Giving Soccer A Second Chance

When time for soccer sign-up at school was announced to Amelia she told her 1st grade teacher Mrs. Kinzer, "Absolutely not!" But at the time of the first game Amelia quickly realized that on the Kijabe compound essentially all of the kids were playing soccer and nobody was around to play with.

"Would you like to go see what Soccer is all about and go up to school and watch the game?" I asked. Reluctantly Amelia agreed and we walked up to the field. Before long being a spectator was not nearly sufficient and Amelia put on a Green Penny and entered the field. (It was a proud moment for Dad as I have always enjoyed soccer tremendously.) There she went pony tails bouncing, running up and down the field, finding her way into the swarm of players. She even contacted the ball once inadvertently as it richocheted off her shin. Meredith and Sara and I cheered,"Go Amelia!" She stopped, found our glance, smiled and took after the swarm of players surrounding the ball again.

It was fun for Amelia until she was accidentally bumped by a third grade boy (soccer is mixed gender and mixed grade to account for the small number of kids) to the ground. Her arm was scraped and she began to cry. The rest of the game was spent in Mom's lap and to make matters worse they lost 6-0 and the other coach brought cookies for their team and Amelia's coach didn't bring any treats.

Playing organized semi-contact sports does not come natural for Amelia and I believe really takes a lot of courage for her. I expected that she would be done for the rest of season. But the next week to my surprise, Amelia said, "Dad I think I'll try soccer again."

She has continued to play..always keeping a comfortably safe distance from the ball.

Orthodontics

One of the joys of transitioning to Kijabe Dental Clinic has been the facilities and added staff available. At Kijabe Dental Clinic we have 6 dental assistants, 4 community oral health officers, 3 laboratory technicians along with 6 functional dental chairs. The oral health officers are able to triage the majority of our urgent need patients and complete simple extractions. The assistants are excellent with taking x-rays, sterilizing instruments, providing cleanings, and scaling teeth. These were all duties that previously I was trying to preform all on my own often not successfully. This available room and auxiliary staff has been a tremendous help and opens many opportunities to provide the higher level care for which I was trained. Some of the opportunities include teaching and creating a restorative curriculum for our oral health officers, daily morning devotions with the dental staff, and myself catching up on literature reading.

We also have the time to go beyond treating emergent needs but also elective and aesthetic needs as well. As many of you know or may even experienced themselves as a child having crooked, bucked, or twisted teeth can affect self esteem and normal social development. Nancy is my first orthodontic patients. She will be a challenging case as she is bilaterally class III, severe open bite, blocked out canines, over crowded anteriors, prognathic mandible, and 22 years of age. We will learn as we go and let this heat activated nickel-titanium wire go to work.

I'm so grateful that Meredith and I were able to come for the wedding of Daniel and Laura. Meredith was also able to meet her new cousin Josiah who's similar in age. Meredith has been calling my Dad ,"Prince papa, the king" today and wanted to wake-up Nana this morning to cuddle with her. She's enjoyed the attention from all the family and we're having a great time (although missing Malin and Amelia).

Special Treat

For the past 3 months Amelia has been talking about wanting to go horseback riding (some special bond exists with little girls and horses that I have never understood). We talked about a donkey ride (much cheaper) here at Kijabe, but Amelia was not to keen on that idea. I did not even know if horses existed in Kenya. Due to Kenya's English Colonization we found a nearby stable with reasonable prices for English style riding lessons.
We planned for the ride as a special treat when Mom & Meredith were back home for the wedding. After a couple wrong turns (directions are very difficult to follow here as most roads have no name) we found the stable. Amelia picked out her white stallion named Hedgehog. Her lesson included around the world, trotting, up down, and balance techniques.

A God Who Transforms

It is said that if you asked people at church if they became a Christian through a sermon a few would raise their hands. If they became a Christian by a book a few would raise their hands. If you became a Christian by a message on the radio or TV even fewer would raise their hands. But if you asked them did you become a Christian when you heard someone tell their story of how God transforms and then how this person took a personal interest in your life, almost all would raise their hands.

She's not more than 5 feet tall and 100 lbs. With glasses and a large grin she never misses work or devotions in the morning. She has worked in the dental lab for the past 12 years. It was her day to tell her story. She reluctantly began with her mouth behind her Bible.

"My childhood is full of memories. Some good some bad. I am the seventh of ten kids. My Mom loved us so much. My Dad...." tears begin, "I don't know if I can continue...My Dad was a drunkard. And I believe you do pay for your sins. He now only has months to live as the Spirit (Alcohol) has destroyed his liver. He use to beat the kids and my Mom when he would come home at night. He was a politician in our area. The other men did the same thing to their families. They had a lot of power and no one tried to stop them.

I was a bad little girl. I had no joy, no ambitions. I said I would never marry. I never would let a man do that to me again. But after coming to Kijabe and having devotions, I met people who cared, people who prayed. I met God and he transformed me. He is everything to me. He is my joy, my comfort, my security. I began to sing again like I have always loved to do. I met a man that truly loves me. We pray together. We are best friends and we can share anything. We married and have two children that we love so much. I am blessed to work at Kijabe Hospital because here people have a genuine heart. They care about each other.

I admire Esther in the Bible. She helped so many people despite her circumstances. I have so many favorite parts of the Bible it is hard to pick just one. But, I am lifted up by the end of Psalm 138.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,
with your right hand you save me.

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O LORD, endures forever..

My Dad is still a drunkard along with three of my brothers But God has given me the strength to forgive him. I believe God can transform his life as well.

Pine Wood Derby

Amelia & I have kept busy in the wood shop here at Kijabe making her first pine wood derby car. She wants to make a unicorn car but in a race car shape. She has enjoyed drawing the shape and helping with the "sanders and cutters." Her car will be more advanced than mine when I was a kid carved with dull pocketknife. Race day is in a couple weeks.

Sara & Meredith safely back in Washington

Sara and Meredith arrived safely in Oak Harbor, Washington at 3 PM yesterday after what we calculated was about 35 hours of traveling from door to door. Sara said Meredith was a good girl although the last four hours of the flight from Amsterdam got a little long.

H1N1

The recent news has suggested that Swine Flu (H1N1) has signs of increased activity in 30 of the 50 United States and is now being called a Pandemic. It was thought being in Kenya in an isolated area may be a place where Swine Flu would not touch.
Unfortunately just 3 days previous 30 girls from the Kijabe Girls Kenyan School were confirmed positive for Swine Flu. Thankfully the symptoms were caught quickly and H1N1 was expected. The girls were isolated and treated and as far as we know all are recovering normally. We are taking all the precautions we can here at Kijabe; although sinks, soaps, and disinfectants for hand washing are often unavailable. We have no word as of yet if, when, or how much of the vaccine will be available at Kijabe Hospital.
Our prayers are with the elderly, expecting, and the young children all over the world who are most vulnerable.

Getting Packed

Sara and Meredith are packed and ready to depart JKA tomorrow! In the picture you can see some fun Kenyan things she is bringing to be available at a First Reformed Church Bazaar for the Christmas Season.

BucketHead

As Sara begins to pack & Meredith unpack what Sara has packed for Daniel & Laura's wedding next Saturday Meredith and I have started a little conversation we repeat several times a day.
"Meredith what am I going to do when you go to Nanna and Papa's House."
"Daddy, I might miss you."
"What will I do?"
"Daddy I will call you on the phone or the Skype."
"Meredith, Amelia & I will miss you and Mommy."
Meredith then covers my mouth with her hand and says, "Daddy, don't talk about that. It's too sad."
We are excited that Sara and Meredith will be home for Daniel & Laura's wedding. We'll pray for a safe trip for them from Kijabe to Nairobi to Amsterdam to Seattle to Oak Harbor and back again!

Field Day

Awake

Living on hospital grounds means many times I still get called in to help with things even when I'm supposed to be off duty. This morning at 4 am I was called for a patient who's Hg was 3.2 (normal is 14). She had 2 D&C's earlier this week and had already received 3 units of blood at another hospital. On exam she had choriocarcinoma extending near the urethra. We made the decision to try to stabilize her by removing her uterus as that was bleeding most, knowing that this was palliative not curative. Thankfully she survived surgery and is now in the ICU. As I talked with her husband afterwards I learned he pastors a church and that they've been trying to get her help for some time. Earlier this week I was called in for a patient in shock who eventually died, her family also had been trying to get her help.

While we have patients who delay seeking help, there are many others that try to get help and just don't. Sometimes I think this is from the cultural tendency to not tell patients when things are bad and to avoid admission that the medical person doesn't know what's wrong. Sometimes this is from the cost of seeing specialists that prohibits poorer patients from being referred. Sometimes I think the infrastructure makes is difficult for health workers to know whom to refer too: there's no physician directory here. Whatever the cause, it still amazes me that many of these patients who ultimately present in shock still survive. And I have to believe that this happens only by God's grace.

Bunny #2

Daniel brought the special delivery in a small box with a piece of rope around the lid. Out hopped bunny #2 named Lucy by Amelia. Flower (the previous white bunny) we now know is not much of a flower (he is male). We don't know the gender of Lucy yet. Lucy and Flower share the same cage. We will see what happens...

Good Samaritan

Phillip is a construction worker.  By no fault of his own a brick (Kenyan bricks are the size of a mailbox) dropped from the building where he was working at struck his cheek.  He suffered a mandibular fracture.  

Phillip was struggling to raise the necessary funds to pay for his needed surgery.  He returned to his village to speak to all his friends and family but was only able to raise 2000 ksh (25 usd).  

He returned to dental as we sought a way to get his treatment accomplished.  Unfortunately many of the fees (anesthesia, hospitalization, medications) were beyond our control.  We seemed at a loss at how Phillip could get his surgery.  He needed help from someone... somewhere?

In Luke chapter 10 we read the familiar Parable of the Good Samaritan:

  Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³²So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵The next day he took out two silver coins^{e]" style=" line-height: 0.5em; ">[e]} and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

But do Good Samaritans still exist? Does a stranger help another stranger in need in real life in real time? That doesn't happen any more does it?   Budgets are tight with the current economy.  People in Kenya daily struggle to get by.  People out of necessity have to look our after themselves and their families.  

A stranger approached me after over-hearing my conversation with Phillip.  This Kenyan lady (I never caught her name) said, "I want to help him."

"You don't even know him..and you want to help him."

"Will this do?  Will this be enough so he can get his surgery." The lady handed me 8000 Ksh (100 USD).  

"Yes, Yes we can do it. Thank-you, Thank-you so much. You have really inspired me.  We can do Phillip's surgery.  You have really made a difference in his life."

She left and I'm not sure if I will see her again.  Phillip you can see with his receipt in hand and in Theatre received his surgery the following day thanks to a modern day Good Samaritan.

Missing Teeth

Amelia is proudly standing next to the Missing Teeth chart in her 1st grade classroom.  As a dentist I'm am pleased to know her teacher is taking an interest in the kids stages of mixed dentitician.

Amelia seems to be holding her own at 3 with the 4th soon be any day now.  Jeffrey is clearly way out in front at this point at 10 missing teeth.  Jeffrey is a great kid from Turkana land adopted into the Titchey school.  But based on his sporting abilities, height, and amount of primary teeth exfoliated...we are wondering is he really 6?

Things are getting better

About 400 employees, friends, and supporters of Kijabe Hospital participated in a fundraiser yesterday.  Led by police escort and full marching band we walked from the top of the highway 5 km down the windy road to Kijabe Hospital.

This was all accomplished to raise funds for the upcoming addition to Kijabe Hospital.  They are seeking to increase the number of surgical theatres, and expand the palliative care and maternity wards.

Donated funds to our project account supported the dental staff to buy t-shirts and participate.  We walked as a team and waved at the onlookers. (Can you spot Malin?)

Although this march did not raise a large sum of money, I believe the morale of the hospital was lifted.  I think God was glorified as we marched to the drums and trumpets and the Kenyan song, "Things are getting better, Things are getting better, With the Lord on our side, We can be assured  Things are getting better, Things are getting better."

Ballerinas

The girls started ballet classes this week at Kijabe (thanks to a mom who has found a teacher to come once a week for all station kids interested).

Meredith couldn't completely enjoy the first class as all she could talk about was how she could not find her other ballet shoe.  But she has worn her ballet costume everyday this week.  Meredith says she learned how to "walk on my tippy toes."  Meredith does not like the name pumpkin or snickerdoodle, she says you can call her "chicken and rice?"  

Amelia is singing in church on Sunday with her classmates.  She is learning positions 1-4 in ballet. For classics day in art class, she drew a nice picture of Charlie Brown (I guess he is history now).  She also told me the other day she likes when she pulls a scab off and there is skin underneath. 

Would you like to see Malin dance?

Wednesday morning at 8:00 is hospital wide chapel.  Around half of the 600 person Kijabe manage to attend this weekly service which includes greetings, announcements, time of praise and worship, brief sermon, and prayer.

Annually each department is expected to organize chapel.  This morning it was the dental chapel.  For the past weeks we have not only been working on a song in Swahili (Sifea Bwana) but also a dance. 

Currently I am the only Masungu in Dental and also the only male.  But even more importantly, I'm also the only one who has no rhythm, can't shake his hips, and can't move his right arm and left arms independently.  As the chapel was approaching I was fearing how I could pull off this dancing and singing swahilli at the same time.  And of course where could a guy like me hide up there on stage. 

It was with great wisdom that at the last moment I volunteered to give the sermon and left the dancing and singing to Doreen, Winnie, Grace, Margaret, Caroline, Agnes, Millicent, & Naomi.  

Many were disappointed at dental last minute change of plans.  To see Malin dance is something that is never forgotten.  There is always next year...

Serving Together

Dr. Cichowski MD (Ob/GYN) and Dr. Sharon Morad MD (Ob/Gyn) both Samaritan's Purse Post-Residents serving together in Theatre surgically treating a patient suffering from incontinence due to a vaginal fistula.

All went well!

The surgery today went well. Linda did great and we believe the results will be functional for her and she will be continent again. Her mother started crying and kissing us after surgery. Together we gave thanks to God that all went well. I also give thanks to have a colleague to discuss, share and work with. While neither of us had done a vaginal pull through procedure before, together it was less intimidating and went smoothly. 

A pastor recently pointed out to me that Paul always had someone with him and when he didn't he requested that someone come and help. Going together to the mission field is established in the Bible and the more Sharon and I work together the more I understand the importance of going together.