Great fellowship tonight

Tonight 14 of us had dinner together at my house. Everyone, including the missionaries, got together for a share time. Earlier in the day during our break time in the morning, Dr. Dunn and I were recapping the trip and about how appreciative we are for it. I finally let the tears out. I've been holding them in for a while. They are tears of "Wow, God, you amaze me by how you blessed us beyond what we imagined on this trip" or "I'm so thankful for this experience" or "How can I leave." Anyway, all of us go home at the end of this month or the beginning of the next month, so we all had the opportunity to put it into words somehow for each other tonight. The missionaries lit up. I hope it inspires them seeing how much we are inspired by what God is doing here and through them. Like I said about that new grass here after the rain, that's me, a renewed person after this trip. Psalm 23 talks about leading us to the still water, lying in green pastures, and how He restores my soul. Every one of us said it was life changing. I've been on many mission trips, and this one was one of those life-changing ones. I'm still processing the details. :) Dr. Dunn and Dr. Renfro put it nicely to me regarding the emotions, "We sweat from our eyes out here." In other words, "If your eyes leak well, your head won't swell." I think everyone's eyes have been leaking.


After that sweet time together, we went back and were used by God again and helped the sick. I saw something I have never seen before, along with countless other things that I have only seen here (too many to number), a child with meningeal signs of neck stiffness and meningitis, but what got me was when I did his spinal tap. Usually, you have to wait patiently for a drop or two of cerebrospinal fluid to come out of the needle you place in their spine. This boy's fluid caught me off guard. It sprayed across the room and hit the wall and was cloudy. This is another reason God brings us here to work. The boy was in need of some serious help. He had increased cerebral edema with meningitis--in other words, an emergency. Similar story last night with something only in Africa. As we were all in a prayer meeting, they came and got me for a sick baby. The baby was grimacing in the face and, as I glanced, the umbilical area didn't look clean. It was neonatal tetanus. I guess for a pediatric neurologist in training to learn about.

To top if off tonight, Doris, my second mom, found me during her off hours to tell me how wonderful God is to her in her life. Her husband died four years ago and she has four kids. She doesn't worry about money, because God provides. She said it is good to know God, so it is good to know you. Praise the Lord for these relationships. I can't explain it. Maybe one of the practical examples of the people here is how no matter where you go in any village or roadside, if a child is near the road, they light up, smile, and wave at you, practically chasing the car.



Remember the previous blog--that t-shirt, "I hope you are doing what makes you happy." I think I am. :)

I'm so glad I went to the village

I didn't get to share about my afternoon to the village yet. I went into the bush. Literally, Mrs. Baba, Mary Anne, several nurses, and I all went together in an SUV and off-roaded to a village an hour and a half away. We were on nothing but a dirt road, which she called the "highway." Then we took off and went straight onto grass and drove over bushes and weaved through trees. You really had to be there to understand this. She knew exactly where she was going the whole way. There was a narrow dirt walking path that she kept the tire on. She said the problem during the rainy season is that it becomes to muddy and the car gets stuck, so they are literally blocked from getting to the remote villages to give the people healthcare. They give immunizations to the children and, if anyone is sick, they will admit them to our hospital an hour and a half away. There is also a nutritional rehab center they can go to for malnutrition treatment. So, as we are driving, all you see is green shrubbery, trees, and dirt. At one point, when the road was a little wider, there was all of the sudden the most beautiful red flowering tree. It was next to the church. I thought it was so ironic that the one thing that catches your attention is near a church. That's how we should be. Bearing the fruit and radiating. This tree is called "flamboyant."

As we were driving, the radio was playing a station in Accra, the large city in the south. Today is "Malaria Day." The talk radio was encouraging people to recognize signs of malaria and not to ignore them, but to take action and go get medicine. They are even teaching people basic things like, if you have not had your menstrual cycle in two months, go to an antenatal clinic. Seriously, people do not think of prenatal care here. They want to have their babies at home and then miss all of the prenatal care. One segment of the show talked about the issue of time management with women such as how they can effectively manage time working in the kitchen, the introduction of modern technology, and what the microwave does to change their culture. Can you believe they are talking about the microwave? This is what it is here. I can't explain how primitive. Some who can afford it in larger towns will have cell phones. These people have skipped a whole generation of the land line phone. It's too hard with the terrain to keep up with that, so they are able to have a few cell towers, instead, to provide communications. No TVs. The cell phone with extra fees can provide internet exploring and emails, though.

Back to the village, we arrived and I saw some babies who were sick, then gave immunizations to many. These immunizations give these children promise. Then, I had a cultural experience. I needed to use the bathroom, and I asked Mrs. Baba if there was one in this remote place. We were literally out in the pasture with several mud compounds nearby. No town, stores, etc. So, they brought me inside one of the mud compounds. A lady who lived there let me come in. It was a circular enclosed mud area on the sides with open air on top and a hard mud floor with a form of a drain. That is the toilet, basically the floor. After that interesting experience, I was invited into her home. Most of the homes are circular huts about 5-6 feet in diameter. It seems like a privileged wife gets to live in the rectangle one about 9x 9 feet. It was a hard mud floor with no windows and jars stacked on each other that held their clothes. Their food was in one corner, which included a bag of peanuts and a bowl of flour. The rest of the floor was empty for lying or sitting space. It was hot and muggy in there. Mrs. Baba told me that meningococcal meningitis thrives in these types of enclosed climates. She's right. That's why it is so rampant. I asked, why can't they have windows? She said the men don't trust their many wives and don't want them to sneak out of the window and leave the mud compound. This was just a phenomenal cultural experience for me. It was enriching to be a part of how they live.

Today, worth a million

Today was a clinic day, but I was asked to go into a village and help out with public health. I asked Mary Anne, one of the new volunteers, to go with me. I worked in clinic the whole morning and then did public health this afternoon.

This morning was wonderful! I keep telling Dr. Dunn, "you just can't journal this." How do I express to you the line of people coming forward each day to accept Christ during the devotional. It is daily! They see the fruits of their labor here. Today Dr. Dunn had a special patient who just did not seem right. He was being treated for malaria, but I could tell something further was wrong with his spirit by the way he looked at me and at his surroundings. Just then, he started shaking some. It was not a seizure. My first thought was he might be on street drugs. Do they have those here? Yes. There is marijuana and another plant they smoke that can drive a person to psychosis. Well, after Dr. Dunn finished, I said I think we need to go to the chaplain, something is not right with this man's spirit. So, Mary Anne and I went with him there. That was great, because I saw first hand how they counsel them. We found out the man is on several drugs and drinks a lot. The chaplain, in a non-condemning voice, asked the man if he wanted to change his heart today and stop putting those things in it, since we are supposed to save our hearts for the Lord's temple. He said, maybe God had you come from miles away just so you can have the chance today to turn around without condemnation. Just start over, forgetting the past but being able to use it to help others turn around one day. The man said he understood and was willing. I pray for this man and for his life to change.

Today in clinic, I saw Joyce's son wearing a t-shirt saying "I hope you are doing what makes you happy." T-shirts here speak strong messages. Too much. It spoke to me in a good way showing how we all were there working hard and being made joyful every step of the way. Let me tell you about one person who exemplifies this t-shirt. His name is Cheney. He used to be a member of the tuberculosis colony, but he just kept hanging around, so they eventually put him to work here and he has sort of adopted the grounds. He does odds and ends with the land. He always hangs out around our house here. Every time I see him, you say hello to him and he says, "I'm fine" with the largest smile you can imagine. He will then say something about how he loves the Father and Jesus and says "hallelujah, amen." One day, he was working outside, and instead of whistling while you work, he was singing. The song was in English but with his accent I could pick up, "hallelujah, Jesus." Today, Cedrick and I were talking about him, and Cedrick goes, it's like he's drunk but not on wine. That's something to think about and be like.

The woman with a stick

Last week, a woman came in barely able to walk and leaned all of her weight on to a stick. She couldn't walk, because one leg was about three times the size of the other one in width. She had an enormous abscess in her right thigh. Now, I don't like removing large amounts of pus, but I'll step up to the call when needed. So, last week I volunteered to be the one to do her I&D, or removal of pus in her leg. First of all, we had to make sure it was an abscess, so I stuck in a needle to aspirate it. Sure enough, it came out. I'm sharing this with you because of the rest of the story to come. Mind you, to my surprise, a literal bucket full of pus came out of her leg! How does this happen to someone? Because they come from miles to get here. They do not know the value of going to the hospital right away when a problem starts. They even try local medicine sometime, which is stuff like cutting on one's leg with a razor or painting the skin.

Well, this week she came back in for follow up and she pointed to me that I was the one who fixed her leg. It all came back to me and I remembered quite well. She said, "I was the one with the stick." I responded to her how she wasn't using it anymore, how that was a miracle, and how that abscess could have made her lose her leg or her life. I told her that God uses His people and He healed her. This woman is no longer with a stick. Praise God!

Another amazing Mango Tree story

Yesterday we had another kid who fell from a mango tree come in. Unlike the previous boys, he was able to speak and was conscious. He never lost consciousness but was unable to walk, so he was carried in by family members. As I went to check on him, Clint, the son who is here with his father, wanted to videotape some patients and us to use back at home for encouraging others to help out. So, he video-taped me examining the boy and explaining his condition. The serious thing about this boy was that he could not lift his arms. If you held them up, they fell on his face. My heart sank. I knew he had neurological damage. What I liked about the use of the video was the fact that this was a chance for more people to hear and see a miracle. We prayed for him right then and gave him steroids. That night, still no change. Today, change. He lifted his arms for me!! Praise God. That is a miracle. We do not have modern science or neurosurgeons out here. Never mind, we have The Neurosurgeon. Again, praise God. I thought to myself today, God specifically healed him to lift his arms so he will lift his arms one day to praise God! Amen.

A need for another miracle

One more thing before I head back, since I need your prayers. Yesterday, we had a boy come in who was comatose and they had no history in the family of what happened or how long he had been like that. His family speaks another language and we don't always have that translator here. So, here we go. Well, first thought was he could have fallen from a mango tree, but his family denied that. Second thought was meningitis, so we start antibiotics immediately covering malaria, typhoid, and other common causes. Third thought when I checked his blood pressure and pulse was cushing's triad, when you have a high blood pressure and low pulse, which he had, explaining cerebral edema or increased intracranial pressure maybe due to a mass in his head. We started steroids. There is no way to image his head here to see inside it. We don't have extensive labs available either. You honestly rely on God giving you intuition and by recognizing the clinical exam. You pray. He is not responsive to pain. Anyway, I believe in miracles! So, let's pray for him. May the Lord's will be done.

This is the day the Lord has made and His surprises

Last night Elizabeth, the missionary, mentioned to me not to worry if I heard people coming in late last night, because we were expecting two more to arrive in the room next to mine. This morning I met them and we were blessed. It is a father and his grown son who were here in the 1960s as a missionary family that served in this very place. It has been their dream to return and see how it has changed, so they are on a father-son trip here now for a few days. Immediately after greeting them, the emotions came. They had tears in their eyes, as they tried to express what was beyond words could describe about how meaningful this place is to them. The son said sometimes you have those meaningful moments in your life you will never forget that may be as short as 5 minutes or as long as several years. He said Nalerigu is one of those moments for them. They lived here when there was no electricity and no lights in the village. They rode in amazed to see a partially paved road in one section of the trip and some lights. God changed them for life here. The father was a veterinarian and a farmer. He said when man landed on the moon, he was introducing some type of farming equipment to the people here in Africa. You can see the contrast. He said he preached with his hands. We had our morning devotional in Philippians and were planning to discuss it, but God had other plans to bless us with these men who showed us a powerful testimony. We did read Phil. chapter 2, but were able to apply it to them. We just had lunch with them, and I'm that much more blessed. You never know who's coming through. In fact, just today in the hospital as we were doing procedures, a missionary couple serving in Bogatonga came by, not to use the computer as missionaries usually do from outlying villages. Instead, they needed their 13 month old daughter to be checked out by a pediatrician. Can you believe Dr. Dunn pointed them my way. I had the pleasure and honor of working with spiritual gifts as the body of Christ to literally build up the church and help them out, so they can further the gospel. We squared away her immunizations, too. I could tell the mom was so relieved, since she knows her child is not getting the care of pediatricians in the U.S. It was a blessing. Well, I'm heading back to the hospital for more procedures and surgeries.

New Growth

Yesterday, Dr. Dunn got so excited about showing us something. It was new green grass! We are here during the dry season, and they need rain. There hasn't been green grass to look at. In fact, it's almost like I'm looking at a reversed sunset, as if the red dirt would be the sky. You just see miles and miles of red out here. It is beautiful. There are trees and shrubbery. Now, we have new grass. It popped up literally overnight after the rain for a day. Can you believe it? This makes me think that really we just need to be planted and washed spiritually with a good rain of God's mercy as in the blood of Christ by believing and we, too, can just sprout spiritually overnight. I got excited about the grass, but more excited about the spiritual implication the Lord was telling me about my own renewal here. I'm so excited to continue to grow after the fresh renewal here. I was talking with Elizabeth, one of the missionaries here, and she told me that people come here and leave changed. Amen. That's why we come. Last night we got two more volunteers, a med student and his wife who is not in medicine. This morning they joined in with the team and will be here for a month. Lift up their experience as well. I told the guy that he will be changed. He said that's why he came all the way across the world and then some to Nalerigu to be changed. Dr. Dunn hesitantly mentioned to me after the fact that this place has been known to be "one hundred miles beyond the Great Commission." :)

Every 7pm the day after rain

Yesterday as well as this morning, we had rain. When it rains here, it rains hard! We are still in the dry season, though, which means even though we still see malaria on a daily basis, it is still lower than the wet season. However, there is this funny thing that happens, they say, every day after the rain at 7pm. The termites [see a typical huge mound below] come out and fly toward light, then they die. I have proof that this happened. Tonight at 7pm on the dot, they came out by the masses in our house and flew toward our lights. So, as Dr. Dunn and I sat down in the living room, we opted to turn the lights off, so they wouldn't bug us.

Dr. Dunn sat on one chair and I sat on the sofa, and we both just sat there in the dark able to talk with our eyes closed! :) Honestly, it was so great. We ended up talking for two hours before our night rounds. We reminisced about missions to Venezuela. He helped establish the Fundabrez Clinic in Maracaibo, Venezuela, which is the very clinic where I served just after graduating college and before starting medical school. In fact, I still keep in touch with the McCones, the missionaries who were there. They are the very ones God used to connect Dr. Dunn and me two years ago, when I went to Vanderbilt for an interview for residency. I stayed with the Dunns then, and here I am in Ghana now with him. Who knew God's plan. It was so awesome that we were able to talk about the same people in Venezuela, served there at different times yet with similar experiences. I then got to share with him how wonderful this trip has been and what God has taught me here. He shared, too, saying that he came last year, but this year has been so much more amazing! I still can't get over how God blesses obedience to answering His call. Not only have I had the blessing of discipleship, but the fellowship with, at one point, 8 other members on the team.






Cedrick Palmer, one of the residents here, went into town tonight with our cook, Issa, and experienced his home and more of the culture. Dr. Dunn, Dr. Renfro, and I walked around behind our houses and through the commmunity with the mud houses. We saw a school house and donkeys, chickens, and goats.





On rounds tonight, I heard the good news from Victoria, the chaplain, that the two ladies with spiritual problems earlier were opening up. The woman who wasn't speaking was now speaking. Praise God! We also have a man with a snake bite to his face, since they sleep on the floor. His whole head is swollen. I forgot to mention all the snake bites we treat here. Hello, flashlights, when we are walking around at night! Just another common ailment here in Ghana. We are good at giving anti-snake venom.

Okay, well, I really appreciate your comments. Kathy, I have to say your comment about your church's sermon coinciding with mine just blew me away again with how God weaves it all together. He only does things with purpose. Our messages enhanced each other's walk with Him and ultimately for His glory. Pray that my every day here will be maximized as the month is nearing an end.

A new heaven and earth at church today

Today, it started raining this morning. Dr. Dunn asked me if we wanted to try First Baptist church here, instead of Second Baptist that we tried last week. First Baptist is the church where the two sets of missionaries here attend. I was happy with either. So Dr. Renfro, Dr. Dunn, Beth (the nurse volunteer), one of the missionary couples, and I all got in the truck to go to First. I guess since I go to Houston's First Baptist, I should go to the one in Nalerigu, right? :)


Again, I was just taken away by the nationals in their colorful wardrobes. They dress their best for church, using the finest fabrics they can afford. There are always so many children, too. I took a picture of the children outside.


By the way, anytime I do this of children, I show them the digital picture of them on my camera. Everytime I get the same reaction-screaming laughter! I get the biggest joy out of making them laugh out loud so hard and scream with excitement. I doubt they have mirrors or get to see themselves very often. One day this week I did that to a group of children in the market. They all screamed so loudly with joy and before I knew it, I had 15 children following us all around the market! I am not joking!




Back to church... We opened up by reading Revelation 21:

1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
5He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

He said not only do we have a new heaven and earth to look forward to one day, but look forward to change in your life. A renewal. That has been a prayer of mine, while I'm in Ghana. I pray to come back spiritually renewed. I know this experience will change my life. I remember when I first talked with Dr. Dunn, as he asked me to pray about this opportunity to go. He said, "you never know, this might be the best trip you've had in 10 years." Who would want to miss an opportunity like that! I think anything God has called you to, He plans to use it and change you and others through it to His glory. Again in church today when the music started, I did everything possible not to flood with tears of joy. Dr. Dunn leaned over to me and said, "it's a shame people back at home are missing this." This is glorifying to God. This is humble worship. Everyone singing the loudest their voices would let them while swinging to the beat. I love it when we have the greeting time with everyone. Everyone is joyfully walking all over the church shaking hands with others or hugging them while singing. This is welcoming. They do not have inhibitions. I love it! Today we had the choir sing and recognized a family who came from out of town for a funeral. Here they have 3 funerals to honor a loved one. They have one immediately, then one a little later, then one a year later, all for the same person. Anyway, with the addition to the agenda, there was no circle of dancing this morning. It doesn't matter, I saw a glimpse of heaven with every tribe and every nation coming to the throne to worship. We read that very verse today from Revelation 7.

9After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice:
"Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb." 11All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying:
"Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!"

Today, one resident and his wife, a med student, left our group to head back home. Please pray for them. There was a problem with getting their flight, so they are taking a 14-hour journey to Accra by car. From there they will fly out. Our group is down to 5 plus the two sets of missionaries. It's reminding me of the reality that I will go back, too. I fight tears when saying this, but this has been a treasure for life, and I know it is not the same in the land of the plentiful. I encourage everyone to experience laying aside your inhibitions to serve and be rewarded in ways unimaginable. Not only for you, but for them. They are in such need. May everyone have the opportunity to hear about Christ, so we may all share one day and be at that throne together. I look forward to the new heaven and earth!

Needing more than physical help

Last night I was on call. My call went well. I was able to take care of the admissions before our 9pm rounds. After that, I didn't have any more admissions or emergencies, so I slept the whole night. That was a praise, since we had church today. One patient last night was brought in for "impaired consciousness." Just yesterday her family noticed that she was not speaking. She could walk, but not talk. Her blood film was positive for malaria, so she had just started treatment. I've seen several cerebral cases of malaria out here where children have seizures. I examined this young woman who was about 25 years old. She kept her eyes closed and would not follow commands. Upon my neurological exam of her, she was normal. In fact, when I looked at her eyes, she would quickly roll them back. If I lifted up her hand, she would hold it up in the air instead of it falling naturally. I started fluids and started IV malaria treatment, since I knew she wasn't going to participate in taking anything by mouth. She was having some psychosis or attention seeking way of refusing to talk. The problem was more than physical. We think it was spiritual. This morning, Dr. Dunn and I found Victoria, our chaplain friend with the amazing testimony, to talk with her, too.

Also when I rounded this morning, I met a young lady about 20 years old who had a sad demeanor and had her head covered, since she was Muslim. Her chief complaint was chest pain and shortness of breath. The medical assistant who first saw her thought she might have hysteria. Her exam showed a normal heart. All things suggested she might be having a panic attack. Again, beyond the physical into the spiritual. I talked with her and found out whether she was having any worries or stress in her life. Yes, just yesterday she had a big disappointment. I told her how she can never be disappointed or failed by Jesus. Nothing can separate us from His love for us. We talked for a few minutes, then Dr. Dunn and I prayed for her. We also had Victoria come visit her, too. Dr. Dunn was observant and noticed her t-shirt that phrased it so perfectly, "B Some 1." Her shirt was saying to be someone. That was her cry for help.

She, like so many, are trying to just be someone in life. Thank goodness we can be someone. We are someone in Christ and we matter to Him. He knows even the number of hairs on our head. He knit us together perfectly in our mother's wombs, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. I pray she realizes this. So, I pray and ask you to pray for these ladies.

A sad night

Well, after our merry dinner with each other and a movie, we headed to the hospital for our evening rounds. One of the med students, Krissy, came up to me to tell me my baby died. What? I immediately went to maternity and saw that baby Zsila was not in the incubator. If you don't know this story, please read my previous blog about it. She was septic this morning but on antibiotics immediately after birth yesterday. I knew this morning that she could die at any second, since we didn't have all of the resources here. However, this afternoon she looked a little better. Sure enough, at 7:55pm she died. I went in the maternity ward and her mother and grandmother looked devastated. My heart was so broken for them. When I prayed this morning, it was in faith for God's miraculous healing but in His will, even if it meant He wanted to take the baby home to heaven. Well, God's plan was done. He chose to take this baby back home to heaven after a short life. The parents are Catholic and believe in Jesus, so I told them we will see this baby again one day in heaven. Let's rejoice in that! We prayed together. It is so hard also for me to tell them we did everything we could here in this country, while knowing what would have been done at home with equipment. This just clearly demonstrates what a privilege it is to live in America with our medicine. I value the NICU in many ways I haven't seen until now. That is even a new field to medicine--just several decades old. Things have always worked out the way they are supposed to. God may have even chosen to take home the baby, if they were in the U.S. You never know. All I know is that I was honored to be a doctor in this child's short life, even if it meant I could start antibiotics and give the minimal amount of oxygen we had to her and, most importantly, lay my hands on her and pray. Bless this child. May she be sitting at Jesus' feet right now worshiping Him. What a place to be!


Immediately, I went to round on the rest of the peds patients, when we had news that a patient literally just arrived and died before any of us got there. This is life here. I am learning that this is just the way things happen. Sometimes people find healing that they can find in no other place, and sometimes they die here yet receive the comfort of a staff who will pray with them while they mourn. Either way, I am blessed to be here.

Everyone hung out tonight

Tonight, one of the missionary doctors invited all of us over for pizza and a movie. We had a great time of fellowship and then watched part of a movie, until we made our night rounds. Again, I am so blessed by how our group here does everything together. It is as if we are one in the Spirit. We came as individuals yet move now as a group or unit together to serve the Lord. We eat together, take breaks together, and work together. You really get to know each other and there is always someone right there with you working and serving.



Tomorrow night, Saturday, I am on call again, if you would lift that up in prayer. My last call on Wed. was great. I wasn't called in until 6:30 am, after that all nighter the other day. Well, please lift up one of the missionary's wives and their kids. They are going to the States on Sunday for a trip. Please pray for their travel.

Joyce

Today Dr. Dunn and I shared with Joyce, one of the head nurses in the clinic, and she has sat with us multiple times.

Joyce asked me yesterday why I wasn't wearing earrings. Actually, she's not the first nurse to ask that here. Well, I didn't want to wear any and be flashy here. However, I'm obviously now being offensive by not wearing them, so I tried a cultural experiment today and wore my Austrian crystal studs. I wore them and asked Joyce if she thought they were appropriate. She said, yes.





Later on, we asked Joyce how she became a Christian. She told me her mother is a muslim and her father is a Christian. Her dad actually was a muslim first and made the mother be a muslim too. Then he converted to Christianity and the mother hasn't yet. Joyce told me that she is married to a prince! He is the next in line to be chief. I asked her about all of the men wearing hats here and she told me that they wear them usually if they are chiefs or princes or if they are old and want to cover their heads. There is a governmental system but also tribal with the chiefs, and each respects the other. Who knew these were some of the people in and out of here. She told me that several of the muslims who come here feel a sense of healing, when they walk in the place. She said, in fact, one day a woman accepted Christ just by hearing the music they were playing during the worship time. The song was about being healed by the Lord. The lady had her head wrapped as muslims do and she started to dance and removed the wrap. From that moment, she followed the pastors here and asked to accept Christ. You never know, but I see this as a venue for God bringing hearts who are ready for change. God is using this place!

Another Zsila

Yesterday we had a woman who was having a c-section and the other docs asked that I be there for the baby, since she was thick meconium. So, I looked at our supplies in the O.R. and thought we didn't have exactly what we needed as in the NICU back at home. I needed materials for possible intubation and suction. We don't have ventilators here or CPAP to help the babies breathe. Most importantly, we worry that these babies will aspirate the meconium into their lungs and get infections and become septic. Well, this baby was born and we had a light version of suction. I watched the midwife step in to dry the baby and use the suction as I was assisting. I was so surprised at how different they do things here. We didn't have oxygen for the baby, but we had a bag and mask that could pump in room air. They held the baby by the legs upside down! I was in astonishment. That was their way of helping to clear the lungs. Then they pumped in the room air in a higher frequency than we normally do. I was worried about blowing out the lungs. This was a place for me to watch and help, but not be completely intrusive and tell them their way was wrong. Once she stopped, I took over and we continued pumping the room air. At home, she would have had oxygen. It is just different. You make do here. I started antibiotics on the baby as well, and they put her in an incubator that does not work. They had some blow by oxygen, so we used that. Well, I was walking out of the maternity ward when a woman stopped me in the hall. It was the grandmother. She is also a midwife and delivers babies. I told her what was going on and asked her if they had a name for the baby. She said Cynthia. She asked me my name, I told her, and she said, "I will take that for the child." What? Yes, she named the baby Zsila. I can't believe it! Honestly, I was totally honored. This morning, I was so sad to see that baby Zsila was very sick. My first thought was that the baby was septic and we didn't have adequate treatment for respiratory distress. I knew that baby Zsila could die. I immediately put my hands on her and prayed out loud with two other physicians for her life, if it was the Lord's will. All throughout the day I have been checking on baby Zsila and she is getting slightly better. The grandmother asked me to spell the name for her. I told her and explained to her the meaning, "shade, safe, and refuge." I pray that this baby lives and will have a marvelous testimony. Can you believe it?

Victoria

Hi. I'm so behind in blogging, it feels like. So much can happen in two days and I want to remember it all. Well, during our surgery and procedures day on Tuesday, Dr. Dunn and I checked out the chaplain's room. We met a young 26 year old woman named Victoria. It was so appropriate for her testimony of victory in Jesus. She is from southern Ghana and speaks 7 languages, mainly several tribal languages. She grew up learning to worship idols with her parents. When she was 12 years old, she had a dream that she was standing and a man was facing her with a gun telling her that she was his and that her life belonged to him. She was so afraid and he kept saying that over and over. Then, all of the sudden in her dream, she saw a light behind him, and another voice said "no, walk with me, come and follow me." She woke up from the dream and told everyone. Her dad said that maybe that was the idols trying to help her. She then went to church, she had been going a few times and she told the pastor. The pastor said that was Jesus trying to help her and that He is the Way. She said she believed. Well, several more years passed. When she was 18 years old, she went to church and thought she was a Christian. She said it wasn't until she moved here to Nalerigu that there was a revisal at the Baptist church. The pastor explained specifically how to believe in Jesus and the plan of salvation was to not only believe but walk with Him and have a relationship with Him. She said from that moment on, she became a Christian. She also was a patient here in this hospital back then and almost died of pneumonia. She felt Jesus tell her that her life was not over. Now she serves as a chaplain and daily proclaims the good news of believing Jesus. Many, many muslims and traditional idol worshipers here have accepted Christ with her help. God has totally used this woman's life. I'm amazed at the victorious life she has in Christ and how God chooses unique ways of revealing Himself to people. She told us that 18 people accepted Christ that very morning in the clinic. Everyday I see a line of people, many of them are muslims wanting this hope and accepting Christ.

Prayer request

Just a quick prayer request. Tonight I am on call again and ask for your prayers for the patients tonight. Dr. Renfro will be the surgeon on call with me. He was also on last night and worked today. We are getting supernatural energy for our work here. I was so surprised Sunday when I was post-call and still went hiking that day. That is the Lord's strength! It is different here and I can tell it is, because He knows our needs. By the way, my stomach is feeling so much better. I know it is your prayers. Thank you for sending emails and comments to this. I am so encouraged by them and would love to hear from you.
Take care!

The parents who were obedient

Today, we had the wonderful opportunity to meet some people who are missionaries to all of Africa, yet their role is to meet the needs of the missionaries. Dr. Fort used to serve here for 12 years as a surgeon. He was called by God to serve, after a general surgery residency. He raised children here. After 12 years, they were told in so many ways by the Lord to move in a slightly different direction. They listened and followed the call to return home to the U.S., so he would then start a psychiatry residency. He felt led to combine the psychiatry, spiritual and medical aspects of people. He grew up having parents as missionaries and saw the needs of missionaries all throughout his life. So, his next move was back to Africa, this time as a psychiatrist/counselor to the missionaries in need. They are in need to be spiritually encouraged at any time and especially after crises in their countries. How wonderful is to have the body of Christ taking care of each other, too, out here! I was so blessed to see how they were obedient. It reminds me of the verse in Isaiah about "Whether you turn to the right or left, there will be a voice saying 'this is the way walk in it.'" I see his path with some turns in it, yet still in the general direction of being in the center of the Lord's will. He was a surgeon for a season and a psychiatrist for a season. Who knew? You never know what God will do with you, but He does have a purpose to prosper us for His glory. I fought back tears several times when he shared with us over lunch. The wife mentioned to me that she never knew what this did to her kids, but one day she heard her kids say in their testimonies that they moved around, because "our parents were obedient." Wow! Isn't that what you would want your children to say one day! What a great example of obedience and faith. I'm inspired by their obedience and pray for the same God-given direction continually throughout my life.

After our first real rain

Last night I didn't even know it, but we had our first real rain! Oh, it made this morning SO NICE! It was so much cooler, when I say that we appreciate the 80's versus the 100's we've been having. It is amazing that when it is cooler, one can have so much more energy. This morning we had our devotion and Dr. Stockton, the FP from Knoxville, gave his testimony. He's been on many trips to other places and it is so great to have him here. We said goodbye to the Barriers and will miss them. I hope the Lord allows our paths to cross again in service together.


Today was a clinic day and was so special. In one day, it was like I was in a clinic, pediatric ICU, neonatal ICU, and surgery, all in one. That is the beautiful thing about here. You never know who will come in and with what needs. Dr. Dunn had a child who was basically in heart failure, so I helped out and we admitted her right away. We had to get fluid off her as soon as possible, because she was having pulmonary edema and ascites. Pray for her, because we literally are doing all we can do here and she will need a miracle. She has some cardiomyopathy and maybe underlying infection like TB. She is the sickest pediatric patient here right now.

Next, I was asked to be in a c-section, because they thought the woman had a premature baby. Hello, NICU days! Thank you, Lord, for those months in residency. Well, we don't have anything to intubate a baby with, but we have some suction. The baby was born normal size, not premature, and was slightly floppy and blue at first, but perked up with stimulation. We were blessed to have that great outcome. I even had a neurology case today. Dr. Dunn had a man who was having difficulty with walking. I did a neuro exam on him and think he has narrowing of the spinal canal. The problem is we couldn't do anything for him here, so we covered him with prayer. I was really touched by the patients today. We also had patients with visible masses in their abdomens, obviously tumors so far grown. These are just a few of the many we see.

[boy with ascites]

[baby with meningomylocele]

[child with burns from gun powder accident]

[sequestration of ulna bone from old osteomylitis]

[girl with bone exposed due to osteomylitis]

[woman with right eye blindness]

[old site of septic knee with local medicine razor scars used as "treatment"]

[man with tumor on face]

[man with bilateral facial keloid scars]

Dr. Dunn and I discussed how one should enter the trip at a certain spiritual level and leave much higher. We were saying that a volunteer should walk away with spiritual growth. Honestly, that is why I'm here and that is what we are praying for all of us who have tried to be obedient and come here. It will be different coming home. Often in the U.S., people struggle with keeping the meaning to why they do medicine. There's no hiding the meaning here. It's so obvious, the need. Coming here to do any type of volunteer work would fulfill the meaning of meeting other's needs. I'm excited to carry this on, when I come home.

Hot Rod Soup

So, yesterday for lunch we had grilled cheese sandwiches and "hot rod" soup. Well, I had no idea that the name for my chicken I was given would be so appropriate for our chicken soup. Hot rod was made into a great soup for us. The funny thing is that our soup really was HOT! It was so spicy. I loved it. Everyone liked it, if they could withstand the spice. I saw Yissa, the cook, later that afternoon, and it was so important for him to know which part of the chicken we ate. He asked multiple people. I have no idea, because it was broken down into pieces. Anyway, the whole thing, being given a chicken and all, was very fun.

Later that night, we all had a special time together playing cards, before we did our night rounds. It was the last night for the two med students from North Carolina and one of their dads. Their names are Chuck and Angela Barrier. In fact, they have kept up a great blog:
www.chuckandangela.blogspot.com
They have been such a blessing to us on the trip. Chuck spent four months here last year, when he took a year off med school to catch up with Angela and graduate together, since they wanted to get married. His experience was such a great help to all of us, because medicine here is so different with the African/tropical-like diseases. I meant to tell you what we are seeing. We see and treat malaria, typhoid fever, burnelli ulcers, tropical splenomegaly, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDs, hepatitis, just to name a few of them.



We've also been seeing several cases of abdominal masses, likely tumors from the liver or kidney; in children, Wilm's tumor or neuroblastomas, but we are unable to provide more treatment for tumors or mets, unless the tumor is easily isolated and removable. That is why we rely so heavily on prayer for them. The clinic is here to give them eternal hope.

My Mom gave me a chicken!

Hey everyone! I just got back from the clinic today and carried home a chicken! Yes, a live chicken. I was standing in the clinic, when a woman here named Doris came and gave me a chicken as a gift. She is a Ghanian nurse in the pediatric ward and the first day I came we really connected, because I told her that Doris was my mom's name. She said that I was her daughter here and she was my mom here. :) Today I was so surprised when she brought me a chicken she raised herself. I tried to give it back to her because I know how much her family could use it, but I didn't want to insult her and not let her receive the blessing of giving. So, I took the chicken! Now what do I do with it? So, I walked all the way back to the house with it and it actually grew on me. I named it Hot Rod. Well, there's a story there. What goes around comes around. You see, my real mom back in the U.S., Doris, was given a chicken when she was little and she named her little pet Hot Rod. I've never had a chicken before and thought it would complete the circle of giving chickens with people named Doris. How funny! So, I brought it home and talked with the cook. He said I could have chicken soup tomorrow. So we are! Sadly, my Hot Rod isn't alive anymore. I refrained from seeing him take his last breath. I guess this is what you do out here, you eat things fresh! Now, I have to think of something to do for Doris, my mom here. What can compare to a chicken!!!!!

Living life on the edge--our road trip

Today after church and lunch, Dr. Stockton, one of the new FP physicians who came this week, told me that the missionary doctor was taking anyone who wanted to go to hike and see a scenic canyon here in Ghana. Although, I was post-call, I took a nap and went right along. The only issue with our ride was that it was exceptionally bumpy. I mean they have large dirt road bumps that we flew over maybe faster than the average person in a van together. At one point, one of the doctors flew straight up and hit his head on the top of the van. I didn't realize how it hit me, until I looked down and saw myself grabbing my stomach fearing to let go. I've been getting some weird stomach pains here, so keep me in your prayers as well as everyone else. I don't think I'm sick, but it could either be a side effect of the malaria medicine or a touch of a bug. So, the missionary's kids came with us as well as the FP resident and the 81 year old volunteer nurse I have told you about. The kids got dropped off at a village to visit some other missionary kids. The nurse got dropped off to visit a catholic couple who are here to advocate for health and public schools. Then the two FP docs and the missionary doc and I went out to the canyon to hike. It was very rocky and we climbed up tall rocks and this might have been my first rapelling experience! We all climbed into a crack in the rock structure which had us rapelling for a bit until we could make it through the passage. On top of it was a spectacular view of the land and the canyon.





Anyway, it made for a great photo opportunity and we were able to see a scenic side to Ghana. I'm so thankful we went. We made the trip back and picked up all of those we had dropped off, then came back in time for dinner and did our night rounds. We will have a great day tomorrow. It will be Monday and our clinic day.