More Than Four Sides

Category: Sierra Leone

  • Next Year in Jerusalem…Last Year in Sierra Leone

    We close the Seder with the words “Next year in Jerusalem” (you can read an excellent article about the meaning of these words in the Passover liturgy here). And every year that I recite or sing these words, I think about how cool it would be to spend Passover in Israel, and specifically in Jerusalem. …

  • Reentry

    Folks have asked me how “reentry” was, coming back from Sierra Leone to the US.  And I keep wondering how to write about it here. I’ve been stalled, to some degree, by the fact that four of the posts that I wrote while I was there are still “quarantined” – they have yet to be…

  • Chag Pesach Sameach – next year!

    In a few hours, my family and friends, and community, will sit down to retell the story of the enslavement of the Hebrews under Pharoah in ancient Egypt, and the remarkable events that led up to their release, and beginning their journey to the Promised Land (or not). This year, I will not be celebrating…

  • Time zone blues

    It is now 6:34 am, and I am awake and dressed. Last night, I set my phone alarm for 6:45am.  It went off, and I hit the snooze button a couple of times before rising and at 7.  So, how can it be 6:34, now? Because apparently, England jumped forward to DST during the night,…

  • After the Red Zone

    When the decision was made to remove all ex-patriots (ie non-Sierra Leoneans) working at the Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) – ie the Red Zone -, we were reassigned to various other activities in the Port Loko area. My assignment was to the government hospital, which is in the process of being upgraded, and ramped up…

  • Partners In Health Clinician Admitted for Ebola Treatment | Partners In Health

    Partners In Health Clinician Admitted for Ebola Treatment | Partners In Health. Please rest assured that this clinician is NOT me!  Partners In Health is doing everything possible to take care of this individual, and to maintain the safety and well-being of all of us here.  In addition, the media/communications personnel of PIH are obviously…

  • R&R at the beach

    Today we had a day off, and were lucky enough to be able to join with about a half dozen of our colleagues for a day trip to the beach, about 2 hours away from the ETU.  It was amazing, and a little surreal – so lovely to spend some time swimming in the ocean,…

  • In the Hot Zone

    Today wraps up the third day of our “hot zone” training, in the real ETU.  The hot zone, is really termed the Red Zone, as distinct from the Green Zone, where one can walk around without PPE – personal protective equipment – because no potentially infected individuals are allowed in the Green Zone. We newbies…

  • Practice in the Mock ETU

    So, the last two days of training with IOM involved wearing the full PPE and going through simulated cases with our very generous survivor-teachers in the mock ETU which is set up in the stadium where the training took place.  Thursday, we spent about 30 minutes in the ETU, and say two patients in the…

  • Words of witness

    Today’s training ran us through some very specific medical algorithms about treating patients infected with Ebola. And, then, in the afternoon, we heard from a panel of 6 survivors of EVD (Ebola virus disease). It triggered, for me, memories of the panels of AIDS patients who spoke to us in medical school, and who we…