Work continues...

Monday is a busy day at the Out Patient Department  My first case was an 8 year boy who had surgery for an infected femur (osteomyelitis) 18 months ago.  He did not return for follow up but mother decided he should be checked now since his leg wounds have not healed in the 18 months.  Unfortunately he has a chronic Staph infection and the leg is 3/4 the size of his good one and has no movement of the hip or knee.  Dr. Bill Walsh (a veteran surgeon mission doctor) will get to consult on this case when he starts this week.
 
I also made my debut in the theater today.  Nothing exotic, removal of an ingrown toenail.  Not everything is Tropical Medicine here. 

Wonder

I was in the clinic this morning as the thunder was coming at me horizontally.  Njinikom is at 5000 foot elevation and sits on top of a mountain ridge or spine.  God has placed us in a beautiful location with the surrounding ridges and valleys being deep 
green in color.  

I saw a man with HIV today who came to refill his anti-retrovirals.  He started his 6 hour walk to the clinic in the middle of the night so he could make it back home before sunset.  He was happy and without complaints.  

I had to wonder..... what if St Martin De Porres Hospital was not here.  While I have had 3 new HIV cases this week it amazes me to see the number of HIV patients on medications doing well. 

Terry will be teaching at St Maria Goretti's Comprehensive High School run by the Franciscan Sisters.  She will be teaching Math to forms 1,2 and 3.  She has begun going over the material as school will be starting in a month.  It should be interesting as she has been informed there are 45-60 students in a class.  Reminds me of my old Catholic Grade School days!

Orientation is over...

After 8 days of orientation with Dr Pius I started rounding independently on patients in the hospital. I have been assigned the Women's Ward. There are presently about 25 women on my service. Each ward has 12-15 beds, depends on how beds are placed down the central aisle! There are some very sick people including one with Cerebral Toxoplasmosis/HIV, one with Cryptococcal Meiningitis/HIV and two with bacterial meningitis. While Tropical Medicine problems abound there are people with the usual things one might see back at home like kidney infections, heart failure and ulcer disease.

I looked at my "OPD Book" today and tallied that 29 of my first 60 patients had HIV. Only 1 was a new diagnosis and the vast majority were here for their medication refills and doing well. One man I saw today has been on his ARVs(Anti-RetroVirals) since 2004 as is leading a normal healthy life. It is gratifying to see this group of patients doing well and enjoying life.

Tomorrow the Sun will Rise

I started seeing patients on my own the last 3 days in the OPD(clinic) and it has gone very well.  You just have to start seeing the medical problems first hand and reorient yourself to the tropics.  I also did rounds by myself alone today and was feeling good.  The nurse did not seem to expect that I would ask her opinion on assessment and treatment.  She remarked it is was very enjoyable.  

As I was finishing this afternoon a 6 month old twin was admitted in respiratory distress and pneumonia with a oxygen saturation of 72%.  IV steroids, antibiotics and oxygen started.  I returned this afternoon to check on the child, and sadly learned that she died an hour after I left.  I do not think anyone ever gets used to the death, especially in children.  

Tomorrow the sun will rise and we will try to help those we can.  

Working...

After working a couple of days at the hospital a couple things have been obvious to me. There appears to be more HIV patients here than in 2004 but I think that is because of the good job they are doing with it here. The stigma of diagnosis has dramatically lessened and therefore more people are being tested including all pregnant women. Project HOPE has increased in size and scope with education and dealing with all the issues around HIV. There have large numbers of patients seen daily for their routine follow-ups and most are looking and doing well. Unfortunately Malaria still has a large presence and Project Hope is now including Malaria prevention in their work.

We were welcomed at our first Sunday Mass, a seemingly short 2 1/2 hour celebration, with 5 priests concelebrating. They were there for a local Njinikom girl who had received her final vows in Rome. We are off to meet the Bishop in Bamenda tomorrow.

Safe and Tired

We arrived here to an escort of young men and native instrument band escort for the last half mile.  The house we are living in is right in front of the one being built for us.  This one has 3 bedrooms/2 baths--hot shower, and 2 housekeepers/cooks/laundresses!!!
  
We love all of you so much. 

Signing off for now, God Bless All of you!

Our past four months...

Wow! What a whirlwind life has been for the past four months.

We packed up the last quarter of a century in our home and moved it into one room in the basement, so Kevin and Julie could move in with their family. Their house had been on the market for several months without any success. The week that we moved to Los Angeles to begin the Formation Program in final preparation for our mission to Cameroon, they got a successful offer on their home. In the past, we might have thought that was just plain good luck. However, we know that the Holy Spirit has been instrumental in many ways to prepare us for this mission. This is only one of the paths He has cleared for us.

At any rate, in late January we began our life in Los Angeles. It only took about two minutes before we realized "Dorothy, you aren't in Kansas anymore." In spite of the many changes in lifestyle we soon grew accustomed to our new home. Our new home was a 15 bedroom former convent. The only full-time residents were Jim and I and the caretaker, Patti. Crowded we were not.

After a few days of orientation, our formation began in earnest. What an incredible experience the program was. We have through Mission Doctors Association and Lay Mission Helpers encountered some of the most wonderful people. Not only were the instructors, well-qualified, but they were living examples of faith. We have no doubt been blessed to share the lives and experiences of present day saints. Jim frequently likens our formation program to a mini-seminary. We have concluded that the opportunity to have participated in this program and get to know so many people who are living their faith through serving the least of His brothers, is a gift that all people should have a chance to receive. And who knows, maybe you will become a missionary along the way.

It was most apropos that on May 23rd, Pentecost Sunday, we were commissioned as missionaries to the Diocese of Bamenda, Cameroon. We have made the long drive from Los Angeles back to Moses Lake, Washington. Fortunately, we did get to break up the nearly 1200 mile drive with an overnight stop to visit Chris and Amy and our two grandsons.

We are now homeless in Moses Lake, living with Kevin and Julie for a few weeks while we tie up a few loose ends and do the real packing. Whew, I don't envy us that job. We shall have a chance to visit with friends, play a little golf and fish a day or two. We are planning a family trip to Hawaii, it should be a nice opportunity for quality time with the boys and their families, as well as relaxation and fun. As a parent I hope that it is a time for our sons to establish a precedence for family bonds that they will be able to maintain in our physical absence.

And then will come July 10, 2010. It is the day that Jim and I have been preparing for for the last nearly three years. He of course, has been preparing for that day for over 30 years. He just forgot to let me in on the call for a couple of decades.

You have been so supportive of our mission, both prayerfully and financially, for quite some period of time. We are most appreciative of that support. The housing that many of you have had a very direct hand in providing is under construction. The monsoon season has arrived so it won't be completed by the time we arrive, but who knows maybe that means we will have input into what color the walls will be. I must tell you though that seasoned missionaries tell me that there are only a couple of mission paint colors. I shall keep you posted on the housing progress.

We hope that you will continue to support our work in whatever ways you can. And know that we will be praying for you.