a day in the countryside

hospital...

i'm so busy with life that i'm neglecting my blog.

a week has gone by at the hospital and i've seen more than most people have in a life time. but it's not the cases that i am so impressed with rather the dedication and kindness of the staff, health workers, and patients. my friend, chenda, works as an anesthesia nurse full time then spends his entire weekend in phnom penh studying medicine. last saturday, all the surgical nurses and docs went out for an authentic khmer bbq - it was delicious and fun! cooking squid, chicken, beef, pork, and veggies at our tables surrounded by good company - can't get any better. the plan is to have them over to the hotel pool - post more on that later.


surgeries are going well - basically we are taking gross deformities and straightening them. only problem is the saws and instruments not being sharp. yesterday, i scrubbed in on what the doc said was his worse thyroid tumor case - we will know more in 3 weeks after the path comes back. keeping my fingers crossed

the hospital

i've been at the hospital for a few days now and each was a page out of an orthopedic textbook.

my first day…

spinal bifida
gunstock deformity
deformity from a proximal tibial greenstick fracture
neglected clubfoot
flexure contracture of the rectus femoris
subacute forearm compartment syndrome



That was just in the am

After a lunch break

It was on to small procedures
lots of flexure contractures of the rectus femoris
posenti methods
achilles lengthing


in my short time here, I have met so many dedicated doctors and nurses. volunteers from around the world and native cambodian doctors and nurses.

on day two we performed a distal humerus osteotomy for the correction of a gunstock deformity. the surgery went well – i would say smoother than back home. the only glitch was the saw and blade not matching but it was quickly fixed. the young boy did great and is now in post-op moving his fingers.

in the clinic we saw many children presenting with perthes disease, a disruption of the blood supply to the femoral head and fracture deformities that we will perform surgery on later this week..


more to come later….
unfortunately the internet is slow but fortunately i am busy with work and making friends. can’t wait to introduce you to the cambodian pavarotti, chloe, lauren, and the children of friendly house! i will also blog more about the hospital and surgeries.

cambodia

siem reap...
it does not feel like over a year since i have been here - the hot sun, the arid landscape, the vivid reds & oranges that pepper the landscape.

just as i exit the terminal, i run into my old guide, kean. it’s good to see a familiar face.


kean grew up under the khmer rouge and tells the stories of his childhood like they happened yesterday. in a matter of fact way, he relates the story of his friend fishing with a found grenade and losing a limb because he did not let go of it fast enough. with all the hardships he has endured, kean doesn’t let the past haunt him. instead, he embraces it. this makes him a little crazy but an awesome guide – even though he almost killed me last year in a nighttime boating accident (not a good idea to be on a boat without running lights). i noticed he wasn’t wearing his yellow guide shirt, but wore a crisp blue pullover instead. he explains he has a new job
maybe he was just a little too crazy to be a guide.


after checking into the hotel, i was dying for lunch and knew just where to go - I b-lined it for Khmer Kitchen!!! this place rocks! i ordered the most delicious spicy chicken, eggplant, & veggie sour soup (tastes like tom yum soup but better) and a huge bottle of angkor beer. it did not disappoint!!!

move over pho, i have a new favorite broth!

To digest - a stroll through the market.
seam reap has a small central market that has clothing on the periphery, then veggie, fish, and meat stands in the center. it was busy with people shopping, getting haircuts, eating lunching and of course drinking beer to celebrating the chinese new year.

leaving..

Tokyo daisuki!!!

today started early . 4.30am . with a a trip to

tsukiji fish market

this market is one of the largest fish and seafood markets in the world. it is located in central tokyo and opens around 3.00am with the arrival of fresh fish.


after a midmorning rest. sahori and lavinia arrive:


we spent the day at the national art center tokyo and roppongi

sahori is a gifted potter who was kind enough to take me around tokyo
she showed us world class architecture
and took us to the best organic lunch spot
and for sweets & tea

http://yufuku.exblog.jp/i9/

thanks sahori!
next time i am in japan i will be visiting lavina in yokohoma!
lavina is another gifted artist you will meet her later

tokyo

today, i explored tokyo with Masa


Masa is my good friend's (lolo - howbourgoise) friend. currently, he lives in tokyo, although, he does miss michigan. Masa took me around for a crazy day.


we started out in Asakusa, known for its temples. at the sensoji i picked my fortune and of course it was the unlucky one. after laughing it off, i tied it to a string to rid myself of it. Masa explained i was actually very lucky since it is very hard to pick that fortune.

yeah sure - masa.

next we went on to search for the otaku, people who obsessively love anime, often watching it with no sleep. at "tech town" -- success! there we found many otaku and experienced our first maid cafe! here girls dressed like anime maids and greet you with "welcome home, master" or "mo-eh"

http://www.cafe-athome.com/

after an interesting cup of coffee we moved on to lunch.

okonomi-yaki
flour batter+egg+cabbage+meat and griddle cooked with special sauce = delicious!

the afternoon was spent shopping, visiting more temples and drinking more coffee in Harajuku & Aoyama. this district reminded me of paris with its tree lined boulevard. the streets were filled with young japanese ready to spend money. here we wandered into the central park of tokyo and discovered the most beautiful and peaceful meiji shrine.




next dinner.

nothing beats beer and yakitori
ok i lied the the hamachi kama did!

dinner was awesome!!

- salmon sashimi - some kind of fish - hamachi kama - pork with tomatoes- yakitori -

yakitori, grilled bird, made from several bite-sized pieces of chicken meat skewered on a bamboo skewer and barbecued, usually over charcoal. often japanese eat this with beer.

the yakitori we ate:
nankotsu..chicken cartilage (the best)
kawa..chicken skin, grilled until crispy
tebasaki..chicken wing

other..all parts of the chicken mixed together



i got lost in translation

in the end it was a great day - thanks Masa!

i heart tokyo!