It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Christmas is up!




Hysterectomy at Chidamoyo with Dr. Kabanzi and Dr. Kellert and myself doing anesthesia



Thanksgiving dinner at Chidamoyo



Students enjoying all that food!






Major is getting ready to eat!



Thanksgiving was celebrated here on Sunday November 27th. Thanksgiving Day is not a holiday here and so it is always a busy day and no time to cook the feast—so we usually have it on Saturday, but Major and family wanted to go home to plant that weekend so we had it Sunday night after church. We had Major and wife Patience, Dr. Kabanzi, Dr. Kellert and 3 medical students from University of Zimbabwe who are here for 4 weeks with us. We started by explaining what Thanksgiving was and they really got into the eating part!
We had planned on having chicken because turkey is hard to come by and very expensive here, but the driver didn’t get to the butchery in time to pick up the chickens I ordered and paid for, so we had one small chicken and roast pork with all the trimmings! We had a table full of food and those young men could eat. Cheryl (Dr. Kellert) made 2 pumpkin pies and an apple pie! So we really enjoyed and left some leftovers for some days.
We have been busy at the hospital and Dr. Kajese has been gone for a month as his father was critically ill, but now doing better and then he had a 2 week workshop that lasts until today and then he is coming home. He is most anxious to get back to the bush.
We stayed closed to home to cover for him and went 2 days to Harare to do some pre-Christmas shopping, visit the doctor, and pick up Major’s kids who finished school on the 30th of November. This is the end of the school year and the new school year starts on January . They were so excited to be out of school!
Saturday the 3rd was spent in decorating for Christmas—it took all day, but I got it done! I have 30 boxes of decorations so it takes time! Our electricity had been off all day from 12:30 a.m. due to a fault but it came back at 5:30 p.m. and we got to see the lights light up!
Last week we had a young 18 year old walk in having delivered a premie at home—still attached to the placenta. Dr. Cheryl Kellert went to take care of it and then she was in my office saying it is twins, and then 10 minutes later she was saying it is triplets and then within another few minutes—it is quads! Four babies and no IVF! First pregnancy. It was only about a 24 week gestational pregnancy so none lived beyond a few minutes after delivery. This was definitely a first for all of us!
Yesterday we had another first in the 31 years I have been at Chidamoyo. We did our first hysterectomy with Cheryl teaching as she worked with what instruments we have and did well. We also had a C/Section to start off the day. It was hot in the theater and the small air conditioner was struggling so she came out soaked with sweat! It was a great morning!
We also received word yesterday that she will be stationed in Chinhoyi to do her 3 months acclimatization to get her medical license here. She goes on Monday morning to arrange this. We are glad she will be close (3 hours) where we can refer patients and also she can come home on weekends. She will learn what can and can’t be done in the Province and meet with people we work with. Part of the time she will be living with Nick and Lindale Marshall Adams, missionaries in Chinhoyi. We are hoping this will be a great time for her and also it will go fast so we have her back here again soon.

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