Yesterday I had a very interesting young man present to the Out Patient Department. He had fallen off a motorcycle with no injury to his back. Histories frequently don't make sense here so you try to piece things together as best as possible. At some point he got a penicillin shot in his derriere and shortly thereafter developed pain and swelling in his lower back with weakness in his legs. He was seen several places and was told the problem was from an incorrectly given penicillin shot.
note difference below 3rd
square bone just above flash
He had with him a great digital x-ray showing major destruction of L3-L4-L5 vertebral bodies (sorry my flash messed up the picture). Exam showed an impressive midline swelling in his lower back.
Diagnosis: Pott's Disease, Tuberculosis of the spine (I have not seen this since our trip to Zimbabwe)
He is fortunate it is as low in the spine as it is or he would likely have complete paralysis of his legs. Hopefully TB meds will prevent further loss of strength in his legs.
Some things are no different than at home. The number of women in the hospital had dropped and I was happy to be able to do rounds in an hour. It took only a few days and a few very sick new patients to expand the time it took to do rounds. I like to do rounds to start the day but the outpatients begin lining up first thing in the morning so frequently I see outpatients for 2-3 hours before starting rounds.
One of my new additions is a lady with HIV and TB requiring a chest tube to drain fluid from her lung. She is stoic taking a few Tylenol for her pain.
Today was Market day so fewer people came to OPD. Terry and I were able to get to the market and experience the chaos.
Yesterday was a day of triumph. Victorine went home with a happy family. Her confusion resolved with increased oxygen after her blood transfusions. Hopefully her new HIV regimen will work for her as we fight her TB. Bill has been joined by Dr. Magued Khouzam for his last 2 weeks. They had worked together when Bill was in Uganda. They spent 4 hours operating yesterday on a lady with a ruptured splenic abscess. She was in septic shock but fortunately made it through surgery. Our prayers are with her today.
Victorine is the lady with HIV and TB who had a hemoglobin of 2.5. After 4 units of blood she was sitting up in bed today and told me she was "as strong as a lion". We are all more optimistic with her prognosis today.
There is a team of Orthopedic Surgeons from Holland has been coming to St. Martin de Porres Hospital for years. They exclusively work on children with crooked legs, usually extremely bowed legs. Because of this people come year long to inquire about getting their children's legs fixed.
I saw a 14 year old boy yesterday whose lower legs were only 1/3 the size of normal and extremely deformed. He amazingly could stand on these legs but he had worn out his prior crutches. He has had 4 prior surgeries but I don't think any thing further can be done. We were able to get his some new blue crutches and I saw him today slowly maneuvering thru the hospital with a big smile on his face!
The Women’s Ward was all excited today as one of the women had her 1 year old son with her. He was as cute as a bug and he knew it and had all the patients smiling with his antics.
With 14 beds in a confined area these patients help one another and share each others joys and sorrows.
There are 2 women on the Ward who have been there since my arrival. Being in the hospital anywhere for a month is not a good sign. One of the ladies in her 50's is being treated for HIV and TB. She has been extremely weak and yesterday her Hemoglobin had dropped to 2.5, the lowest number I have ever seen. It is a side effect of one of her HIV meds so hopefully with several blood transfusions and a medication change she will be better. The family has to arrange for donors so it may take some time as she doesn't have many family members.
Today I saw a new patient who fractured his lower leg in a traffic accident 4 years ago. He had a plate inserted but "the wound has healed slowly". I did not need a x-ray to see the plate, it was visible thru the multiple open draining areas over the plate. I am sure the bone is infected(osteomyelitis). He was very happy that he has continued to walk well, "it surprises many people" he boasted. He chose to go home and work for another 2 weeks before coming into the hospital for surgery.
It amazes me daily what people here endure and usually without complaint.
Busted Halo said "We are asked to see God in all things and at all times; that is why we are encouraging our readers to take their halos — busted and otherwise — along with them this summer, for our Summer Halo Contest. But we don’t want you to simply tell us where you find God this summer; we want you to show us."
So we did. We submitted a photo and now we need your vote. Visit the Busted Halo site and simply click on our photo to vote.
Jim and Terry Hake have been at St. Martin de Porres Hospital in Njinikom, Cameroon since July 2010. With the prayerful support of their family and friends, and relying on Our Lord to be their daily companion, they are in the second year of a three year mission.
I saw a 14 year old boy yesterday whose lower legs were only 1/3 the size of normal and extremely deformed. He amazingly could stand on these legs but he had worn out his prior crutches. He has had 4 prior surgeries but I don't think any thing further can be done. We were able to get his some new blue crutches and I saw him today slowly maneuvering thru the hospital with a big smile on his face!
The Women’s Ward was all excited today as one of the women had her 1 year old son with her. He was as cute as a bug and he knew it and had all the patients smiling with his antics. 
