Samburu. il Pejeta. Nakuru. Masai Mara. Lake Naivasha

Satan himself. It's sad because some of the cows were a little unbalanced with the horns. Causing them to walk sideways, what a drunken sight.
The Lions have such an intensity about them. They almost pierce your soul with their eyes yet at the same time see right through you. As if to say I don't care for you but oh am I watching you. incredible and my favorite.
So many elephants. We drove right into a herd of about 40. It was fun to watch the family behavior, siblings teasing, mothers nagging, dads.... eating
This photo I actually caught while they were crossing, although maybe they were going to kiss but got camera shy.

Safari

I flew into Nairobi on Sunday morning. Spent the day... updating the blog shmog that was three weeks behind. hey-you do what you can with dial up. That night I stayed at the hotel to eat. Such good food, I was thoroughly enjoying myself until a large, very large man came over and asked to join me. awkward- He was from Pakistan spoke very little english but managed to keep repeating this phrase “ I have two wife’s but need three ” Needless to say I missed dessert. 

Monday morning started at 6:00 am. I met the two other women I would be joining. A mother and her daughter from Phili. We became friends quickly. So we drove out of Nairobi north towards Samburu. We passed through rich agricultural farmland, which looked like someone had copy and pasted The Netherlands, very green smooth fields with flowers. Did not look like Africa. Stopped at the equator had the demonstration of the water, clockwise and counterclockwise. Pretty interesting. Continued to the base of Mt. Kenya with mainly dry scrubland and open Savannah plains. 

We saw some game on the way in to the Lodge, Zebras, Elands and lots of birds. 
Samburu Serena Lodge and Resort is very nice... too nice. You are rolling through the Savannah and then you suddenly drop into a beautiful lush green tropical themed paradise. Most of the staff is decked out in Masai attire. I thought Ogio might appreciate this photo above. 
The monkeys are everywhere. Very playful, tonight one tugged at my pants and wouldn't let go. I had to kick it- not really he let go after a while. They make me smile, the hotel staff with turn on the sprinklers when they are around. One mans pain is another mans..er. girls pleasure. By the end of the week they will be hanging out at room number 56 :) 
This is a dic dic, they are everywhere in the reserve. Not very shy, about the size of a lab. We saw one head butting another today.
The vervet monkeys are also everywhere. Not a hard species to point out :)
I think the Lions had just finished eating, they were pretty lazy. David, our driver had to lock the doors because I kept trying to get out. 
Notice the bird in the buffalo's nose. wow, how annoying . Or perhaps a luxury, how nice to never have the need to blow your nose. The buffalo were huge! 
The Oryx, after seeing this photo I now know the meaning of "deer in headlights" phrase. They were beautiful. We saw probably 15 of them grouped together and their tails spin like little motors. Funny to watch, they tend to turn from you too. So you just see their white bums, tails shaking. Groovy-

The safari was fun. Tomorrow morning we get up at 6 am to see the early morning sessions. Then we are off to a Samburu village to see locals. After that more game drives.

This whole thing is kind of torturing me. Big fuzzies but no touching-

Home sweet Home

Bishop Stams, the catholic center where I am staying has been busy. Weddings, holidays and more outreach guests. I helped Winnie and Janet ( the two cooks, also my claimed african mothers ) prepare Sunday dinner. Ugali, potatoes, beef and spinach. It was interesting. Ugali is flour mixed, baked and then cooked. And when I say mixed- it is like stirring cement. 

The beef was easy. It is incredible cooking for 100 plus people all by fire. The staff knows hard work. And it's smiles the whole way through, laughing and pausing for occasional tea time.

It's funny how a meal can taste so much better when you help prepare it.

Emily took me to her friend Castro. He works for an NGO but by trade is a potter. Incredible work, he starts showing me some previous work and he pulls out these high end home magazines. He has no idea how good he is. He was very humble and kind. 
He then escorted us to Crying Rock. Which was a good thing because had he not been there we would have been charged. There are many stories regarding the rock but most believe it is Lot from the bible. He was told not look back or he would be turned to stone- hence the large rock. 
I started teasing Castro and his brother Benjamin. " Lot was one BIG guy " They laughed and laughed even harder when I started climbing it. Next year I am bringing my harness and rope. I'll show them.

This goes to show how if there is a will there is a way. The rock the kid is standing on is very narrow. Rises to a point. His balance was incredible. 

Post Mission Update

Things are going well. There are a few hang ups with patients but the majority is outside of HARTs control. So much corruption. Saw Charles, he was all smiles. His two sons joined him in the journey to the hospital. They were eager to tell HART thank you. They had thought for sure their fathers arm would be amputated. A similar thing happened to a friend and amputation was the result. They were shocked to see him after surgery.

Metrine with the arm has had some complications but is also grateful. So much weight was removed. When I interviewed Doctor Kwasa that was one of the famous cases. He mentioned that if someone had not woken up post surgery the record time has been three hours before case closed. He mentioned what an example it was for the doctors and nurses to stay ALL night to save her life. 

The young boy with sickle-cell has had minor infection but the young mother was so grateful for the service.

I think the doctors scared Michelle, as soon as she saw those scrubs coming her way she started crying. But her nails were still painted beautifully. The burns have improved drastically from the dermatone. Her mother was so cute. She had carried such a guilt from the accident. Coming home to a screaming child that had been burnt by sitting on the fire.

So many people say thank you. They keep asking when the american doctors are coming back. And they also mention that the american doctors need to stay for months not one week. Cases keep coming as you can imagine. 

This is two year old Brian from a village south of Kakamega. A canadian couple works at an orphanage by the time they heard about the doctors and made it to the hospital it was too late. But she gave me all and any information that we would need to contact him. She wants Brian to be first in line next year. Looks similar to Metrines case, she said by the end of the day he throws his arms on a desk and just sits because they are so heavy. 

Nairobi National Zoo

So from the pyramids I left Egypt *alone* to come back to Kakamega- BUT I missed my flight halfway there. Nairobi to Kisumu. So I spent the day at the zoo. It was a monday morning, which apparently is the perfect day to go I was the only one there. I mentioned up front to the guide, David. If you make it worth my while I will do the same for you.

At first he just gave me a lot of history regarding big animals... bla bla bla... until I started telling him about my lions at home. When he saw the photos of the Great Danes his mood changed. He walks over to the door of the adult cheetah cage. Opens and says, 'come. come' I wasn't sure if he just wanted to see alive feeding or what but I didn't even hesitate.

I walked in... to my little piece of heaven. Those who know me know that big, furry animals are my favorite. It was such a highlight of this whole trip. There were three, they watched me very closely but weren't shy. Rolling on their backs, licking my arms chasing each other. I will not forget the feeling. It was all very comforting to me. 

The baby lion was a little different. The cage cleaner goes ahead of me in the cage and the little 7 month old, named Kimberly (very common name over here for masculine)  jumps on him, playfully but fully unaware of his own strength and bite. I did pet him and play with him but could not stay close for very long. Not because I wouldn't have tried. They would not allow me :) It was still incredible. I wanted to take them with me. It was a good day, I tipped those who participated and left. very nice.

Egypt/Israel/Jordan

What an incredible time. 

Against all advice Kimball Crofts and Chris Wiseman decided we needed to rent our own cars and drive. Some would call it a death sentence but in truth it was such a blessing. So much freedom and I found it much safer then the cab drivers. We didn't hit any pedestrians but got pretty close to some camels. We got into Cairo late Sunday evening. We slept maybe 3 hours :) and started driving monday morning. I was surprised by how similar the surroundings felt. Much like Moab or Lake Powell. Excluding the turbans and camels :)

We arrived to Aquaba that day and decided to stay the night instead of traveling on into Wadi Rum. The Hilton Resort was very nice... a little too nice. Tuesday we got up, journeyed into Israel, which by the way was intense through security and so clean on the other side. After Israel we continued to Jordan where, Muhammed picture below picked us up and drove us to Petra. I wanted to take him home to my Grandma. A muslim Clark Gable :)
The view was incredible this is right before you get into Petra. And again below you feel like you are in Zion until you see it... The Monastary.

It was so unexpected. The grand awe of it all. It was quite moving. Almost emotional- at least for me with its striking beauty. So we arrived in Petra later that evening, took horses down to the Monastary but it was closing so we weren't able to go any further. Kimball befriended a local guide named Haidi that we worked a deal with for a very unique experience. 

The next morning we woke up around 5:30am to get to the Monastary by 6:30am. There Haidi met us with nine camels. The place was empty and so welcoming with its silence. We did the journey by camel. Then took the steps up to the Monastary. Quite a ways and pretty steep but very worth it. Haidi took us first to the top and we played around like 12 year olds until some locals below called the cops. ( by cellphone ) In the photo below you can see the middle column up top. We all peaked our heads over that- very scary- for some. You will also see Kim and I in the photo, the tiny specks of dirt in the doorway.

It was truly an experience of a lifetime. That night we had a turkish bath. Now that was awesome. I know what you are thinking, a big sweaty stone room filled with obese men. NO way. If you get the opportunity, do it. It was so fun. 

The Accident

I have received many emails regarding the accident. Here it is-

We are all ok. Emily shizibolli and Manoah Siema have been my close friends every day. The
accident happened on our way back from the World Aids Celebration Day.
We think while we were attending the driver snuck off and had a little
drink. He was fine on the way to the event but coming back he would
slow down and then go fast. It was very strange. We came around a
corner he lost control and hit the bank head on. He was going way too
fast. Emily cut her head, my legs were beat up but Manoah got the brunt
of it all. He cracked 3 or 4 of his teeth in front and cut open his
mouth, after the accident emily pulled me out of the car. my legs were
smashed and manoa slowly got out by himself, the driver was very
ignorant and insincere. He kept telling us to get back in the car- " everything is ok.
get in. get in." emily was yelling at him. " no your car does not
work- you will never drive us " manoah just kept spitting blood and my
legs were really hurting after the impact. After 30 min we finally found someone to
come get us and take us to the hospital. It was amazing to see people drive by as we all lay there on the side of the road. Manoah and I had x-rays. He
had several stitches inside the mouth, my muscles were just badly bruised with minor open wounds and emily had her head bandaged. It was a very interesting
perspective there at the hospital. If I had not known doctor O' Ketch
and Onyango, we would have waited for hours. Thank goodness I had
those connections and once they found out they rushed us in for
treatment. The health care here is a joke. I had to beg one of the doctors to look at my x- rays. Very interesting and so humbling

We reported to the police yesterday, which consisted of them getting our info and getting a hold of the driver telling him to contact us and figure it out. Everyone else has been taking care of
us. Rev. Marandu at the Catholic Center where I am staying brought me ice last night. Janet , my Africa mother brought me breakfast
this morning. what a great team here. emily has had some
migraines and minor head pain. Nothing a little percocet cant fix :)

It was a crazy day. I was grateful that we were all ok. I was also grateful for the unique insight. It's hard to really know Africa until you are treated as such. Be so grateful to America and the systems provided. Yes there are flaws but nothing compares to what it is like here. Be so grateful!!

All is well. Pray for Manoah though he got out of the hospital monday night and then at 6 am tuesday morning rushed to the hospital again for his wife who just had their fourth child. A little girl. Gorgeous!

Kate

Pediatric Ward

This was the young boy that captured my heart. James is what they called him. He was all over the place. He reminded me of a little "Opie" curious and full of discovery. He would play full heartedly with anyone and anything. After review of his case it was determined that he could not be operated on. If you look at his left arm  in the second photo below you will notice that it is abnormally large, tumor. When Doctor Faux and Williams were examining the child they found more under his armpit spreading towards his chest. It was the first time for me to hear a no. But of course he didn't understand, he wanted the balloon that the nurses had blown up using an old medical glove. 

He was so happy. He loved seeing the hospital uniforms. He would squeal with delight when you got close. I took my polaroid the last day and took photos of all the children that could not be helped. We gave the photos to the children's parents. They didn't understand and we didn't tell them. We just smiled and told them that their children were beautiful. They loved the instant photos.
Mackenzie playing with James above. 

Dan Faber also known as Mcgiver seen below carrying one of the children post operation. 

So many beautiful children. One of the cleft pallet operations pictured below. The blanket is from a local Utah young women's ward. 

Linda one of the recovery nurses holding a small child post surgery. 

This is Deena, the mission coordinator and Caprice. Burns from a fire caused his right hand to close to a permanent fist. 6 hours of surgery, Doctor Crofts and Doctor Williams opened each finger, used a graft from his lower pelvic area and in a few months he will be throwing baseballs like other boys his age.... or getting into trouble :) 

This ward was the hardest for me to capture. It was hard for me and I think many to understand. So many beautiful faces, unyielding smiles and hope. Although much was done, surgeries were performed, children were helped- still so many left undone, most due to circumstances outside the medical teams control. It's hard to see a new life cut short, doesn't make sense. 

Death is very foreign to me

Medical Mission

Well the medical mission was finished last week. I don't know if anyone slept. The doctors and nurses dedicated well over 12 hours and more each day. What a huge success. Most of the wounds we were able to treat it was just " a moth to the flame effect". Endless cases.
The biggest case for me to see was a machete case. "Charles" a farmer was out doing some work when a gang attacked him. He raised his arm up to protect his face and almost lose the whole arm. Doctor Crofts and Doctor Faux performed a seven hour surgery with the machete case. Fascinating.
Lots of cleft lip surgery and club foot. The children's pediatric is a hard one to visit. So many children to fall in love with only to learn that they won't be there long. The week was incredible. Dan Faber a anesthesiologist was mcgiver all week. He took some aluminum foil and got monitors working. Everyone put far more work in then required. Lots more stories but I'll keep you in suspense until I can get some visual stimulation up :)

Egypt is dirty... and fun :) I am very dog deprived, it's hard for me not to touch every fuzzy puppy I see until I see their skin falling off on the other side :)Driving through Israel was a totally different feeling, very clean and safe. Jordan has been an adventure. I am just headed to my turkish bath and tomorrow Petra to see the Treasury and monastery

Day One and Two

28 hours of flying. The photo of the 12 month old lab was my buddy sitting next to me on my first leg. On his way to his owner in the German Military. Flights were long but empty so I had four rows to myself trans-atlantic. ( whoo- hoo ... hello Ambien ) We started from; SLC to Atlanta, Atlanta to Brussels, Brussels to Bunkjara ( Burundi ) and finally to Nairobi. 40 zombies walking into the hotel, it was a long trip. 

This is half the group that I arrived with on Friday, the other 30 got in tonight. (sat) Thanks again to "Ogio" who provided a great deal on luggage. You can see that the offer was taken advantage of. 

The first day, Saturday was a free day. We ran some errands gathered last minute items ( salt and ketchup ) and then went to the giraffe zoo. This was Lydia laying one on me. Just for some information a giraffes heart weighs 28 lbs! 

This is Shauna Light who runs "In Our Own Quiet Way), the outreach group we joined up with this year. And Bernadine is next to her. A  bubble of energy, very cute girl. Is the sole survivor o of her family of five. now lives in Germany but has dedicated her life to the people in Kakamega. A will of steel. So far we only have two people down that are sick, but getting better. The weather has been clouded with occasional drizzle. All over you see "Obama". The paper's read " What Obama will do for his Kenya". Pretty crazy stuff. It is now a National Holiday in Kenya. I am not sure how much internet access I will have once we leave tomorrow for the bush lands. It's been incredible. I love the sim cards and buying minutes. It has been a huge asset to the team. Cant wait to get in the heart of the villages. 

Sad Days...

A couple weeks ago my foster dog, Onyx was adopted. A family in Denver, Co. They're previous Dane owners and have worked with Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue before. He is such an incredible dog. It's sad to see him go.

 

Onyx was found tied to a pole at Wal-mart in Phoenix Az. The humane society rescued him and adopted him out to a wonderful local couple. After a few years they moved to Salt Lake City, Ut. Due to a living situation the complex they were staying at did not allow big dogs and threatened to take him to the pound. After a few unsuccessful attempts to adopt him out themselves they surrendered him to Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue. 

I received Onyx about 2 months ago. My first foster experience and not my last. What an incredible opportunity to share your life with a dog that has been through so much. 

He is very curious and inquisitive about new objects. He likes to watch at first before he joins. Even if he is afraid at first, he soon becomes curious about it and investigates. He has such a sweet demeanor. Loves people, is very curious about kids, and gets along with every dog he has meet. Onyx is my little shadow, once he feels safe he will leave your side but occasionally come check on you. He is an extremely active dog. In the photo above you can see him running with his friend Kairo ahead of him and later with Atticus. Get him in an open field and he will love you forever. He has great speed. He lacks confidence and as a result is quite a bit of a shadow dog.

Onyx has been such a learning experience in my life. I will be anxiously waiting to foster again. I was spoiled with Onyx, and his good behavior.