Times a changin'

The times, they are a changin'. A lot has happened since my last blog post and I will attempt a re-cap. Not to worry all is safe, no coups or anything like that. The big news is that I am moving to Swaziland today. It all happened very fast and has been a bit of a challenging time. Last week we took a trip to the west side of Uganda to evaluate the feasibility of beginning a project in that area on national scale up of pediatric HIV treatment. It has been an emotional time. The hospital, the ugandan people and the children have been wonderful beyond words. I fall for every child I meet and my heart goes out to them. I want to help all of them and it is difficult to know that I cannot. Ugandan people are a happy, friendly, open, warm, accomodating, intelligent and sweet. It will be hard to leave them. The location in the west was far, about 6 hours drive from Kampala and near to the Congolese border. It seemed quite safe there but would have been very remote and somewhat isolating. After the business we took a trip to Queen Elizabeth National Park which is quite lovely - we saw plenty of animals and I have included just a couple of the 200 plus photos I took on the trip.

Without going into too much detail, the decision by Baylor leadership was to transfer all five of us doctors to other countries where they are operating successfully and need more doctors. I chose Swaziland for many reasons but didn't have much time to choose. It is a mountainous, landlocked country in South Africa, close to Mozambique. It is much cooler and now is winter, with lows in the 30s at night. It is a small country with a population of 1 million and about 50,000 in the capital Mbabane, where I will be. The HIV prevalence there is one of the highest, if not the highest in the world at approximately 40%. In turn, the life expectancy is the lowest in the world - 32 years. There were apparently only two pediatricians in the entire country before our program arrived. There are currently 10 PAC doctors there now and three of us from here will be going to make a total of 13. I am hoping to get involved in a new project there of starting anti-retroviral therapy on pregnant women and then treating their children after their birth. I will be the only Family Physician for PAC there so it seems like a good role for me, not to mention my love for obstetrical care. The current PAC doctors there are some of my favorites that I met in the Houston training. All in all, I think it will be a good move.

Changing jobs, moving countries, still not having the house sold, not having Angela here, having my first GI illness and financial strains have made for challenging times but I am always hopeful. Its difficult to keep me from being always hopeful. I am confident that I can make a big difference in some peoples lives in swaziland and am doing what I have dreamed of for the last 11 years when the idea of being a doctor came to me. Just looking into the eyes of these beautiful, innocent children, seeing them suffer and knowing I can help keeps me positive and hopeful. The other details, although stressful, will all work out.

Internet in Swaziland is hit or miss - so blogging may be a little more basic and more intermittent. I will probably get a new phone number soon and will forward that as soon as I have it. I hope everyone is doing well. I think of life, friends and family back home often and miss everyone. Congrats to Barry and Amy and their engagement! I am sad to miss the celebration! Please send some positive thoughts for the sale of our house and the re-uniting Angela and I. Take care. Peace.

dd