Home again, home again....

I arrived safely home Friday night after a long, but uneventful trans-Atlantic trek. No big mushroom cloud of ash was going to stop us....we just skirted the burping volcano adding a mere hour to the 24 hours of total travel from Tenwek to Denver. The best part of the whole two month adventure was Tim's open arms and big smile at the end of the international terminal runway when I got through customs--it is great to be home!

Things I have learned....

--Kenya (and its people) is a beautiful, rugged, tenacious place
--The medical and surgical need is huge and often overwhelming at times
--The staff at Tenwek are gracious, hard-working, and patient with the visiting staff as we bumble through learning a new system in very foreign surroundings
--Caterpillars are truly evil creatures that bite, sting, and attack hands and feet and cause significant loss of limb all over Kenya
--Mt Kenya is a very high, cold, beautiful mountain
--You don't need half the 'stuff' you think you do including more than two outfits for two months, CT scans, or ice cream (well, maybe I did die a little inside after seven weeks without ice cream)
--Almost anything can be accomplished in the OR with a 3-0 vicryl
--With just a little 'decontamination' and Cydex, practically everything can be reused including pleuravacs, bovies, bowel staplers, tru-cut biopsy needles, and ventilator circuits
--An African safari is a must do, once-in-a-lifetime event for every human being on the planet
--There is no place like home

Thank you for all of your support and prayers over the last two months. I am truly blessed to have such an infallible and steadfast group of family and friends--you all made this wonderful adventure possible.