To Go To Togo!

 Do you know how to go to Togo?  Considering a few months ago I didn't even know where in the world Togo was, I am learning quickly!  

On August 28, 2015 I will fly to Paris where I will meet up with the rest of my team and then continue our flight to the capital city, Lome, Togo.  The next day our team will make an eleven hour drive to the northern part of the country to Mango, where the Hospital of Hope is located.  

  

Here are some interesting facts that I have learned about Togo and the Hospital of Hope. 

• The Hospital of Hope opened on March 2, 2015 and on the first day they saw 200 patients BEFORE LUNCH!
• In the first week that the hospital opened they saw patients from Togo, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Ivory. 
• One patient traveled three days (from northern Burkina Faso) and then walked directly into the hospital, found an empty bed, and lay down. 
• The ratio of doctors to patients in Togo is 4 doctors for every 100,000 patients.  
• The ratio of doctors to patients in the United States is 256 doctors for every 100,000 patients.
• 10% of the population in Togo is infected with HIV.
• The infant mortality in Togo is 78 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births.
• The infant mortality in the U.S. is 7 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births!
• Nearly 200 donors have helped to make this trip possible.  Because of an amazing group of donors, I will be bringing:
• A new portable Sonosite M-Turbo ultrasound machine with two probes.
• A Designs-For-Vision Daylite surgical headlight.
• Twelve Standard Register reusable surgical gowns with overwraps for sterilizing.
• Ten Cook Medical Bakri Balloons (life saving treatment for postpartum hemorrhage.)
• Eleven Kiwi obstetrical vacuum devices (for operative vaginal deliveries.)
• Fifty-two boxes of Ethicon surgical suture.
• Fifty-plus pounds of German stainless steel new and refurbished surgical instruments.
• Adjustable Allyn Stirrups for the operating room (for doing gynecologic surgeries)
• Surgical Gloves
• Obstetric Dopplers
• Pulse Oximeters
• Life saving medicines

Thank you for your support and prayers.  I will be returning to Arizona on September 15, 2015.