Hello!

So it's my final night in Texas. My flight leaves tomorrow evening! This trip has been in the planning for a long time and I'm in slight disbelief it's finally here. Needless to say I haven't packed yet, but surely it will get done before my 6 PM departure tomorrow. Procrastinator to the core, I'd have it no other way. The best things get done under pressure.

So for those of you reading that don't know about what I'll be doing in Uganda, here's the story. I had an awesome coworker (love you Alex!) who travelled with CURE to volunteer at their hospital located in Zambia back in October. A little background on CURE: they were founded in 1996 and now have hospitals in 10 different countries all focused on the goal of bringing healing to children with treatable disabilities that otherwise have few options for treatment. After hearing about Alex's amazing time in Zambia, I decided to apply with CURE. Travelling abroad to do medical work has been a dream of mine since I started nursing school. So after applying, CURE wrote back asking if I'd be interested to spend some time at their neurosurgical hospital located in Mbale, Uganda. And I said... um of course! 

The hospital in Uganda does surgeries for many types of brain disorders, however their primary specialty is the treatment of hydrocephalus. Ok here goes the more in depth info about what they do at the hospital, feel free to tune out. But I think it's pretty fascinating so I will share for those that are interested.  Hydrocephalus involves accumulation of brain fluid that is normally reabsorbed in a healthy brain. There are many different causes of hydrocephalus (premature birth, trauma at birth, spina bifida, tumors, infections, etc.). Babies' heads with hydrocephalus will grow to be very large because of the growing amount of fluid, which eventually starts to put pressure on their brains. If left untreated, these children will have severe delays and many will not survive. CURE in Uganda is teaching surgeons from across the world the surgical options for treatment of hydrocephalus.

I can't wait to see what the medical world is like in Uganda vs my experience here in America. I work on a neurosurgical unit at a children's hosptial in Dallas, so it will very interesting to see how things are both different and similar. I CAN'T WAIT!!!! However I'm starting to have some serious anxiety about flying to Uganda by myself. Looking forward to a nice little layover in London where hopefully I'll get some tea and crumpets to keep me awake while I fight the jet lag. Prays appreciated, I can't say thank you enough to my family and friends who have supported me in the process!! See you later alligator!

Also for those interested in supporting CURE- right now each dollar that is donated to CURE Uganda will be matched up until their goal of $26,000. https://secure.cure.org/uganda-jff-match/donate