22nd September 2014. Start of second week in Kimilili.

Monday morning, and the whole team were up at Dreamland. We started shortly after 0830! And the first patient was shorter than expected, so we had done three by the time we took a late lunch. Then the delays started as a media team arrived to interview the patients' mums and some staff. We waited for them to take photos of theatre when we weren't working.

Agnes, the lead nurse in theatre, was down with malaria over the weekend, so Matron Gile scrubbed for the first two. Agnes did make a show since she lives on site. Matron is a spinster. Evelyn had transport problems and worked on the wards when she arrived. So Matron also did recovery, a real multitasking leader! We finished at 1630, and then the pre-op visits for the next day and the post-op visits too. The rain started at 1450 with thunder & lightning ten minutes after Anne-Marie set off walking  back; her plan was to go to the market, but she relinquished that idea! We bumped back in the Landrover; just eleven of us today.

One more cleft lip arrived during the day. We could do with another three or more now that Meshack has returned. Meshack's Dad wants the surgery for his child, but his Mum didn't. That is both a cleft lip and palate which can be done together in Meshack's age, so counts as two ops for Smile Train.

Two more patients have gone home today, a day earlier than the equivalent patients in the Gambia. There, many got infections; at Dreamland they have all kept clean. It is a tribute to the way the staff take pride in keeping Kimilili's Christian Hospial clean. Their commitment to the patients is so different.

I'm struggling with these blogs. I seem to have lost two in the last three days, but i'm sure I saved them!

Sunday included A.C.K. anglican church with Anne Lipson, with a 60-strong Sunday school that led the singing with three African drums alone. A message onhow fearfully and wonderfully made we are, and an opportunity to introduce ourselves.

Lunch was at the Mount Crest Hotel, but it was samosas again. Dinner was at Becky & Jo's, with a shepherd's pie with Mike's lime and chilli homemade sauce from two years ago. Lorraine, a Canadian primary school teacher, hrlped prepare the meal since Becky had been up from 0500 sorting out the charge on the XRay machine which is now working! It had to be up to 112-113 KV but it had gone to 114.5, so she wheeled the machine up & down the top corridor till the charge had settled. And she wore a lead apron for eleven hours, such is her dedication to the hospital, as sh and the engineer followed telephoned instructions from the UK.

Hannah phoned at the end of dinner, but rang off quickly when she heard I was dining out! Pity! Sue phoned at about 2130hrs having put out the rubbish having driven home non-stop from Bristol.

Today our laundry has benn done by Catherine. It's 50 Kenyan shillings per item, so I clocked up £10 of laundry bill.

Tony had his thyroid function test repeat today, and he remains hyperthyroid on his unpleasant treatment, but his shakes have settled and his energy levels are picking up. And he is working at his compter as it approaches 2000hrs. He has usually been in bed by now!