You know how some days just don't seem to work? The days where it seems it might have been better to have just stayed in bed? Today felt like one of those days.

I had to make a return trip to Milagro, where I've gone a few times with some patients who need eye care. I had a hugely successful day there back in October, and blogged about it. But 3 weeks ago I took a lady who needed cataract surgery, and it was done, but at the time it looked iffy as to whether or not it would be successful. It turned out to have been a traumatic cataract, as a result of a blow to the eye years ago, from an abusive husband. The damage from that blow has been lurking all these years, and has meant that the eye wouldn't support the new lens implant, and it has moved out of position. So we had to go back for a second surgery today, using a different technique. So all the arrangements were made.

It was bad from the outset, my alarm clock somehow got moved ahead by an hour, which meant I got up at 4:30, instead of 5:30. 4:30!! I thought it seemed rather dark, and the cat wasn't waiting outside my door like he usually is, but by the time it all came clear it was too late to go back to bed. Oh well, extra time, doesn't hurt.

Then off out to meet my patient and her daughter in Bastion, and make the trek - get a taxi to the bus terminal, get tickets for the bus, find the bus, get to the city of Milagro, get a taxi to the hospital, and....we got there early. So, find seats, and wait. And wait. And watch staff arriving and trying to punch in on the time clock. Not working. Little by little it began to dawn on us that a number of things weren't lookng right. Ah I see the problem - no power. Oh great! But nobody seems concerned, and we do lose power here fairly often. But finally at 9:15 someone thought to call the electricity company, and guess what - it was a transformer - no power for the foreseeable future. Oh really excellent!! Sorry folks, no light, no doctor, no operations, come back on Monday. NNOOO!!!!!!! I don't want to come back on Monday, I came all the way here, and I'm here now. Please don't make me go home. But what are you going to do, I'm a middle aged senora, and a foreigner, and I just can't throw myself to the floor in a tantrum, even though it's what I most wanted to do.
So, out we went, and reversed the whole process, and came home. And Monday we get to do it all over again!!

Life in Ecuador. Always some adventure lurking around the corner.

I have to add, along with the inconvenience that we all had to deal with, was the disappointment of my patient. She's very nervous about this surgery (can't say as I blame her) and had herself worked up to it, and now she has to live through a weekend before we do it. Please pray that this will be a success this time.

There was a positive to the day, however - we got a clinic scheduled for July, when a team from the hospital there will come with their equipment to Bastion and see anyone with eye problems. The hospital is an MMI (Medical Ministries International) project, and this is part of what they do to serve the poor of Ecuador. So it wasn't all for nought!