Dr. John Kelly, or “Kelly“ as he calls himself, is a one of a kind. I was delighted when Steve Arrowsmith introduced me to Kelly and Dr. Maura Lynch of Uganda as they are both fistula legends who have devoted their lives to the cause. John really impressed me with his outspoken advocacy throughout the course of the meetings in Ghana. Never shy to share his opinion with the group, Kelly blended an earnest passion with a sarcastic lightness and always seemed to both educate and entertain whenever he spoke.

Here on the last day of the conference in a side conversation, John told me he was planning to go do some surgeries the next day. For weeks, I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to organize a visit to a working fistula center. John has a relationship with the Holy Family Hospital in Berekum, a town near the boarder with Ivory Coast and planned to leave early the next morning. I asked if I could join him and after John told me that there may not be many patients due to the last minute nature of his visit, he welcomed me to accompany him to Berekum. Kelly even suggested that we share a room on our last night at the hotel in order to save a little money. I like the way this man thinks!

My good impression of John was even further magnified when I got to the room that we shared. John had a huge suitcase half-full of sutures and other medical consumables in excess of what he planned to use at the hospital. The other half of the suitcase was in the minibar refrigerator - John had brought a load of cheese, cookies and other edible goodies with him to hand out to the local staff in Berekum. What a great guy!