Random Saturday- Part 1

Here's another look at the struggles and random joys here in Impfondo.

This a 11 month old who has severe malaria in his brain.
He's alive by God's grace
and the fact that we are the only hospital in the region that provides extra oxygen.
He also benefited from 2 blood transfusions.

This young guy also has severe malaria
but also severely low blood counts complicating his care.

This elderly lady needs surgery for twisted bowels.
There is no surgeon here.
She is now trying to recover from our efforts at surgery.

This kid is happy, he was able to get blood for his anemia and malaria.
It took him 3 days just to get to the hospital.

This poor guy has a diarrhea bug and is very dehydrated. 
He also  has cerebral palsy from a neonatal infection. 
We're trying to keep the mom encouraged to give treatments and not give up hope.

Never mind the prints on the sheet,
this lady is here for abdominal pain but is happy to go home.

This guy is a muslim who wrecked when he hit a pig. 
He was heard to say "what the halal?!"
Actually he illustrates (a) trauma is a major issue in Congo and
(b) you have to make your own  stuff a lot here.  Notice the homemade c-collar

There are more pictures to come on yet another random saturday post.  Thanks for praying for us and giving to the work here.

Stephen

POTD

Stephen preached this Sunday. Before he started the sermon, he gave a public health announcement. The best way to avoid Ebola is to wash your hands, don't touch dead bodies, etc. He also told people that a false rumor is going around that eating raw sheep meat along with some instant coffee and milk will keep you from catching Ebola.  Don't try it!
 I bet this is different than what you heard in your church service!

Dried beans and vegetables for sale at the market.
With the border closed between the two Congos, it is more difficult to find meat.
Good thing we like beans and rice!

It takes a village to make frappachino for Stephen!
The five of us managed to do it together!

Biking out of town

If you go north from the hospital, you leave the main part of town.
The views are quite different.

Stephen and I have been trying to go together a couple of times a week.
We've even managed to do a little off-roading.
Biking in the jungle- that's a first!

Sometimes the paved road is rougher than off-roading!

Another off road trail

Where's the trail?
The trail seemed to disappear a few times into tall grass.

More of the "paved road" and local traffic

We passed through this village

Local fruit (or vegetable?)
Safou

Safou tree

Rainy Season

 With the coming of rainy season, we have had more storms.  It has been nice to have the cooler weather, but it makes transpiration more difficult.  Most people walk, bike or ride a motorcycle- not much protection from the rain!

Our front yard becomes swampy during the rainy season.

Around the Web- From Millie

Millie has written another heartfelt blog post about caring for people here in Impfondo: 

It is impossible to describe the intricacies and roots of a culture where death is such a common part of life, where
children are sometimes deemed not worth the financial cost and/or time of treatment by the parents and nurses alike, where families are accustomed to facing a decision to treat one child at the risk of taking away resources from the other children at home. I could live here a thousand years and perhaps not even scratch the surface, but with time, little by little, small glimpses of understanding are given to us. Insight begins to bud, judgement begins to fade away and humbleness sneaks in and grants you grace for a group of people that are forced to face decisions, make sacrifices and experience loss in a way so foreign and unique to us in the western world that we can't possibly understand. The ethical struggles here are so detailed and extensive and I am sure there are amazing books written about all of it explaining everything... But to experience it first hand and care about the people as unique individuals and friends, can often prove to be quite the challenge and perhaps not as clear cut as it would appear from an outside standpoint. The other day a small child passed away from severe malaria. In the hour before her death we did everything possible for her with the resources available. When her heart stopped we continued to fight for her life with CPR, meds and bagging. Normally at a regular government hospital here in Congo, unless the family paid up front for all treatment she would not even receive the basic care, much less a team of people giving her everything possible. While talking to the dad after and expressing my condolences he simply said (in French) "it is life in Africa, but you did all you could, you did so many things, thank you." In a time where after seeing this scenario time after time, day after day, week after week, and watching death after death, it is often too easy to get discouraged, wonder why we do any of it, question if ignorance really is better than this pain, this dad's statement really made an impression on me. Maybe we were not able to save this child's life, but in fighting for her, in caring, in doing all we could, a value was placed on her life and the father recognized that. I thought back to all the children that have passed away these last few months and I had a vision of them in heaven already, but watching us fight for their life, and realizing that just this in itself makes everything worth the fight. The value in playing a role to place meaning on someone's life is immeasurable.

Read the rest at Nurse Millie Goes to Africa

Around the Web and a Quick Update

Saturday morning, Stephen was able to confirm that the samples from Bongandana tested negative for the strain of Ebola that is in the other outbreak.  They do not have an alternative diagnosis or results for the other  Ebola strains yet.

Our family will be staying here.  The idea was that we would go if the tests were positive- meaning the outbreak had spread- or we could not get a result in a reasonable amount of time.

According to “Relief Web,” who has been monitoring the situation, the outbreak is considered under control.  (http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/update-ebola-virus-disease-drc-no11-17-september-2014-enfr)

Our hope and prayer is that the outbreak will die out.  We will remain attentive to the changes in the situation, and we will keep the same triggers for evacuation.  Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement during this time.

We were shocked to learn this week about the murder of eight people on an Ebola education and prevention team in Guinea, including national workers with CAMA services from Hope Clinic.

Ebola Team Members Killed in Guinea

It Will Cost Your Life: Testimony of Moise Mamy, one of the men killed, CMA church planter and evangelist in Guinea

Here are some other interesting articles about Ebola in Western Africa:

Facts about the Ebola Virus

Searching for the Answer: Can the World Stop Ebola

Why Ebola is Terrifying and Dangerous

(It preys on family and caregivers.)

POTD

This lady wanted to thank God for the medical care her friend was able to receive. She was uncomfortable speaking in French or Lingala, so she gave her testimony in Munakatuba. It was then translated into French. When she finished she sang a song thanking God.

Men in town unloading large bags of cement for construction.

Bread delivery from a motorcycle

In addition to Stephen's medical or mission duties, he has another.
Biology teacher!

There has been lots of grass cutting going on around the hospital compound: big tractor, push mower, and machetes. Things are looking good.

Water levels are rising with all of the rain

On a supply run for the pharmacy

Nurses CME

In August, Mille Delion organized a review for several months worth
of continuing medical education classes for our nurses.
It was great to see everyone on our team work together:
teaching, planning the review, helping with the review, or providing supplies.

Millie and Mama Sarah explain how to use the badge size cards of information.

The nurses listening to the explanation of the review activities.

There were four review stations.
Here the nurses are traveling between stations.

Everyone got involved- even the kids!
Isabelle is helping to serve snacks.

Our nursing supervisor, Urbain, quizzes a group of nurses.

Nurses review the proper precautions and treatment of TB.
Christina (at the bottom of the picture) was a trouper.
She was the "TB patient."

Miles helps the nurses review treatment of respiratory illnesses.
Ian was his "patient."

Thinking hard!
There were some tough questions!

One of the prizes earned was a decorated ink pen.

Update

There have been some changes in the Ebola outbreak in the DRC.  It meets the criteria our team set for Tier 1 evacuation.  Unless we get the news soon that the suspected cases and deaths were not from Ebola, our team will begin Tier 1 evacuation.  We do not believe we are in immediate danger, but given the difficulties of traveling to and from Impfondo, we are being cautious.  The children and I will be traveling with the Samoutou family to Brazzaville.  Stephen will be staying here to work at the hospital.  Please pray for our family and all the others involved.

Elliot Tenpenny at Reigning in Life gives a good overview of the situation- with a map!


The current situation with Ebola is changing. Just yesterday (current as of sept 10) there have been reports of 10 suspected cases of ebola with 8 deaths in the Bongandanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is significantly north of the previous outbreak and outside the stated quarantine zone. These 10 cases and 8 deaths are suspected cases at this point and samples have been sent to lab. This is still a distance from our hospital, but significant that if it is confirmed the disease continues to spread. Also there has been one suspected death in Kinshasa, the large city across the river from where we are now.


Please pray for everyone involved on our team as they have some difficult decisions to be made over the next few days. Also please pray for our leadership at Samaritans Purse and World Medical Mission as they decide where and how we are to serve in the future.


See the attached below for more information. The circle in the upper left is the location of our hospital.

An excellent article, "Just Who is Leading the Fight Against Ebola," explains some of the things that are being done (and aren't being done) to treat the Ebola epidemic in Western Africa.

The Ebola toll is fast approaching 5,000, with 2,400 people dead in the space of a few months, the World Health Organization said Friday. It’s getting worse and not better. Yet aid is not pouring into West Africa.

It mystifies Sophie Delaunay, executive director of the U.S. office of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF or Doctors Without Borders). “We know what needs to be done but we don’t know why it’s not being done. It’s incomprehensible to us,” she told NBC News.


Dr. Oliver Johnson of the King's Sierra Leone Partnership at Connaught Hospital in Freetown echoes the sentiment. “The international response to the outbreak remains virtually non-existent, in terms of actual impact on the ground,” Johnson wrote in a plea to international infectious disease specialists. “At Connaught … our isolation unit is full with adult and pediatric cases and we have suspected cases in the waiting area and emergency room that we can't isolate — I don't know how much longer the hospital will be able to stay open in these circumstances.”

The No. 1 need? People.

"The number of new patients is moving far faster than the capacity to manage them. We need to surge at least three to four times to catch up with the outbreaks,” WHO director-general Dr. Margaret Chan said Friday. "The right people, the right specialists, and specialists who are appropriately trained and know how to keep themselves safe."

The lion’s share of the work in Liberia, the hardest-hit country, and much of West Africa has been and is being done by missionaries whose groups had been slogging away for decades through civil wars and disasters to try to minister to the people there.

POTD

Another lady with a huge, heavy load.
The strength of the women here never ceases to amaze me!

A lovely day at the hospital

Stephen and Millie have a quick consultation at the front of the admin building.

Fun at the playground!

Another lovely day!  These are the general medicine wards- men, women & pediatrics.