Meeting of the Minds: Advancing Neurosurgery In Ethiopia

This being my fourth visit to Addis over 6 years I have seen many things change at the hospital.  And with each new development the cynical part of me wonders – occasionally out loud – whether this is truly progress or whether in adopting a western model of medicine …………

I have a confession to make – I have a housekeeper here in Ethiopia.  Her name is Wubi.  She is widowed.  She has 4 children that she has raised on her own.  Her oldest works as a receptionist, the next as a stewardess at Ethiopian airlines.  Her two youngest are both boys – one is [...]

Clinic day is always a crazy day. It is Tuesdays. The waiting room is overflowing with patients – they spill out into the hallway. There are crying children, there are moaning women.  Some are limping, others are blind. Many patients are accompanied by one or more family members – several have to be quite literally [...]

Less than 24 hours on the ground and I am at the hospital.  Rounding.  With Azarios, the resident currently assigned to Neurosurgery at the Black Lion Hospital.  I remember him from last year.  He was an intern then – on his general surgery rotation at the same hospital – trying to get involved in anything [...]