This week we were in their outpatient department. Next week we will be in surgery (or as they call it the "theatre"). I have seen more this week than I have in my entire nursing career. I have seen hydrocephalus, spina bifida, club foot, osteomyelitis, tympanoplasty, bone deformities, burn victims with contractures, brain cancer/tumors, a tumor on the larynx, and more ear wax than I have ever seen come out of one ear. I have fallen in love with two little boys that I want to adopt and take home with me... there's Micheal and Shephard. Micheal has a bone deformity that was surgically fixed, but he has a muscle graft going on where his legs are basically connected by a rod and the muscle from his right leg is connected to the muscle on his left leg, crossing over in a way I have never seen before. Watching the dressing change is absolutely heart breaking... he is in so much pain. Micheal has been here for 4 weeks and has been bed-ridden. The nurses say that he is the most patient child there. Every time I walk by his bed, we high-five and he always has the biggest smile on his face. He is such a joy to be around... to watch him hurt makes me hurt.
Then there's Shephard... sweet precious Shephard. He is a hilarious little guy! He is 7 years old and has been at the hospital for 3 months... bed-ridden as well. He has club foot and that kid seriously cracks me up. Despite his physical deformity, he still laughs more than any child there. His smile seriously makes my heart leap.
Here is a journal entry from
What an amazing day it has been. I have seen more in this one day than I have in my whole nursing school. I followed Dr. Kachinga Schisizya (one of the two neurosurgeons here in Africa) as he spent time with about 30 different patients. I saw many cases of hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, and spina bifida. Dr Kachinga would check the shunts of the children with hydrocephalus if VPS (the shunt that drains the cerebral spinal fluid from the brain into the abdomen to be absorbed) were there, and he showed me how to tell if it is working or not. If, when pressing down on the shunt, it bounces back and feels buoyant, it is patent and working properly. When it does not work, it is extremely noticeable, as seen in one patient today. Not only was her head very swollen, but her VPS looked like a large stick in her head. You really can't miss it. One thing happened today I will really never forget. It was a private-pay patient-- his name is Pastor Agnus. He was bringing in his wife who was basically a vegetable but could still communicate. She had a brain tumor and had 90% of it removed by Dr. Kachinga. This man's story brought me to tears... I was doing all I could to not completely break down crying. She had bed sores all over her hips and back. Agnus told me his story about how he became a pastor, and he said every time he tried to do his own thing, it would crash and burn. Every time he followed God's plan, he flourished and had all his needs met. He told me even through his wife's cancer he has seen the finger of God in his life. Every time he would move her, she would scream and yell “my back! My back is burning!!!” … I can't even imagine the pain she is in. They found out she had the tumor when she was giving birth to her third child. Through the entire pregnancy and birth she was blind from this tumor. For her to not even be able to see her child... to see her husband's face as he saw this baby for the first time... I can't imagine the bittersweet moment. The child is a year and a half now, and they have had the tumor confirmed for 6 months. The wife now has partial eyesight in one of her eyes, and as she would look at me when I would hold her hand, I couldn't help but hurt... she would whisper “you're so sweet.” Agnus was so grateful to have someone help him lift her to the bed and back to the chair. That man is carrying so much... God has given him so many trials and so much responsibility. Please pray for them... pray for blessings on their life as they go through their daily life and pray that they will continue to lean on God for every second of it.
Please continue to pray for Josh and myself. Please pray that God will continue to show Himself to us. Pray for the children in the CURE hospital and for the volunteers and doctors here. God is doing amazing things!
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