Myles Knutson
 
Hey Steph great questions. I want to put all of our responses on our blog. So here we go...
Right now I feel happy, relaxed, and a little reflective on what I saw at the hospital today. I am sitting on the couch in the Fisher's living room with the Great Rift Valley at my back. The sun is shining it is warm and totally pleasant with a cool breeze coming in the window. Ali is sitting next to me reading and giving me funny looks. We are doing really great! And I can't wait to show you gals what I picked up in Tanzania.
Reflecting on the hospital shadowing today I saw several cases of HIV, lots of severe TB (stuff you would never see in the states), and a hip dislocation.  But the most significant was a 2 yr old boy who was having seizures. It was not something that would be super rare in the states but still very interesting because of how much hands on I got to do with Warren. While the boy was in Casualty (ER) I saw him have two seizures. Hands on turned out to be a big understatement.  He wasn't seizing anymore but I helped hold him down while Warren did a lumbar puncture on him to check for a Meningitis infection, a possible cause for seizures in young children. The poor little guy was in a lot of pain because it took me and his father holding him down to keep him from moving during the procedure. Man was he strong... I had to basically put all my weight on him to hold him down. The final diagnosis was that he had a seizure disorder and would need to go to Nairobi for a head CT scan. He was put on seizure medication and will come back in 2 weeks for a check up. I am really enjoying all my time in the hospital and am feeling more and more confident about medical school.

Food has been excellent!! We have had either fun and interesting African cuisine or some of Sandra's amazing home cooking. But the very best thing I have had so far was fresh Cajun garlic shrimp at the beach. We bought them from a fisherman on the beach and then had our beach cook Hasani cook them. And WOW they were amazing!

Dubbies have been only once a day. Strange for me, maybe its the altitude? But I'm doing better than Katie and Ali.

The coolest animal I have seen might have to be a chameleon. Their eyes are so crazy. But there are so many animals to choose from. We have seen some elephants far away. They are so cool, they are giant- way bigger than the Asian elephants they have at the zoos in Seattle. Giraffes are really cool and so funny. And the birds!! I saw one the other day that was metallic blue with a bright yellow belly. It didn't look real. But ask me again after this weekend because we are headed to the Mara tomorrow for a camping safari! I can't wait to see a lion and some elephants up close.

I wish Steph were here for...? Wow so many things. But I feel like you would best appreciate being here for drinking Tuskers at the beach. So great and so relaxing. The sand was powdery soft, the water was about 80 degrees, the sun never stopped shining, and Tuskers are my new favorite beer.

Best Kiswahili word so far might be "Poa" it means "I'm good and chill." So someone says "Mambo" (meaning how are you? in a chill groovy way) Then you respond "Poa!" Our Kilmanjaro cook Elsante taught me that during the climb.

And the absolute craziest thing? Hmm? It seems like everyday there are so many things that would be so out of place and crazy in Seattle, so crazy that if you were there you would talk about it for weeks. But because you see so many strange things you start to get a little numb to it all. Driving is always very crazy and eventful. And riding piki's hours across the rift valley to a Masai village was unreal. But one amazing and hilarious moment was seeing a man racing his donkeys across a Field. He was standing shirtless on the back of the donkeys cart whipping the donkeys to a full sprint through the grass. He was like a gladiator racing his chariot. So funny!!

Thanks again for the fun message to us all. I am glad to hear that everything is going so well at home. Hopefully the weather keeps getting better and better. Miss you lots Steph.

Take care

Myles