End of week 2 and photos from work

We've gotten into a nice routine by the end of our second week (well almost end).  Ginger rises at 4:30 AM, Rochelle at around 5.  Nadia between 5 and 6.  Day starts with coffee and computer shenanagans (trying to get Safaricom to connect - Safaricom is an ingeneous modem that connects using cell phone networks - it is faster ane more reliable then the hospital wireless service which requires that Nadia stand at the kitchen counter to get reception).  Rochelle then attempts to run in the howling wind.  Wind blows like crazy every night and usually dies down around 8.  After breakfast we all take the 3 minutes trek to the hospital.

To the left is the view of the back of the hosptial.  probably about halfway between hornbill house and the hospital!  It's so nice to be able to walk 'home' for lunch or a can of pop or bottle of water.
There is a phone system between hospital and various houses which is 3 digit phone numbers!

We also got cheap phones to use.  Calling the US is about 50 cents for 30 minutes!   Of course vise-versa costs a fortune!

To the right is the door to pathology department and the sign (CHOO) pointing to the bathroom.  Not sure how appropriate that is! 
Luckily we have our own bathroom because the CHOO is nasty.

Ours is in the gross room... well the door is through the gross room.


Dr. and Mrs. Barnes are the couple who have been coming to Kijabe for 16 years.  They are both in their late 70s (he is 79) but still active.  He was relieved to see us.  Still comes in to help with the blood smears though!

To the left is the gross room.  Ventilationis the open window.  We haven't been able to find soap or other cleaning agents (although Mom managed to clean with water so the counters cleaner then since we arrived!  she got many thanks from techs!).  Water runs - some of the time - .  There is a compouter and Dragon voice recognition that does soso.  The view out the window is a partial mountain view, so that helps!

Nadia and Ancent.  Ancent is a kenyan trained pathologist about 1 1/2 years out of training.  He is now based at Kijabe fulltime (his hours are 10 -4 acutally).  It is wonderful to have some consistency.  Course he already has to spend much of his time in meetings.

Specimen arrived in a leaking container.  Guilty specimen below   Was a uterus with an MMMT (bad cancer) which was stuffed into a jar in such a way it was almost impossible to remove!

 Specimens come in pill bottles, film cartriges, milk containers, blood draw containers, some taped up so much one can't get the tape off, others leaking....  Some have been stuffed into the container in such a way they have to be cut up to remove them.



There is one cutting machine.  Two techs and one secretary to do all needed to process 6000 surgicals and I'm not sure how many cytologies every year.  They actually do very good work considering the resources and state specimens come in!  Only special stains are PAS and AFB.  Frozens are done as touch preps!  Thank god for cytology experience!!

Microscope room.  Has decent library, 2 computers, 3 microscopes all stuffed into a pretty small room.
Now it's time for dinner!