Another Random Saturday Part 3

Here are so.me more picts from that same Saturday.

motorcycle accidents are tough.  This is how we treat closed femur fractures here at our hospital. 6wks of traction

Yet he still smiles.

This gentleman fractured his leg about 4 wks before coming in.  Still was trying to walk on it.  He had an infection so he got a cast and some local dressing changes.

This little guy had his iguinal hernia repaired here.

A picture of stoicism.  He got a below the knee amputation the next day for a dead foot.

This little guy came in weighing 10kg at 5 years of age.  After a feeding tube and goo nutrition he's up to 13kg and is now smiling and playing

This man had a hernia repair as well.

This lady tried to break up a fight and got bit so hard on her finger that it broke the bone and then showed up to our hospital 5 days later with dead tissue and lots of infection..  She is slowly getting better

This is actually 2 patients.  The first is the mom who had a skin an muscle infection needing a huge incision on her back  an lots of dressing changes.  Her son developed malnutrition here when the mom stopped breastfeeding and was too sick to care for him.  He is doing better now with a little extra protein.

Its very dangerous to cross the street here in Impfondo.  This kid was hit by a truck and had a broken femur on the right (he's in a type of skin traction) and also ripped open his knee on the left.  He is doing better now and we can cast him soon.

Even with his 102 (at the time of pict) temp he still managed a smile.  He's afebrile now and even happier.  he likes the puppet shows we do for him.

This young lady had a generalized abdominal infection from an authorized abortion.  The person who did the abortion punctured her uterus and she came in with pus everywhere.  after a surgery and a couple of abscess drainage she was able to leave the hospital.

AND NOW THE STARS OF THE SHOW!!!

Here are the nurses that worked that day with me.

This is Charnelle.  She works in maternity, is a very bright hard worker.

From left to right.  Augstin (a nurse consultant, and also a photographer), Lillian (a CNA level nurse but who is learning a lot here) and Ghislain (one of our recent nursing training  program grads who is now learning eye screening an exam with Dr. Henri Samoutou)

  Again, your support helps us do all of this.  Thanks for  all you do for us.

Stephen

At the Market

Produce Aisle

Caterpillars are back in season.

More produce

You can buy spices, rice or beans by the cupful.

Fresh Meat: This man has purchased a duck to eat.With no refrigeration, many people try to keep their meet alive as long as possible.

The cook for our hospital cafeteria (in the orange hat) rplacing her daily purchases in her bike basket.

You can sometimes purchase grilled meat at the market.  The head of the goat is on the ground in the corner of the picture.

Travel in the Congo- Part 2

While flying may be an adventure at times, we are happy that it is an option for us.  Our other options for traveling any distance are limited.

For about one half of the year it is possible to get to Brazzaville by boat.  The fastest these boats go between Brazzaville and Impfondo is five days.  For the "fast boat" you have to be prepared.  The boat doesn't stop or slow down, but you can paddle out via canoe, and climb aboard.

The other boats take about two weeks, unless they break down, which seems to be about 75% of the time.

How do most people in Impfondo get around town, or go to visit a place further away.

1. Walk

Walking is the most common means of transportation.

This little girl is going out to work in her family's garden.

2. Bicycle

Dr. Laura arriving at our house on one of her rare days off work.

3. Automobile

You can take a bus ride for 200CFA (about $.40US).  Or if you're lucky, you can get a ride in a truck.

Isabelle is showing how to drive the gator.  This is used for transporting things on the hospital grounds.

4. Mototaxi

Recently this has one of the most popular ways to get around town.  Unfortunately, it is also the most dangerous way to get around town.  There are accident victims in the hospital on an almost daily basis.

5. Pouse-pouse/wheelbarrow

If you need something or someone moved, you can use a cart called a pouse-pouse (literally push-push) or a wheelbarrow.

Pouse-pouse at the market.  That's my bide and yellow trailer in the background.

For those who can't walk on there own, their family finds creative ways to get them around.  This man is bringing his wife to the hospital for an appointment.

6. Boat/Canoe

You can always travel by canoe.  This can get you to some of the villages along the river that are hard to reach by land.

Canoes by the ocean in Pointe Noire

Another Random Saturday prt 2

You might remember this guy from the last time.  He has paraplegia from an infection.  He has no family in the area and now doesn't have a way to support himself.  So he's hanging out with us.  I hope we can find someone who can teach him something to do with his hands

This young lady will be with us 2 months for he treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Who is sick here?  The girl in the red.  She has a chronic bone infection in her right arm that we've ha to clean out frequently.

The mom of this child was convinced that the child was a sorceress because the child was not gaining weight.  She is still underweight for her age and height but is catching back up steadily.

This little guy is swollen from a type of malnutrition called Kwashiokor.  It comes from not having enough protein in one's diet.  The big challenge is to keep the mom and dad on board with giving the right food

This is another guy suffering from malnutrition.  This one was doing oik until he got a stomach bug and then he ha no reserve to eat or maintain weight.  He's starting to turn around now

This cutie is the child of a first time mom and needed some help learning how to breastfeed.  It also helped that we were able to feed the mom as well.

This elder had a stroke pushing his wife (see next) in a wheelbarrow to receive care.  He can now walk again and talk but his right hand is still very weak.  Have I mentioned we need a physical therapist?

This is the wife who has a chronic wound on her foot that is slowly healing with good wound care.

You can see that we have  a lot of social problems here in Impfondo and the line between being an independent adult or active child and being sick is very thin.  Please continue to pray for our patients.  Pray for God's wisdom with their medical an social problems and for us to be good porters of God's love to them.

Part 3 coming soon.