A refreshing weekend in Guinea

The last two days have been good for rest, study, and time to get to know the folks at Hope who God is using mightily. Saturday and Sunday mornings began with rounds on the Inpatient Ward. This has allowed me to get to know these pts more personally as we educate them concerning the healing process and share laughter together as they begin to accept my presence here as their physician. Saturday included a short trip to Lola, a nearby town, to visit a young couple with 3 small children who recently were led by God to relocate here in order to translate the Bible into one of the local dialects. Sunday allowed for a chance to worship at the church in the local village of N'Zao. The children's choir was outstanding and the drums were LOUD! It was awesome to watch people worship the Lord without concern for what others might think. A couple was presented before the church who had recently converted from Islam and had been forced to move to N'Zao because of persecution in their home town. The leaders of the church exhorted the congregation to support this couple with prayer, money, food, or whatever resources they had. My friend, Jairus, the anesthetist, gave the message from Matt 14 about Christ and Peter walking on the water. It was a powerful message, and a great example of how leaders in the church must be willing to teach. I hope this afternoon to have time to "go shopping" in the warehouse in order to identify available resources for repair of a femur fx. I have had contact with one of my ortho colleagues in The Dalles, who has provided me with valuable advice and encouragement. We hope to do the repair on Wed of this week, giving this young man ample time to heal from his amputation. This week poses to be a challenging and busy week-- which is my personal preference. It is 90 degrees and dry here, much like July in The Dalles, and I am continually grateful for the fan in my room which allows for a comfortable environment to study and sleep. Stephen and Lori Albright are my host family while here. Stephen is the Hope administrator. Lori has been feeding me well and assures that all is well. Pray for this couple and their daughter, Hannah, that God will provide strength, health, and wisdom each day. Again, I'm indebted to all of you who have been so kind to send notes of encouragement and uphold me and the Hope Staff in regular prayer. This would be a much different experience without your support. God bless, Jeff

The Internet has been resurrected!

You don't know what you've got til it's gone! The Internet has not been functioning for @24hrs here, which has caused me to remember where in the world I am and how grateful I am to be able to communicate with friends on the other side of the world. It's hard to believe that the end of the first week is coming to a close. We were able to see many new pts yesterday with plans for many surgeries next week. I just finished rounds this am with Dr. Simeon,the medicine physician, which was good for me. I have quickly been learning tropical medicine, and have had to forget about a lot of typical American diseases. I am getting to know my pts well and their families. The young boy who required the amputation is doing well. He has amazing pain tolerance. We continue to make plans for his femur repair this upcoming week. I covet your prayers for the planning process which will be crucial for success. The last couple of nights have been conducive to sleeping with the cool weather. The temps have been in the 60's, which allows me to have a few hrs when I'm not sweating continuously, but causes the folks here to arrive in the am wearing their winter jackets. it has been beautiful and sunny without a drop of rain since my arrival. I've been told that it hasn't rained here for over two months. The staff at the Clinic are incredibly generous with their time and we have had the opportunity to eat in several homes and enjoy the local cuisine. The Albright's have graciously invited me to travel to a nearby village to visit with a young couple who are attempting to start a new church. I'm excited to see a new village and mingle with the people. Sunday should be awesome, with the opportunity to go to church in the village. I'm grateful for the weekend and the rest. I'm also thankful for your prayers and correspondence, which have served as a great encouragement. God bless, Jeff

The Internet has been resurrected!

You don't know what you've got til it's gone! The Internet has not been functioning for @24hrs here, which has caused me to remember where in the world I am and how grateful I am to be able to communicate with friends on the other side of the world. It's hard to believe that the end of the first week is coming to a close. We were able to see many new pts yesterday with plans for many surgeries next week. I just finished rounds this am with Dr. Simeon,the medicine physician, which was good for me. I have quickly been learning tropical medicine, and have had to forget about a lot of typical American diseases. I am getting to know my pts well and their families. The young boy who required the amputation is doing well. He has amazing pain tolerance. We continue to make plans for his femur repair this upcoming week. I covet your prayers for the planning process which will be crucial for success. The last couple of nights have been conducive to sleeping with the cool weather. The temps have been in the 60's, which allows me to have a few hrs when I'm not sweating continuously, but causes the folks here to arrive in the am wearing their winter jackets. it has been beautiful and sunny without a drop of rain since my arrival. I've been told that it hasn't rained here for over two months. The staff at the Clinic are incredibly generous with their time and we have had the opportunity to eat in several homes and enjoy the local cuisine. The Albright's have graciously invited me to travel to a nearby village to visit with a young couple who are attempting to start a new church. I'm excited to see a new village and mingle with the people. Sunday should be awesome, with the opportunity to go to church in the village. I'm grateful for the weekend and the rest. I'm also thankful for your prayers and correspondence, which have served as a great encouragement. God bless, Jeff

Here are just a couple of pics Jeff sent.  I got his messages and am currently
trying to get a hold of the ortho surgeon Jeff always texts when one of our boys gets a fracture!  Unfortunately we've had 5 broken bones this year so we've kept him a little busy.  Hopefully, they will connect and be able to help this kid.

The antiquated x-ray equipment!

one of the xrays from the kid with the old femur fracture.  Jeff says they will wait to try to fix the femur until next week to give him time to recover from the completed amputation today.

Truly a Humbling Day

Ive always believed everyday in the OR is different, but today strengthened that conviction. We were able to do 3 fairly standard cases efficiently, however that came to a screeching halt due to our next new consult. We were asked to evaluate a 17 year old boy who was struck by a drunk driver 6 wks ago. There were approximately a dozen related fatalities at the scene. He was scooped up and taken to a nearby hospital and was found to have a badly fractured ankle. This was unfortunately treated by amputating his leg immediately above the ankle with the wound left open. His parents heard about Hope and drove him here today for help. He also has a left femur fracture that was not reduced appropriately, and the bones are not aligned. He appears to have a wrist fracture as well. We were able to convert his amputated leg to a more formal below the knee amputation, that when healed, will allow him to be fit with a prosthesis to walk again. However, there is the issue of his femur fracture... I have been attempting all day to send Jen pics of his X-rays so that she can show them to an ortho surgeon. The Internet connection has been difficult today. There are no ortho surgeons in Guinea. My hope is that he can instruct me in the best way to manage this femur fracture. I have not been involved in a femur repair for @ 15 years, thus am out of my element on this one. Fortunately, the surgeon here has two excellent ortho texts that I am currently reviewing. Some of you have asked how you can pray... Please pray that the Internet connection here will allow for transfer of these X-rays to the US for review and consultation. Also, please pray that we will be able to help this young man as best we can to allow him an opportunity to walk again. James 1:5 says, If any of you lacks wisdom, ask God... And it will be given to you. Again, thank you to all who have been sending notes of encouragement, and who have been upholding us here at Hope, in your prayers. If I miss answering any of you, please stick with me, and I will keep trying to become blog-savvy. Jeff

Here are a few new pics from Jeff...

the picture hanging above the entrance to the OR



Agnes is a very good scrub tech

OR

Recovery

 Central Clinic Courtyard

Eighty degrees and sunny again...

The people at Hope continue to amaze me with their ability to show love and concern for every individual who arrives to be evaluated. Today was a slow but profitable day in the OR, which allowed us to evaluate several walk-in pts for surgery tomorrow and next week. Some folks come from 100's of miles away, from towns that have bigger hospitals, choosing to be seen here because of the impeccable reputation of Hope Clinic. People come prepared to stay for surgery the following day in order to avoid the added expense of returning home. Some are dropped off at the clinic and instructed not to call for a ride home until they are "fixed". The OR team is a very friendly and eager group that is prepared to work longer hours in order to learn more about surgical technique. Jairus, the anesthetist, has served as my interpreter for every pt interaction since my arrival, and finds a way to keep smiling despite the quick pace that we maintain in order to see as many pts as possible. Pray for rest for him at night and renewed energy each day in order to put up with me! Guinea is currently enjoying the dry season and most days see bright sun and 80-85 temps with nighttime temps of @60 degrees. I have been promised that it will rain while I'm here, and that there is no rain comparable to an early season African downpour. I'm slowly acclimating to the heat and now able to see pts or operate without losing 5 lbs/day due to fluid losses. Thanks to all of you who have been responding on the blog or sending other Emails. We have plans to go to the village for dinner again this evening, so until tomorrow... Jeff