More visitors

Lifting up the trusses

Bob and his team working on the roof

Stewart getting window panes ready to paint

The UK ladies at work counting and bagging pills

The phone shop

Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick

I was able to spend last Sunday afternoon with a long time friend Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick from Washington, DC who came in to be a comsultant for a University of Colorado and University of Zimbabwe program held last week. It was great to catch up on things.

Another busy week and 6 more visitors joined us on the 19th from the UK. Mike and Gilly, Dez and Veronica and Lorraine and Stew all from the UK arrived to help us. Mike and Gilly run our UK Chidamoyo Trust who have helped us with many projects at the hospital. They were half partners on our new building project of the Pediatric extension and the Nurse Station/Trauma room. We quickly put the men to work painting and the ladies counting pills and doing some needed paperwork! They left Thursday early morning for 3 nights and 4 days at
Rhino Camp in Kariba—so we will welcome them back for another week on Sunday
night (tonight).

We have been busy trying to get the roof frame on before Bob leaves next week. We don’t have enough money to buy the tin to put on yet but the frame is the hardest part and needed
Bob to direct that before he left. So he is working flat out 6 days a week to get it done. We have threatened to not let him on the plane if it is not done-ha!

Cheryl is down to 5 days left at Chinhoyi Hospital and counting so she is happy—I think the word is ecstatic! She will be able to settle down her and we have many patients waiting for her needed services. I hope they appreciate the free labor they got from her for the last 3 months! The good part is she knows Chinhoyi better than the rest of us from all her time there. We are so thankful to the Nick and Lindale Adams family who kept her in their home and feed her. Their kids, Zane, Trent and Serene kept her well entertained by playing games with her!

Well last month our transformer for ZESA at the township blew up and so we have no electricity to our cell tower and no phone. Luckily our transformer here is still working. People have found a small corner outside of the hospital to make calls from. We call it the phone shop and all day and night there seems to be people there making calls!

I have been very sick for the past week with an inflamed gallbladder—no stones. Not much pain but a lot of fevers and chills, which really knock me out! I didn’t miss any work but several times
would break for a nap in the doctor’s office in order to keep going. They are treating it as an infection and hopefully it will settle down so that it doesn’t have to be removed! After 9 days I think I have finally broke my fevers and am getting some strength back! It’s hard to keep up with visitors and not feel well. They have been very understanding!

This week ZESA has been very generous. Right now we are working on a 45 hours
straight record! They were here to collect money on outstanding bills today and when I asked them why the electricity has been so good this week they said they have shut off massive
amount of customers for non-payment so now the amount needed is less—wow, are
we happy or what!

We welcomed 2 more visitors from London, James Eason and his father who are here to oversee their school programs that we help them run. They are here until Wednesday morning.