Her name is Arefayinie Manaye and according to Kim East the head of RESTOR International’s surgical nursing team, she’s is a bit of rock star at the Gamby Teaching Hospital here in Bahir Dar,
Arefayinix is beautiful, warm, 30 years old. Originally from Debre Marqos (also known as Mankorar), a smallish town of approximately 63,000 in eastern central Ethiopia. She’s worked for 10 years in clinical nursing and as a doctor’s assistant. But what she is impressing most with of us with, is the result of her recent training in Addis Ababa, in burn and post-operative contracture work.
Many of the surgeries RESTOR is here to do are burn contracture repairs to release or remove the thick scar tissue that settles around a healed burn. This tightening of the skin leads to not only disfigurement but also physical disability for many of the patients we see. The study that Arefaynie has done will enable her to help treat post-burn many patients and help avoid these tight skin contractures.
The Korean Hospital in Addis Ababa, where she studied, aims to provide advanced health care to the people of Ethiopia. And it was here with the support of the Gamby’s, Dr. Gebe, that she got to study under the direction of renowned burns specialist Dr. Einar Erikson for six weeks.
Arefayinie training a member of the nursing staff at Gamby Teaching Hospital
Another key member to the satellite burn centre at the Gamby Hospital is local surgeon Dr. Daniel Jemere. He too expressed an interest in this new intuitive and worked as Dr. Erikson’s assistant.
Through RESTOR International’s efforts, specialized burns equipment (Humby knives, a Mesh machine, a Dermatome and staples) have been purchased and will be left at the Gamby hospital to be used by Dr. Erikson when he visits from Addis Ababa to perform future surgeries.
Dr. Erikson undertook the first campaign on Jan 11th 2016, performing 8 surgeries, with follow up to happen during this mission. The intended next step is to train the local staff and this is where Arefaynie’s and Dr. Daniel Jemere’s training will come into effect.
Ultimately the medium to short term aim of RESTOR’s program in Bahir Dar is to become proficient at treating acute burns and eventually moving into skin grafting. And with the training of both Dr. Danel and Arefaynie, they are well on their way. With continued support of the RESTOR International’s funding this program looks very promising for the future.
– Dina Kotler