First day in Tanzania and I’ve gone from our beautiful coffee plantation grounds thru breathtaking countryside, past poor neighborhoods to St Elisabeth’s hospital. We were to screen patients for pre op for our surgeons. We were greeted by masses of parents with their children hoping for a miracle. The parents were hopeful and their children well loved and adorable, little girls dressed in their Sunday finery like little dolls.
I saw so many little angels with horrific scars from burns-their limbs and bodies scarred into unnatural angles and shapes. A surgeon could fix it back at home in the US but not here. Then, there were the many chronic and congenital problems for which there was no quick solution. So many parents we had to disappoint. Yet, they were all grateful for our attention.