly foiled when that second patient arrives also without a crossmatch. Before I can call for the third patient the blood for the first patient magically appears and we head to the OR – already 2 hours behind schedule.

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By Sarah Woodrow, MD
Cooper Neurological Institute

This is part seven in a series of updates from Dr. Woodrow’s mission to Ethiopia. View additional posts from her on the Inside Cooper blog by clicking here to view all posts tagged “Ethiopia.”

A pediatric patient with hydrocephalus, a build up of cerebral spinal fluid in the head.

The frustration has set in. That’s how I know I am feeling better. Last week between the jet lag, the cold and some mild but constant GI symptoms I was quite relieved just to get through the day. This week, I want to work. That’s why I am here, afterall. But it is a constant struggle. Monday it takes the anesthetist 3 hours to get our patient ready so that we can start our case. It is a 15 month-old boy with a bad brain tumor. We operate for 7 hours straight. I am still not sure if it is fatigue or common sense talking when I decide then that given the location of the tumor, the amount of bleeding that has occurred, our limited equipment and the likely diagnosis better to quit while I am ahead rather than risk causing further harm. At the end of the case the anesthetists tells the resident that he will never again agree to do a neurosurgical case – it took us too long. I refrain from telling him that I had planned for a 10 hour case given the situation and that the 3 hour delay in start did not help the situation. I was not impressed.

Tuesday and Wednesday all of the neurosurgical faculty and residents are off at a course. That left me to run the OPD (outpatient department/clinic) all by myself. Normally there are about 40 patients to see in a morning. The clinic nurse is my translator. Fortunately I have done this clinic before, and I know both the system and the nurse well. The clinic is like a walking textbook of neurosurgery. About half of the patients are pediatric. I find these patients both the most interesting but also the most devastating to deal with. Almost all of them are surgical candidates. Most have various congenital malformations of the central nervous system. Several have hydrocephalus (a build up of cerebral spinal fluid in the head). This results in them having heads that are at least twice the size of normal and that look eerily alien-like. This can occur for a number of different reasons including infection, tumors and in association with congenital disorders.

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By Sarah Woodrow, MD
Cooper Neurological Institute

This is part six in a series of updates from Dr. Woodrow’s mission to Ethiopia. View additional posts from her on the Inside Cooper blog by clicking here to view all posts tagged “Ethiopia.”

It is wedding season in Addis. I guess this makes sense since the wet season is coming to a close and the weather warming up a bit. Today, one of my oldest friends in Addis – Abdissa is getting married and I am invited to join in the celebration. I met Abdissa on my first trip here. At the time he was the director of a small Christian orphanage; he and his 22 children were my surrogate family. No doubt I will write about the amazing kids in a future entry, today is about Abdissa.

I rush to make it to the church for the 11am start as indicated on the invitation to find out that I am one of the first guests to arrive. I sit next to one of the former orphanage kids and listen to an hour of preaching and gospel singing, all in Ahmarhic, the local dialect. The ceremony itself doesn’t start until after noon. I am not sure whether to blame traditional wedding tardiness or what I have observed as a cultural indifference for punctuality but given that the church really did not start filling up until 11:45 I can’t help but think the latter.

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