1st ever complex spine surgery in Tanzania

I just wanted to share a little about what the process looks like to get ready to do the FIRST complex spine surgery in Tanzania.  For the past 5 years, we have been working closely with Dr. Honest Massawe to train, support, and empower a Tanzanian doctor to have the knowledge, skills, and technology to care for Tanzanian children. I knew, the first time I met him, that he was going to be the doctor that could do it!  And boy was I right.  In order for this to happen, for 3 years, he regularly left his family and traveled to Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa and more, to become an amazingly skilled spinal surgeon.

 BBBBUUUUTTTT, just because the doctor is ready, doesn’t mean the country is actually ready.  The hospital is excited and willing, but they don’t have all the equipment we need.  Thank goodness for strong relationships.  First, something called neuromonitoring and the person who operates it was borrowed from Kenya.    Second, is finding a company that can supply the hardware that will go in her spine. 

To be honest, the entire process of getting everything together took about weeks of planning, then postponing, then canceling and then planning again.  Thank goodness Oliva is a strong, resilient young woman who stayed positive and patient through it all.  Below is the actual timeline of how the surgery finally happened to give you an idea of what working in East Africa looks like. 

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A week after our first surgery attempt:

Well…what to say…..I was so excited to announce that Oliva was going to go into the hospital on Friday, and have her surgery on Monday.  But it is postponed.  This is the challenge of being the first.  We can’t find the actual hardware that they need for the surgery.  Specifically, the rods, screws, and connectors that will be used to correct Oliva’s spine.  There is not one company in Tanzania that makes all the hardware.  Back to the drawing board.  I hope we can find the supplies that we need soon.

10 days later:

Great news, we have the supplies and surgery is scheduled for one week from today.  Woo hoo!!

6 days later:

Wait false alarm, canceled again. We had problems getting the equipment from Kenya.  This time I feel really badly.  Oliva was already in the hospital and was preparing for surgery when we got the call.  She is such a strong young woman.  She went home and simply said that I know this is going to happen very soon and I can wait.  (even though she has been waiting for years already).  I am in awe of her strength and positivity even with such huge challenges.

1 week later:

Here it is, third time is a charm.  I truly feel like nothing else can go wrong and Oliva will finally be admitted to the hospital on Friday and have surgery on Monday.  I can feel it.  This is it!  I can’t believe after all these years; she’s finally getting the help she needs.

Post-surgery:

I am so excited to report that Oliva had a successful surgery.  She is in the ICU and is recovering nicely.  If everything goes well, she will spend approximately one month in the hospital recovering and doing physical therapy before she is discharged and will return home.  I will periodically send updates as she continues her journey towards a full recovery.

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