Today was another day of hard work for everyone! Emma, Dan, Thomas, JR, and Erik worked in the workshop again, continuing their work on the software and learning more about the manufacturing of the prosthetics and orthotics that the workshop currently makes. Erik and Dan worked on making AFO’s today with the technicians. Erik and Emma also got to watch a 6-year-old girl get fitted for her next size of prosthetic leg, who enjoyed doing Emma's hair as well! They both helped make her socket, so it was very rewarding to see it be fitted to a patient, even if it wasn’t from our 3D printer.
Thomas has begun his big project for the trip, a prosthetic hand for a specific patient. He worked with the hand patient, Timothy, and used calipers to take different measurements of his hand and residual fingers. Emma took a scan of his hand with the Omega Scan App and an iPad. He will be working on the hand for the next few days! Tomorrow the training for the technicians will begin and Emma printed out an AFO to help aid in the training. JR has also been able to fix some issues with our software that were preventing us from printing what we have wanted to.
Meanwhile, Tim, Emily, and Katie traveled to Naivasha today to observe and help in the clubfoot clinic. We got to see more casting, brace reviews, and get to meet some patients and the staff at the clinic. While at the clinic Katie and Emily each got to assist in a casting (pictured below). In addition to the great experience from the clinic Katie and Emily also went on a lunch outing with 4 of the medical students on rotation in the clinic. They took us on a tour of the town we were in and brought us to a restaurant to try some traditional and trademark meals of Kenya. We had Ugali Matumbo. Ugali is corn flour mixed with hot water until you reach a paste like texture, Katie enjoyed this one more than Emily. But the matumbo is cow stomach! Yes we were as surprised as you. It was very flavorful and we enjoyed it.
After a busy and productive day it is always nice to come together for a meal and devotional to wrap up and reflect on a full day. Thomas led us in our highs and lows so far for the trip. To no surprise we had a very hard time coming up with lows! But there were so many highs! Some of which included Dan being excited to be back for his 3rd time in Kenya and getting to continue and grow relationships he has had during previous trips. Emma, Thomas, and JR are happy about how welcomed they have felt and that their nerves have been calmed since arriving. Katie is enjoying the clinics and being able to see hands-on what she has been researching. Tim is excited to be back for his 2nd time and is proud of all the work the team has been doing so far. Thomas and Erik touched on how rewarding and satisfying it is to be working on a project and then being able to see the patient and put a face to the work they are doing. Emily is loving the opportunities she has had so far to see a field that she will be pursuing in her future and being able to help hands-on in the clinics. Almost all of the us mentioned how happy we are to be able to have more than an online and superficial relationship with our client for the project and that we feel so lucky to have the chance to come here. These past 2 work days have been hard work but rewarding in the end and we are all looking forward for the rest of our trip!