March 23, 2006

  • Burns

    March 17, 2006

     

     

     

    We are a month away from coming home and just like when you put your resignation in at work…you know how your mind starts leaving before your body does?  Well guess what?  My mind is starting to be there with all of you.  J  It just needs my body to catch up!!!  In all seriousness, we are starting to put things in order for when we leave. There are a lot of questions that we are praying about, seeking answers.  Questions like: 1) Do we close the clinic or utilize a Clinical Officer to work part-time?

     

    2) How do we make sure the HIV patients have their reviews and continue to get their medications?  3) Do we hire a driver? 4) Do we keep staff working on a part-time basis?  5)  What do we do about the two eye patients who are to have either a review or surgery on the other cataract when the eye doctors come to Zimba again? Sal and I are both anxious to come home for awhile, but the “manager side” of us doesn’t allow us the privilege of just turning our backs and walking away.  We are too responsible not to want things in place to guarantee continuity of care while we are gone.  Zambians are very used to missionaries walking away and not completing what they have said they are going to do.  When they find someone who keeps his word, they are very surprised and tell you, “You are different.”  Pray that God gives us the answers and sets in place whatever He would have us do.

     

    Sal preached again last weekend at Sons of Thunder church on the farm.  Pastor Jerry preached about God loving us when he was here in February.  He told everyone to grab their chin and say “God loves me.”   Sal felt God was asking if anyone loved Him….so Sal preached on the two greatest commandments.  Although a simple message, it left a lot of pondering and self-reflection to be done.  Sunday school lessons with Firm Foundations are underway with four classes of different age groups and a total of eight teachers. Howard, one of the school teachers on the farm has agreed to take charge and manage the schedule.  I will make sure all the lessons are copied and ready for the teachers, but I am turning the course over to Howard by the time I leave for the States.

     

    Lately we have had a string of trauma patients at the clinic….First there was David, a 13 year old boy who came to the clinic with one shoulder looking pretty out of alignment.  After examination, Sal thought it was dislocated and sent me to Livingstone Hospital with him and his father to get an x-ray and then possibly treatment.  Well, when I got to Livingstone Hospital, I discovered that both their x-ray machines were broken and they were unable to take x-rays.  They admitted David to a ward and talked to his father about finding a private place to get an x-ray.  The only problem was no one knew if there were any private places to get one.  I decided to drive to the bottom of the hill to a private clinic/hospital owned by a Dr. Shafik.  I found out that he had an x-ray machine…very antiquated, but operational.  He told me he would be happy to see David.  So I went back to the hospital and took David out of the ward and drove him down to Dr. Shafik’s for an x-ray.  The x-ray showed a greenstick fracture of the humerus (break in the upper arm) and no problem with the shoulder.  Dr Shafik splinted the arm to the trunk with gauze wrap and put his hand in a makeshift sling tied around his neck.  He gave us the x-ray to take to the hospital and told us of a Ukranian doctor at Livingstone who was an orthopaedic surgeon.  The next morning, the orthopaedic doctor discharged him concurring with the diagnosis and treatment. We had to pay for the x-ray and treatment at Dr. Shafik’s, but there was no charge at Livingstone Hospital because he was a referral from a clinic!!!

     

    Next…Professor, a graduate of the farm program brought his four year old son to our door because he had been scalded with water receiving burns over 38% of his body including neck, left arm, trunk and left thigh...  It was late at night, but Sal took one look at him and decided he needed to be transferred out.  On the way to Livingstone, he remembered that somebody had told us that Dr. Shafik specializes in burns, so in less than one week, Dr. Shaik was to see another one of our patients.  This time he would be meeting Sal.  Dr. Shafik was present at the clinic/hospital as well as his senior clinical officer…they immediately admitted little Bristo, started an IV and wet saline dressings.  Bristo ended up staying for three nights and then we picked him up and brought him to stay at the clinic for a couple days.  When we paid Dr Shafik for Bristo’s care, he was kind enough to give us a 50% discount!  God is good and gives us favor wherever we go…thank you God!!!

     

    Following Bristo, another child was burned after falling into a fire….a daughter of one couple (Alexander and Agatha) in the farm program.  Her burns were not nearly as extensive as Bristo’s and we were able to treat those ourselves. 

     

    Another man from the farm program (Britius) brought his three year old daughter Libina to the clinic with malaria.  The malaria however was complicated by asthma and anemia.  After a two day admission to the clinic with IVs, nebulizer treatments, malaria medicine, medicine for the fever and iron supplementation for a hemoglobin of 2.5…little Libina was not improving.  Prayer was requested and extended across the ocean.  Sal took Libina  to Zimba Hospital at 2:30 am Wednesday morning at the request of her family.  Sal worked alongside the Clinical Officer there until 6:30 am to start an IV (jugular vein) so they could give her a blood transfusion and put her on an oxygen concentrator that Sal had to show them how to use...They were deciding whether to put her on Quinine  or not for the malaria.  Sal left the hospital with her still in critical condition.  Forty-eight hours later, Britius came to our door with the report that the malaria was under control, the IV was removed as well as the oxygen and she was doing much better.  He said, "Our prayers are working along with yours....thank God."

     

    As for the HIV patients….next Thursday will be the last day for new patients in order that we can get them set up and reviewed prior to our leaving April 16th. When we had the large group of HIV patients a week ago Thursday, I had no more Bibles to give out…..so I wrote out a paper of healing scriptures and we had church in the waiting room.  The group was too large for the exam room! This Thursday I made sure the scriptures were translated into Tonga and again church was in the waiting room. Sal and I are stirred to get the whole group of HIV patients (over 40) together at the farm on the last Thursday before we leave for home. I’m not quite sure what God has in mind but we are going to be obedient however the Holy Spirit leads.  After our Thursday with the patients in town, we usually go back in by ourselves after dropping everyone off to proceed home.  Not so this week however…..instead we delivered a 2.6kg (5.75 lb.) baby boy to a 15 year old unmarried mom.  Baby and mom doing fine…went home this morning with a certificate, a photo and a new baby blanket!  When I asked the name for the baby, grandma said no name yet and asked me my husband’s name….so who knows?

     

    As far as life in Africa….It still continues to rain, well over 50 inches to date.(might almost be 60 by now)  Everyone talks about this being an abnormal amount of rain and how it doesn’t usually continue into March.  Dam 3 broke, I think yesterday….that’s the second one this year and I’m not sure what that means for the dry season.

     

    Sal and I found a pizza place in Livingstone called “Funky Monkey” that actually has pepperoni!!!!!  That was quite a find….remember who I’m married to!!! It was pretty good too…like Thin and Crispy Pizza Hut!  We also found some mocha lattes at a little outdoor place called “Crocodile Café” in Victoria Falls….another good find!!!

     

    Then there was “Hungry Hippos” with steak sandwiches on Ciambatta bread (I’m not sure of the spelling but you know what I mean…like Panera!!!  Who knows what we might discover next? J

     

     

     

    New Baby Boy

     

     

     

    Bristo