In my last blog, I wrote about Christmas and wedding celebrations. Looking back, January was a very quiet month, primarily because a had a very cold winter. Thermal underwear, a heavy vest and every other layer of clothing I could think of… it was no luxury! For several days, temperatures didn’t rise about 16°C (60F), and without heat the house is cold!

Because of the cold, it was also quiet in the hospital. People don’t come when it is cold for planned surgical procedures or for other problems that can wait. Since it was rather quiet, I could devote more time to administration. It was rather nice that for a change it didn’t have to be done in the evenings.

The last few days it is warming up again. I still wear a vest but thermal underwear is no longer necessary. I expect that it will be busier again in the hospital.

Last week, I received a special visitor: Suruy, a boy now 11 years old, who came to use 4 years ago with serious burn wounds on his belly, his right arm and shoulder. I treated him with skin grafts with moderate success. He developed skin contractures in his shoulder, elbow and wrist in spite of the skin transplants. I operated on him twice later that year to correct those adhesions. This week, one of his family members was admitted in our hospital and his mother brought him along. He is going to school, and regained arm and shoulder function almost completely. It was very encouraging to see him. Especially since in the past week, two female patients with very serious burn wounds (around 40%) passed away. It was especially frustrating because they had been with us already for three weeks but died because of infections. In the next few weeks, I will try to find out how I can start with skin grafts earlier in the treatment to prevent such late infections.

I am looking forward to visitors this month. My sister-in-law will visit for a few days with two girl friends, and a week later my parents will come to stay for three weeks. It is always very special to be able to share something about my way of life and work here.