July 23

23 Jul 2009 – Day 43

Greetings in the name of Jehovah , the LORD who heals us! (Ex 15:26, Ps 103:3, Ps 147:3)

I should never have mentioned how quiet the hospital was! Things are busy again. Please pray for us. This Monday the Briggs family and Dr. Martin both return to the States leaving two pediatricians and a surgeon. It means every other night call for a while and leaves a real gap in OB coverage. I’m learning as much as I can before Monday!

Cari the farmwife is sad. We discovered that our pet mouse was actually living in one of the kitchen drawers, curling up in a dishtowel. We couldn’t tell if the poop was fresh but then we found two fresh urine puddles. The drawer looked so much like a home I was worried I was in a Disney movie. We moved the unmolested traps into its home and they quickly did their duty (I guess African mice do like peanut butter after all). ATsuTse helped us get rid of it (talk about “chickens”!). Definitely NOT a Disney movie.

Speaking of animals, we have a toad problem. Or rather, a problem toad. He must be a former tenant who thinks he still lives here. There are many toads, often sitting out on the path at night practically begging to get stepped on. Maybe there is an upside to the snakes after all. I was sitting on the kids’ bed and felt something move under my leg. I was worried about snakes but didn’t dare check for fear of getting bit, but then checked for fear of the kids getting bit, but didn’t find anything. But later that day I was sitting in the rocker and felt the same thing behind my back. Now I was quite freaked out and jumped up, something moved……just a gecko. Never had that happen before.

The Briggs family volunteered to watch the boys so Cari and I took a romantic 3 hour hike up the mountain. It was nice to walk at an adult’s pace. We met several people on the road including a man who spoke Spanish as well as French and Eve and a spattering of English. We practiced our greetings numerous times in response to the cries of “yovo”. We saw and heard more army ants. After 1.5 hours I was just pooped. We had been told the first village was only 45 minutes away, and our Spanish speaking friend kept saying “almost there”, “just around the next bend”, but after two or three false alarms (and numerous chuckles about the similarity to picking out the perfect Christmas tree) we decided to head back. The next morning we went to church that way and discovered we had indeed been just one more bend from the village.

Rounds continue to be challenging.…a mixture of joy and heartache:
A 6 year old girl admitted this afternoon unconscious. She was started on malaria treatment since that is by far the #1 cause in children. When the grandmother finally arrived we got a completely different history. She was with a friend somewhere else, they grabbed a bottle from atop the cupboard and drank most of it! She slowly woke up through the course of the afternoon but reeked of alcohol. I’ve never seen that before.
The boy who drank lye came back. It ended up scarring his esophagus after all. He’s lost 5 pounds and can’t eat or drink well so he got a G-tube this morning and will need surgery down the road.
We always ask why people come to the hospital (“chief complaint”), or why they have brought their child to be seen. Russ was on call and heard a chief complaint that neither he nor I have ever heard before – “What’s wrong with your child?” ….. “He’s dead.” Turns out he had supposedly died that afternoon at the grandparents, but by nightfall when the parents arrived to start funeral arrangements someone noticed that he was still breathing. He ended up dying anyway, not surprisingly.
We sent a 40 year old lady home to die earlier this week. She had been sick for several months, losing weight, coughing blood – her HIV test was positive so she probably had TB as well. After our lightning rounds I went back in to talk to her some more. 10 kids, three had died. A husband who was also wasting and sick (and also ended up testing positive for HIV). When I asked if she was eating ok the family responded no, she hasn’t eaten in two months! I started to scold her (trying to do it in a good way if that’s possible), telling her that if she doesn’t eat, then our medicines aren’t going to be able to help her. Then I felt bad about scolding her and realized she probably already knows our medicines can’t help her now. My heart changed. Feeling compassion now, I realized I should be sharing the gospel with her instead of scolding her. I remembered how the Bible says Jesus loved the rich young ruler even though the rich man ultimately went away sad, and I tried to see her with Jesus’ eyes of love. Daniel, the nurse, and I talked about when Jesus healed the paralytic, first forgiving his sins, then healing his disease. And we shared about the two thieves on the cross, one of whom believed in Jesus during his last moments on earth and Jesus promised him a place in paradise. She accepted Christ. Then we sent her home to die. She will leave behind 7 kids.
We sent a second lady home to die this afternoon, young lady, only 20. She had something incredibly complicated, with kidney and liver failure and we think probably adrenal failure as well – she had hyperpigmentation, truncal obesity, moon facies, and profound weakness. It had been going on for 9 months and she was very sick, but we still always hope we can do something. I feel like a failure even though I know she’d have gotten a gazillion tests and scans back in the States. Medicine in the dark with a blindfold on, I guess. Today we sent her home to die before it got dark and while she could still get into a taxi. We also broke mom’s heart as it was her only daughter.
Our 28 week premie is still alive. It’s not on full feeds yet so every two or three days when we lose the IV its touch and go – she’s one failed IV from death. But she’s otherwise doing great. The two miracle 30 week twins both died within 24 hours of each other (Mom came in for persistent bleeding after giving birth at home. We took her back to the OR to stop the bleeding in the uterus, only to discover another baby inside! Born over four hours apart, but both very premature). We also lost a 3 day old to oomphalitis (infection of the umbilical cord that spreads to the whole body causing sepsis (blood poisoning) probably from unsterile birth conditions). I’ve only read about it, never seen it, but here we really do see everything.

Thank you again and again and again for your support – your prayers and good wishes. I think today I have hit a wall, a bit homesick. I was dreaming of air conditioning, the hammock, dinner out, taking a nap on the couch, chips and salsa in front of a football game..……no ants……..Five more weeks seems like a long time…… (I’m wallowing a bit today)

Come to Africa! Missionary advantage #3: CHARTING is unbelievably simple, like back in the good old days. (No Dictating, and No Joint Commission.)

God humor #3. I walked into the doctor’s lounge and found my backup pair of glasses I had left here two years ago, a little moldy but otherwise unharmed. Good thing we came back!

May you seek the LORD while he may yet be found. And may you love him more than anything else in your life (hammocks and air conditioning included). And mawu ne no kpuli wo (May God go with you).

Yours in the service of our LORD,

CADT (The Robertsons)