Written on 8/10/10
The weather has cooled down here a lot now and we had our first rain in nearly two weeks today, HEAVY rain. Makes a refreshing change and kinda settles most of the dust that rises off the beaten pot-holed roads. I went on my first bodaboda yesterday (motorbike which you ride on the back of and generally helmetless). It's kinda risky but soooo much fun. In some cases they're much better than a car because traffic jams build up regularly and the bikes can just nip in and out the cars quite easily. Wouldn't want to make a habit of using them though, especially since most of the patients that we get at the clinic are due to road traffic accidents…. Still, I couldn't leave here without having gone one one since they're absolutely everywhere.

We were mainly finishing of prostheses today - one transtibial for a lady who's due to arrive tomorrow morning, and one for that transfemoral amputee who may attend in the afternoon. It's Uganda's independence day tomorrow though, so I'm not sure if that plan will stick at all just yet. I'm also planning to meet the chairman for the Rotary club of Kyamboko in the afternoon (the area that manages the funds for this district), and perhaps if I get time, I'll be able to see the international trade fair thats setting up for the next 4/5 days here. Everything is made so much more simply here. For instance, chipping out plaster from a socket isn't done with a hammer and chisel, it's done by smashing the socket against a brick. Smoothing trim lines and edges isn't done by using the soft mop on the routing machine, it's done by running a broken piece of glass around the surfaces. And attaching the foot to the shin isn't done by means of a bonding agent or central pylon, its done by screwing four regular screws through the plastic shin and into the foot.

Following the completion of the leg, Alex took me to the British Embassy where I'm supposed to let them know my whereabouts and the fact that I'll be travelling around and in different cities of Uganda. Wasn't very successful though, since after queuing for nearly an hour, I was told that they don't do it in the office any more, but instead on the internet, handing me a link to it online….  Never mind, it gives me an excuse to get online and update this now. We also visited a young guy who had lost his leg in another road traffic accident. He served in the fire brigade, but when his fire truck overturned on a sharp corner, he lost his leg below his knee, becoming a knee disartic patient. Unfortunately though, the scar tissue hadn't formed well and since it was still poorly healed, it's going to be at least a month, perhaps two until he can be treated at the centre.

Back at the GLRC, the three of us (Patrick, Fred and myself) got back to work on the remaining transfemoral limbs - mainly the elderly unilateral guy since he was most needy. After much rectification, extension buildups to the knee centre, some guess work, a power cut and a lost hammer, we managed to get it complete in time for him to arrive tomorrow for a trial fit. Patrick also showed me a KAFO that he's recently finished by using the same draping of the plastic pipe method. It's amazing what they can make here, pretty awesome. The rest of the day was pretty slow, spent talking, reading, and I passed some time trying to catch a gecko.