Melissa and I call our room "The Bat Cave" for very literal reasons. It is dark and...has lots of bats. In addition to the bats we also reside with at least two mice. I know this because I have seen them running across our floor and because I once found one caught in my mosquito net (which I admit, was a low point for me personally). I have been adjusting to living with all these possibly disease ridden roommates, but recently an event occurred which was the proverbial last straw. It would seem that one of the mice has become a proud parent. How do we know? Well, a baby mouse fell from the rafters onto our floor. That's right...it is raining baby rodents in our room. Call me weak, but I have a problem with this. Solution? We're hoping to get a cat.
Monica had a second surgery yesterday to have some tissue from her thigh grafted onto her stump. I have not been able to get any information on how the surgery went, despite many attempted phone calls. I am praying that all went well; I should be able to find out some more information today. I have been thinking a lot about what the next move should be. Please pray that God will give me wisdom as I look into what option is the best for Monica.
This last week we were helping out with the building of a shallow well. The next time I am in Kampala (and have a reasonable Internet connection) I will post some pictures. The community has worked so incredibly hard to build their well. It really is an honor to work alongside them even in our small ways.
This next week we are launching our first "Hygiene Fair" at a local primary school. It is basically a morning for children filled with games, dramas, teaching and prizes all geared towards teaching the kids to practice better sanitation and hygiene. It is definitely an experiment but hopefully it goes well and we can hold several more before we leave.
On a very sad note, our driver and friend Amos has been expecting his first child. We have all been pretty excited about it, actually. Yesterday the baby was stillborn. He is so sad. We went and visited his wife this morning and she is doing well physically but they are missing their little daughter. If you could pray for this family as well I would really appreciate it.
We are hoping to go visit some SP projects up north this next month and do a few touristy things. All that to say my Internet access may be less than usual, but we'll see. Hope to be writing on here again soon.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
An update...
Monica had her right hand amputated at the wrist yesterday. From what we hear she is doing well physically and spiritually. The surgeon will be evaluating her on Monday and hopefully she will be well enought to come back to our village health center. Infection is still an issue so keep praying. THANK YOU to those of you who are praying and who expressed interest in helping provide Monica with a prosthetic. I will keep you posted as I investigate the possibilities. I will put some pictures up when I have a faster connection.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
An e-mail cut and pasted...
Dear family and friends,
This last Friday I was off in the bush doing follow-up with families who received filters in the past few months. Shortly after I arrived a grandmother came running up to my group with her granddaughter in tow. The granddaughter had a cloth covering her right arm and was crying. When the girl removed the cloth I saw the worst burn injury I have ever encountered. The girl has epilepsy and fell into the fire. Her whole forearm was badly burned and, because the injury was already over a week old, badly infected. The worst part, though, was her hand. The tissue was completely dead. I was so worried that this girl, around 16 years old, was going to go into septic shock. We raced her back to our village health center where the nurses graciously provided me with the things I needed to cleanse and dress the wound, and we started the girl on antibiotics. There was no doctor in our area and it was clear that this girl was in serious danger, and most likely in need of an amputation. We were able to drive her several hours Friday night to a hospital in a nearby town where she was admitted. We then returned home to our village.
We have been calling every day to check in and absolutely NOTHING was happening. This morning when we called we were told that the girl had STILL not even been seen by a doctor, and was still only taking the antibiotic tablets that I gave her. To make a long story short, my Ugandan friend and I took a taxi back to the city today. We found the girl right where we left her, lying on a plastic cot with a filthy, fly infested bandage covering her arm. (The state of that hospital is a rant for another time. Sufficed to say that walking through the burn unit was one of the most horrific experiences of my life). My friend has a sister who works in a private hospital here in the city and we decided to just go ahead and take the girl, who’s name is Monica, there instead of waiting indefinitely at the state hospital.
I cannot express how relieved I was once we arrived at the private hospital. I almost cried with relief. Clean, well-stocked, and the nurses and doctor’s showed such compassion and concern. Monica was seen and admitted right away and the surgeon was called almost immediately. Monica will have her right hand amputated today or tomorrow, Lord willing.
There have been so many miracles in this situation: finding Monica at all, my friend’s sister being a nurse here, even the fact that for the first time since I got to Uganda my bank card worked meaning that I would access funds to pay for the treatment at the private hospital. Truthfully, it is a miracle that Monica is even alive. Even the doctor commented on that. She should have gone septic days ago, but right now she is in a great hospital, clean and on IV antibiotics. Praise God! This is amazing.
The reason I am writing this e-mail, (and forgive its grammatical errors, I am at an internet café in town writing as fast as I can) is to let you know about a need that I am anticipating in this situation. Depending on where the doctor decides to amputate, Monica could still have some use of her hand if she receives a prosthetic. I briefly discussed the possibility of that with the doctor today, and she said that if someone funded the project it was very possible to arrange.
At this point in time I really have no idea how much this would cost and what it would all entail. I will get more details tomorrow when we return to the hospital. If any one of you would be interested in donating some funds to getting Monica a prosthetic hand, please let me know and I will give you all the details. This is early and disjointed, I know, but everything takes forever to get moving here and I want to get started. I will send another e-mail this weekend with more details, particularly after I talk with the surgeon.
Talk to you all later this week,
Keren
This last Friday I was off in the bush doing follow-up with families who received filters in the past few months. Shortly after I arrived a grandmother came running up to my group with her granddaughter in tow. The granddaughter had a cloth covering her right arm and was crying. When the girl removed the cloth I saw the worst burn injury I have ever encountered. The girl has epilepsy and fell into the fire. Her whole forearm was badly burned and, because the injury was already over a week old, badly infected. The worst part, though, was her hand. The tissue was completely dead. I was so worried that this girl, around 16 years old, was going to go into septic shock. We raced her back to our village health center where the nurses graciously provided me with the things I needed to cleanse and dress the wound, and we started the girl on antibiotics. There was no doctor in our area and it was clear that this girl was in serious danger, and most likely in need of an amputation. We were able to drive her several hours Friday night to a hospital in a nearby town where she was admitted. We then returned home to our village.
We have been calling every day to check in and absolutely NOTHING was happening. This morning when we called we were told that the girl had STILL not even been seen by a doctor, and was still only taking the antibiotic tablets that I gave her. To make a long story short, my Ugandan friend and I took a taxi back to the city today. We found the girl right where we left her, lying on a plastic cot with a filthy, fly infested bandage covering her arm. (The state of that hospital is a rant for another time. Sufficed to say that walking through the burn unit was one of the most horrific experiences of my life). My friend has a sister who works in a private hospital here in the city and we decided to just go ahead and take the girl, who’s name is Monica, there instead of waiting indefinitely at the state hospital.
I cannot express how relieved I was once we arrived at the private hospital. I almost cried with relief. Clean, well-stocked, and the nurses and doctor’s showed such compassion and concern. Monica was seen and admitted right away and the surgeon was called almost immediately. Monica will have her right hand amputated today or tomorrow, Lord willing.
There have been so many miracles in this situation: finding Monica at all, my friend’s sister being a nurse here, even the fact that for the first time since I got to Uganda my bank card worked meaning that I would access funds to pay for the treatment at the private hospital. Truthfully, it is a miracle that Monica is even alive. Even the doctor commented on that. She should have gone septic days ago, but right now she is in a great hospital, clean and on IV antibiotics. Praise God! This is amazing.
The reason I am writing this e-mail, (and forgive its grammatical errors, I am at an internet café in town writing as fast as I can) is to let you know about a need that I am anticipating in this situation. Depending on where the doctor decides to amputate, Monica could still have some use of her hand if she receives a prosthetic. I briefly discussed the possibility of that with the doctor today, and she said that if someone funded the project it was very possible to arrange.
At this point in time I really have no idea how much this would cost and what it would all entail. I will get more details tomorrow when we return to the hospital. If any one of you would be interested in donating some funds to getting Monica a prosthetic hand, please let me know and I will give you all the details. This is early and disjointed, I know, but everything takes forever to get moving here and I want to get started. I will send another e-mail this weekend with more details, particularly after I talk with the surgeon.
Talk to you all later this week,
Keren
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