Halloween

Well they don't celebrate Halloween here so it is a bit anti climactic. It was a good day though. I switched to working nights which is nice in some ways. I got to go for a walk today and rest which was nice. And at night it is less chaotic. Day times are just busier. So it has been nice to get a little break.

Today my prayer had been one my Mom passed on to me before I left. I don't have it in front of me but the first portion is something to the effect of This day is yours and it is followed by more but I have just been thinking on this day is yours. And enjoying the gifts and challenges it brings 

Shot from my walk. Love the African skies! 

Emmanuel who I just think is so sweet. 

Whew

I am already so tired an it is wed! How have I been doing this for two weeks on past trips? 

Today was a fun busy day. They did two cath cases who came out on my shift and one surgery where they worked on two valves. The little boy is Ian and he was pretty sick going into surgery. It is amazing to be witness to these miraculous recoveries. They OR team was really worried about him but as we see so much here he had his breathing tube out several hours later. For those on Facebook we have a Hearts of East Africa Facebook page with a great video of him singing and pretending to drive a car. He wants to be a doctor when he grows up. As he tells you on the video :)

The second case came out late, Jemima. She was apparently doing quite well. We were actually supposed to repair her two years ago and she got bumped last minute. I talked to her mother today who told me she still had the beads we had given her two years ago. If we didn't do surgery on her this ear she likely wouldn't have made it another year. 

We sent our first two patients to the wards. They were both such cute little ladies. Faith finally smiled for us once we pulled out her chest tubes. But prudence was still holding onto a mean scowl. She literally sat up in bed for the first five hours of the day looking very stern. Such a trip!!

Here is a picture of Faith

Tuesday

I am about to hit the sack but wanted to put in a quick update. Today went well. Prudence had a VSD closed and is doing great. Already been sitting up in bed ad drinking. She has the sweetest disposition. 

They also did a cath procedure, Selly, who stayed with us for a few hours. During this the use a balloon inserted through the groin to open up a cake in the heart that has become narrowed. 

The second case, Emmanuel, had not come back from the OR when I left at 7. He was a yet repair and supposedly did well in the OR. He was so sweet before hand. Really serious but if you asked for a smile he was quick to give it. Hopefully he is up there doing well as I lay my tired head down. 

Being here is so refreshing and fun. Just getting to take care of patients in a pure fashion is enjoyable. And the teaching, though it is tiring is good too. I am always reminded when I get here how much it is we are trying to teach these nurses. At home they would get a 6 month training an here we are just doing it as we go! 

Okay more tomorrow and hopefully some photos. 

Quick update

Quick update on the day. Faith made it out of surgery and did really well. She has we breathing tube out and is already drinking water. Of course-these children love water and they want it immediately after surgery. She had a hole between the bottom two chambers of her heart that the surgeon closed. They decided to just do one case today for times sake. 

Faiths momma is with her. She is a widow...her husband died when she was 6 months pregnant. Faith is 1 and a half now. She decided to name her Faith because she, as a now single mom, would need faith to handle what lay ahead of her. 

We are discussing the patients they saw today and making more decisions now. 

I am tired! The first case is always stressful. There are so many people and things take longer to work out. But we did it and hopefully tomorrow there will be a few less people in the ICU :) I think it was about 100 degrees as one point in the room. 

Pics

Here are a few shots from the hike yesterday. (Ps I am impressed by my iPhone's ability to take photos).

This is what we have been up to this morning. Getting set up and then teaching. (The baby in the picture is our second patient for the day.)We have several returning nurses and several new ones. So it doesn't quite feel like we are starting from scratch but there is still a lot to teach. 

Sunday

Again, I will try and upload photos tomorrow but today has been a good day....relaxing and exciting. The start of the week.
I woke up super early this morning and hiked up to a hill near the hospital with a lot of our team. We got up there while it was still dark and watched the sunrise. There is really no way to describe it...it is something that you will just have to see my pictures of. But it is a great way to start the week...being bathed in God's beauty and in the remembrance of his love for me. And his provision for me.
I got a quick power nap in and then went to church, which was rather lengthy today because they had some guest speakers (we'll say to the tune of 2 and a half hours).
The rest of the team got here this afternoon so we finished setting up and had our meeting.
This part of the trip has hit me hard the past few years. They have seen about 30 patients in clinic and there are probably 6 that are definite yes for surgery, probably 15 that are rheumatic cases that may be operated on by the adult team and then the rest are children we can do nothing for. And that is just the children who have lived long enough to show up here. I can't imagine the number that have passed already. It is really hard. It is hard to make these decisions. Hard to sit there and discuss them. Hard to realize even if we tried to fix them we would make some worse. It is just hard to see the scope of the problem and know we are putting a tiny bandaid on it. A bandaid that is super helpful for this handful of children, but there are so many here, in this one country.
I am so tired from waking up early for the hike that my brain doesn't have room for much more. Good night from Kenya.

Trying to post a few pictures here and they are all in reverse order. Can't be picky here people

The first photo is of the area that we turn into the ICU. We got in this morning an spent all day first seeing what they actually have, clearing out what isn't useful, and then sorting and organizing what we need. It was a good full day. And the stuff they have here can be very random. They really never throw anything away so there is a lot to do. And I had time for a walk this morning to enjoy this beautiful place. 

The next photo is of my walk from my house to the hospital. And the last is of some acaia trees from the ride here yesterday. 

Allright gonna get some rest. We are doing a sunrise hike before the week gets going so I have an early start tomorrow. The rest of the team will arrive and we will unpack them and then meet to figure out our first patients. 

Back in my second or third home

I am back at home, or atleast in one of my homes. (I like to consider Italy my other home)
We made it through all 4 legs of our travel-from Nashville to Dallas to Dubai to Nairobi and then the drive to Tenwek. All went really smoothly...got our bags all here safely and navigated through the newly pieced together airport after the recent fire. And no issues in Nairobi.
No matter how many times I get to make the drive from Nairobi to Tenwek I am struck by several things...first the immense beauty in this country. We drive through the Great Rift Valley, which is quite amazing, but the countryside otherwise is spectacular. I am also struck by the normalcy of life here and how different that is from our life. As we drive we see children running to and from school in their uniforms and knee socks, we see donkeys driving carts full of some type of commodity, we see many many people walking down the dusty roads, people out on the side of the road selling buckets of potatoes or roasted corn. The worlds are so different, yet every person I meet or even just catching strangers' eyes there is so much joy and hope lying beneath. This hits me each year I am here and this year is no different.
The internet is being poky so I can't get any pictures uploaded. Maybe tomorrow...
We will spend tomorrow unpacking and organizing the ICU.
Oh and I have to brag on our Kenyan nurses. We walked into the ICU this afternoon and they had done three adult mitral valve repair cases this week-all of which were still in the ICU (they have been doing these since we left last year). All three patients were out of bed sitting up with a nurse at their side...doing things like incentive spirometry or getting vitals. I felt like a proud Mom! It is so unbelievable to see how much growth and learning has happened here since we started this project in 2008.
More tomorrow hopefully

Let the Journey begin

First flight is down and we are sitting in the Dallas airport waiting for our flight to Dubai and then Nairobi. 

It is crazy that it is this time of year again. When we start planning in May it feels so very far away and the time always sneaks up on me. 

A wave of nerves hit me yesterday when I remembered I am entering into being in charge, being the person everyone asks questions of, and of hoping I remembered to get all of our icu supplies.  But I am comforted to remember as much as I think and act like I am in control someone bigger is. I will rest in that as I am hopefully able to rest on the upcoming 14 hr and 45 minute flight. 

The view from the window this morning made the early morning wake up call worth it. So much beauty in this world. 

Fear and Faith

In church and small group we have been following Tim Keller's book Jesus the King which is about the book of Mark. Fear has been a topic of several sermons and chapters and has been on my mind for the past few weeks....realizing some underlying fears and realizing that I don't truly believe that God is enough when it boils down to it. Fear and faith are opposite sides of the coin and so much of my life happens on the fear side, whether I realize it or not. My fear is exposed in my thoughts in a large degree, but also in my actions.
As my trip approaches I realize the fears that I carry with this trip and I end up carrying the weight of those fears instead of flipping the coin and having faith that God will provide. As always this trip brings its own set of challenges and blessings and I anticipate what God will reveal in this time. And I am glad that I have had these months leading up to the spend time with this idea.

Aaahhh

Kenya is fast approaching. Somehow it always just springs up. In the summer it feels like there is so much time and now it is almost here. Two weeks! Hoping and praying that all the time, all the lists, all the work is going to have covered all that we will need for that week and a half. In times like this I am humbled yet again to remember that as much as I plan and work it is all gods project. I am a part, yes, but he is in control. Hoping this beings rest and peace. 

Beach

I am lucky. Or blessed. Whichever word you like to use. 

I have several friends here who know me well; who have known me through the hard times of past years, who have walked with me as I have grown, who have laughed hysterically with me, who have cried with me, who know so much of my history that we can fall in step easily. 

I went to the beach with some people who fall into this category. And it was wonderful. Ridiculous, real and wonderful. 

AT

Last week Dad and I met for or annual AT hike. We had to postpone this spring since I was enjoying the PNW. We had an addition on this trip-Jen!

We were on the trail for three days and had great fall weather. 

Hiked 20 miles...my old body wasn't used to wearing a pack for that many miles so I am still feeling the bruises on my body! 

The leaves haven't quite started turning but it was beautiful nonetheless.  I was impressed that my phone camera could catch all the beautiful layers of mountains in the smokies 

I love these hikes with Dad. It is one of my favorite times of year. Looking forward to adding more miles next spring.