Monday, 16 February 2009

Starting of the Third Phase



What an exciting week. At the end of last week we started on the third phase of the hospital buildings. We do not have a backhoe so we use Malian power. They use picks, shovels, and wheel borrows. The footers are being laid as I write and the columns are close behind. The exterior of the warehouse is almost finished. It is looking good.
We have a German doctor out here right now that invented Laproscopy without using air for pressurization. He uses a spiral hook that looks like a cork screw only a lot larger (about 3" in diameter) that is attached to the side of the OR table and inserted into the belly of the person. It is a wild contraption. The problem came when the baggage claim people handled their bags at the airport. They broke a major piece of the support bracket. Bob and I had to try to make a new bracket that holds the knuckle of an extension. Without a metal fabrication mill, this is a difficult piece to make. Between us, we came up with an idea and then modified it about 2,000 times before it was complete. I was not able to watch the first surgery that used the contraption because we had a power meltdown at our house I had to check on. I will find out tonight if the knuckle and shoulder brackets worked.
Have a wonderful blessed day.

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