Amanda Lamb in Africa: Duke neurosurgeons prep for medical procedures and 'miracles' in Uganda

Several Duke neurosurgeons are setting up two operating rooms and an intensive care unit to treat Ugandan residents who have not had easy access to medical care.

Posted 7:18 p.m. Oct 22, 2017 — Updated 7:16 p.m. Jul 13, 2018

Today is the day of firsts for many of us.

This is the first time the team has ever been to Mengo Hospital. First, before they can perform surgeries, they're setting up 2 operating rooms and an ICU with 8 tons of equipment that was shipped here from Duke. And if that's not a big enough job in itself, the doctors hit the ground running right away making rounds, trying to decide who will be a candidate for the limited number of surgeries they can perform this week.

Let me paint a picture for you...we got here and there was a waiting room full of people who all hope to get surgery, mostly for brain tumors. Some are young, even babies, others are older, many are in wheelchairs, or on walkers, and they are surrounded by their family members.

Patients waiting to be seen at a Uganda medical center set-up and run by Duke neurosurgeons.

They have traveled in some cases for hours to get here. Some have had symptoms for years, as long as a decade and didn't have the money to get treated, or could not find a doctor with the expertise needed. One by one, they walk in, supported by other family members, or in a wheelchair, to see the doctors with hope in their eyes.

Dr. Michael Haglund does not mince words. He tells it like it is. He lets the patient and their family members know whether or not he can do life-saving surgery. In some cases, he has to give them the bad news The surgery is too risky and will not work--basically that it could paralyze the patient or even worse. These are hard conversations to have, hard conversations to hear and even harder if you are the patient with a family member that has to walk away.

But for those people who are getting the surgery, there is finally help at the end of a long journey. I interviewed 4 patients and their families today. I will be bringing you their stories when we return, from beginning to end. From the consultation, to the surgery, to the aftermath.

For them, having the American surgeons from Duke come here and getting these surgeries is truly "a miracle."

I've heard that word so many times today, I've lost count.

We look forward to bringing you those miracles…