In our last update you got to hear from Larry about how he spends his days. Today, it's Rhonda's turn to share about some of the things that she has been up to in these past two months. We hope you enjoy a glimpse into her days. If you haven't yet subscribed to this update you can sign-up below. Thanks! |
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Nursing in Africa
A couple of weeks ago I took Francisca, our 13 year old who has Sickle Cell Anemia, to a very rural hospital, down into the Great Rift Valley. Her liver was enlarged and belly very distended, but no other signs of crisis. She is normally treated in Nairobi, but a couple of weeks prior I had made contact with an Emergency Room doctor from the States who is working at Kijabe Hospital. I asked Dr. Matson (nephew to Pastor Howard Matson) if he would be willing to see her since there have been advances made in treating Sickle Cell patients in the States. He was a huge help in connecting us with a great pediatric team comprised of national and international Doctors.
While we were in Kijabe they discovered Francisca’s heart was enlarged and she had thickening of her mitral valve due to severe anaemia for such a long time. It turns out her liver was enlarged because she had contracted 2 strains of malaria. She did not present with the usual malaria symptoms because it was masked by her typical sickle cell pain.
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She could have gone home, but malaria medications lower hemoglobin levels, worsening the anemia. We spent the night so they could repeat blood tests to make sure she didn’t drop to a level that would require a blood transfusion. So, what do you do all day and night with a child who is in the hospital and who, in the scheme of things, was feeling fairly well... You take funny pictures of each other on the cel phone and then creatively edit them - of course! The room we stayed held 8 single beds. Our unit was all babies about 6-8 months old with either respiratory or feeding issues. The moms slept in the beds with |
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the babies, while the babies slept on their backs…yes with reflux issues!!! It was common for a mom to leave the baby on the bed and go to the bathroom - railings were there, but never used… needless to say, I didn’t sleep much and thankfully not, because while a mom was in the bathroom her reflux baby started choking on secretions. I got up, turned her on her side and cleared her mouth. When mom came back she was confused as to how her baby was now propped on her side. I fessed up and she was thankful. As I laid in the bed with Francisca, I thought to myself, “How did I get here? I’m laying in a hospital bed in rural Kenya”. Such a strange feeling…. |
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Francisca’s blood count remained stable through the night and so we were discharged
the next day. If you think discharge times are long in the States... let’s just say that this experience was daunting and TRULY stretched my patience! I think I physically experienced growing pains. <img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e9922_f08e343127774efe8d9971ba20f4b6e6.png_256" height="22" width="22"> |
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With 100 children rainy season brings lots of colds, coughs, strep…. besides a variety of other infections from school & contaminated water playing by the boys while walking home from school (fun, but naughty)! Needless to say, passing out medications was becoming a bit crazy.
Larry came up with the idea of teaching the discipline of patience in waiting. It’s a great life skill for everyone, but especially helpful in Africa. Here, there are very few doctor’s appointments. Everyone shows up when needed and you wait. You wait in line (the queue) to register and then wait in another line to pay the consultation fee. You then wait in line to be seen. Wait in line to pay for your tests |
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that have been ordered. Then wait in the next line for lab work. Then wait in line for X-rays. Then wait in line for the results. Wait in line to re-see the doctor. Wait in line to pay for prescriptions. Then finally wait in line to receive the medication... I have even seen a couple of hospitalized elderly patients with IV’s in their hands waiting in the queue to have X-rays done. Seriously! The kids have not only learned how to wait, but how to greet the caregiver properly and verbalize their needs. Best of all... they weigh, “do I really need that elastic plaster (band-aid) or is this scab good enough?” <img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e9922_460af95cc2094bc6879c520de6b7f8a4.png_256" height="22" width="22"> |
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Some Thoughts on Living Cross-Culturally |
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A Car: A huge thank you to those who generously donated toward our outgoing expenses! After much searching and lots of bartering (via Chris, our Kenya director, who is a bartering champion) we have purchased this 2007 Nissan X-Trail. It is 4WD and has been a God-send during raining season floods and rough Kenyan roads. What an enormous blessing! |
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Cooking: The kids and staff continue to draw us into learning to cook “Kenyan style”. Zebalon who is in 11th grade, was teaching me how to make ugali. If you can imagine Cream of Wheat made out of corn flour and then cooked until it is a solid - that’s ugali. It’s a staple food served with Sukuma Wiki (like collard greens). Zebalon would like to become a chef and is always willing to help out in the kitchen. He was a great teacher, encouraging and patient, but once the ugli started to thicken I had to turn it back over to the expert. He's a great kid and quite a joker. Just the other day he brought over a chameleon to try to scare Rhonda. |
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Kendi was teaching Larry and I how to light a jiko. Larry would like to get one so we can grill meat. Not going to lie… it was a lot of fun watching the staff get a good laugh out of the length of time it took us. We were successful and they were able to use it to make African chai. Success! |
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Our first guest: In May, Carly Lange came to visit First Love Children’s Home for a couple of weeks. She is a pediatric nurse at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and was a huge help in getting medical files created for each of our children and with re-organizing supplies in the clinic. We had a great time together during the two weeks she was here. Thanks Carly! |
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Burning of the tusks: One of the days while Carly was here, Larry & I took her to Nairobi National Park for Safari. It happened to be a couple of days after the park set fire to over $172 million worth of illegal wildlife goods, primarily elephant tusks (105 tons) and rhino horns (1.3 tons). Originally there were 12 burning towers that stood 10-ft high by 20-ft wide of animal remains. CNN reported that this was the largest burn in history. In 10 years central Africa has lost as many as 70% of the elephants. This was the fourth burn since 1989. When we came across this scene, the guards were still protecting the burning remains. After some discussion, they finally allowed us to approach the burn site and walk around the grounds. There was a solemn feeling in the cool morning air. Surreal! |
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