We are in our final days here at Kalene and time sure has flown by! Just over a week ago Geoff, the Kiwi pharmacist we were staying with, flew back to New Zealand to be reunited with his family after a year. He was such a blessing to us and his absence is very much felt. Before he left there was a farewell lunch for him which was a great time to relax and meet the other missionaries.
Life here has not slowed down one bit however and the hospital continues to bring in any new patients. Some days in particular have been very busy. There was one day in particular that was very full and had some firsts for me as well. On top of the normal ward rounds, surgeries and outpatients for the day that already keeps you busy many of the patients weren’t doing well. After we were finally done with the outpatients Dr Alison and I went to the wards. There was a patient that had been reasonable well the for the last few days who suddenly went down hill. She had unexplained abdominal pain but as she also had a heart condition she was just too unwell to take her to theatre to have a look and try and fix anything. She was dying in front of us and despite all the measures we tried to resuscitate her, with the limited resources we had it was just impossible. That is the first time I have a patient die in front of me while I’ve been trying to resuscitate. I felt bad for the mother who was watching, hoping that we were going to bring her daughter back. In some ways I think it may have been better to let her die in her mother arms instead of with white strangers standing over her.
That is one of the difficult things that has to be decided here in Kalene. In the west we through so much effort at keeping death at bay, but without the resources here to do the same is often to prolong the inevitable and leave the last days these people have as ones spent in hospital with doctors instead of at home with their loved ones. Straight after that experience came another first, draining a lung abscess. The hardest part of that procedure was the fact my hands were shaky from having to hand ventilate the previous patient for the last 30min. It still worked out and we were able to get a lot of the muck out. It was a lot later going home that day and I was pretty tired after that. The night was a bad one in the hospital however and 4 patients died. One of them was a wee boy with HIV and TB. Those are the deaths that have been the hardest to see. A child, who should have had his whole life ahead of him, is snatched because of the infidelity of one or both of his parents. This world is as broken over here as we see in the west, and these people need Jesus just as much as those in New Zealand, even when they seem more ‘spiritual.'
A particular prayer request I have right now is for Dr Felix and his wife. This morning she was unwell, her blood pressure was rising and the baby was starting to drop his heart rate. It was decided that the only chance was for a C-section, and even then the chances a 30 week gestation baby would survive without the equipment was close to, if not 0%. The baby was delivered and survived for a couple of hours before they decided to let him peacefully slip away. Please pray for this family as it is a hard time for them losing their precious, much wanted child. There have also been some good moments here at the hospital in the last weeks too. There have been 2 babies that were born by C-section that had to be resuscitated but both are doing well now. It makes the hard times here worth while- there are ways in which we can make a difference.
We have also had the opportunity to have more of a look around the area in the last week. Chris and I took a bike ride to a nearby village to look at the market. It was fine getting there but it was only 15 min on our way 'home' when we realised we had gone the wrong way. Luckily we were able to get to the market and figure out the right route home before we got too lost!
We also made a trip to Sekeji, where there is a Christian school, to watch an end of year Christmas production and on Sunday, Dr Gill, a visiting orthopaedic surgeon took us on a trip around the Kalene area. We went to visit the hydro dam, which was built by the locals using a lot of man power and only a little machine power. It was impressive to see it and how much can be done without all the machines and technology available to us in the west. We had a lot of fun walking up the 'rapids' which were still very shallow but nice and cool on a hot day. We also journeyed into the Congo on a small dirt road, that did not have border officers, to a old boundary marker. We only were told later what could happen if you got caught in the Congo without the paperwork! Overall it was a very enjoyable day and a good break from the craziness of the hospital.
Chris has been busy with all sorts of things in the last couple of weeks. He has been helping out the local handyman with electrical jobs, helping with more moving and packaging jobs and also been doing some building. One of the old trellises at 'the orchard' was falling down and he built a new one. He made a really good job of it and his help is much appreciated as there is always heaps to do!
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