updates

Hey all --
my email address is changing today -- don't send anything more to my
comcast account or it will get bounced. As always, my permanent
forwarding address with yale will still work (matt.cotham@aya.yale.edu)
or my gmail account (mattcotham@gmail.com)

Also, my address in Texas until I leave is:
325 Rivercrest
Fort Worth, TX 76107
303-393-1786 still the same.

And finally, my address in Zambia will be:
Matt Cotham
c/o Mukinge Hospital
P.O. 120092
Kasempa, Zambia

Don't have a Zambian phone number yet.

Hope you all can make it either tomorrow or Sat to hang out. The dance
floor is looking good.

Matt

last days!

Hey to all of you! Last week in Denver -- wow, couldn't go out with
better weather, huh? Not quite the fall spectacular of Telluride, but
perfect for sleeping in the hammock for a few more hours.

To help me see all of you and also to get rid of my last remaining
stuff, I'm having a garage sale this Fri and Sat. I'd love to have you
all swing by during or after to help me polish off my liquor supplies.
Also, if there's anything of mine that you want, come claim it for free
before it gets sold! I'm still looking for a home for my golf clubs,
the wireless internet set-up, the subwoofer, DVD player, not to mention
a bunch of crap like heaters and ironing boards and plants and camping
equipment and my old Texas flag. Tell me someone wants to give my Texas
flag a home.

So anyway, the sale officially lasts until 3, the sangria will probably
start flowing around noon unless I need a few shots to help me haggle
with old ladies about the price of my sundae dishes -- then it's every
man for himself. :) There's plenty of good dancing room on my mostly
empty wood floors.

I officially board my plane after church on Sunday!

Hopefully I'll see all of you (those that are in town, that is) before I go.

Matt

The Last Days

In Denver, that is. Official Denver good-byes are this weekend as I step on a plane first to North Carolina, and then Texas. I did get to experience the best of Colorado this weekend, at least, with friends in Telluride in time for the first snow and the aspens changing. I'll put on some pics in a bit.

Still no word yea or nay from Gates. I am now the proud owner of at least 5 lbs of review books for the boards, however....

NEJM plug

For those who get it, the editorial in this week's New England JOM is about the Gates Foundation's effect on international giving and focus and how far short we still fall. It's at least as interesting as the articles about fingolimod or echinocandins or the radiographic appearance of lanthanum, that is. How can I be this far out of date only 6 years out of med school?

Go ahead complete!

I got the go ahead from Mukinge to submit to the Gates Foundation. So the preliminary step will be submitted tomorrow. Apparently they are not wild about organizations that have religious affiliations, so keep your fingers crossed....

What I'm reading these days

From No Picnic on Mt Kenya:
"So unexpected was this sight amid the savage scenery of Batian, that I could not help thinking 'It is too beautiful. Do I deserve to experience it?' and unconsciously my thoughts wandered to the simple character of the Humpback of Brazil who, as Guido Rey relates, having climbed Matterhorn with the first party from the south, knelt down and thanked God for having created such a marvellous universe."

Pictures from Yellowstone.

A call for seeds

One of the things I'm hoping to do is bring some seeds with me when I
go; if you've got some good varieties that you think would do well in
Africa save them for me or send them on. No zucchini!

Donation information

I put this in my last email, but here's the info as well on the blog. You can follow the links on the side to WMM or SIM.

To donate to my account it is through World Medical Mission, account #003220. I can use these funds to help with ministry related projects while I'm over there.

As most of you know, I am being fully funded through the World Medical Mission Post-Residency Program. If you'd like to contribute to help docs go overseas in a similar fashion, it's account #13765, also through WMM.

If you'd like to donate to the hospital, it's best to donate to Serving In Missions, with attention to Mukinge Hospital.

Finally, if you'd like to help fund a project or have an idea in mind about how you'd like to get involved while I'm there, let me know and we'll talk.

Last days in Colorado

Hey!
The time is drawing nearer! 1 month left before I leave Colorado for
good (at least for awhile). The tentative Colorado schedule is as follows:

Wyoming Sept 5-13
Denver Sept 14-19
Telluride Sept 20-24
Denver Sept 25-Oct 1

Then it's off to good old Texas to get some studying in. For all of you
in Colorado, let's get together before I split for good!

tuesday is D-day

Dog day, that is. The final bittersweet parting between me and the smelly, matted Saint next to me, currently snoring as I write this. A final pic to remember her by....

Getting ready for Zambia...Colorado style