Cuttin from Sunup to Sundown

We had another great day in the OR today! We began around 9 am after morning devotions and rounds and were able to get 5 cases done, including a repair of a wrist fracture that required us to think on the fly and modify the original plan. Almost every bed is full now on the Inpatient Ward, and we have 6 cases to do tomorrow. We didn't finish until 8:30 pm tonight, and the crew was still laughing and having a great time. Not a single complaint all day! I have been caring for a 70 yr old Muslim man for the entire three weeks I've been here. He arrived with a blood sugar of 475 and bilateral thigh abscesses with fasciitis. He was in early stages of septic shock. I remember looking around for an ICU bed when I was asked by the medicine physician to consult on his case. He required 48 hrs of resuscitation and then we took him to the OR to evaluate the extent of his infected legs. I explained to him and his wife that he may have infection into the bone, and require bilateral leg amputations to save his life. We drained over a liter of pus from each thigh and stripped most of the fascia( muscle covering) from his thighs. We were all a little solemn when we discovered the scope of his problem, and I was honest with his wife, that he may not live to see the sunrise. The next morning, I slowly walked up the hill to see if he had survived the night, and found him sitting up in bed, smiling and eating breakfast. He must have said "Thank You" a hundred times. We have taken him back to the OR four more times, and I'm pleased to say that he will be ready for skin grafting next week--Thank you, Dr. Jean-- and is walking all over the clinic grounds. I found out later, that the staff here thought I was crazy to take on his case, believing he was too sick to care for here. I had no idea that I had a choice whether to refuse him care and send him away. Of course, because of the language barrier, I was oblivious to this chatter, and I have been told by many of the staff that they are sorry for doubting God's power to heal this man. Truthfully, I probably was foolish to agree to care for him, but God was faithful even when my judgement may have been less than optimal. He doesn't need us to heal, he just needs us to trust Him. I have a few specific prayer requests for those of you who have been praying for us here at Hope. The first is for tomorrow, as we push the envelope to help many folks in the OR. The second, is that Dr. Jean will arrive here safely on Monday, and not be overwhelmed by the large Inpt census I have left in his care. The third, is for safe travel home that will begin on Monday, with a two day drive to Conakry, and then 29 hrs of flights and layovers to arrive at PDX Wed evening @7:30 pm. Lastly, despite the fact that this blog will become dormant a few days after returning home, continue to pray for the staff at Hope Clinic as they continue to treat a predominantly Muslim population of patients and witness to them about Christ. I am asking God to help me understand his will for me and whether I should return to Hope to serve or be willing to go elsewhere. Selfishly, I can't wait to return here to serve! Again, thanks to all you Blog Dogs, your prayers are reaching across the pond to this humble Clinic! Jeff