Sunday 5:00pm
To back track just a little…..Saturday’s clinic went well, 215 patients were seen and 597 received vaccination and deworming. The total patients seen by the doctors last week was 1876. The total for vaccinations and deworming last week was 4554. (Not sure if any of the 1876 patients are included in that number)
The patients seen in Saturdays clinic were very sick. Some patients had perforated eardrums due to ear infections, protein malnutrition and iron deficiency. After the clinic was over, one of the elders of the church took the team on a tour of the hut compound and showed them were people sleep and cook. It was an eye opener. There was a group of kids playing drums. They make the drums themselves. I think they put on a special show for the team. Even though the people they saw are very poor they are still happy. It was uplifting for the team.
The surgery team did 3 big cases on Saturday. One case was an ovarian cyst. The cyst weighed 10 pounds. The woman looked pregnant and after surgery she looked like she had delivered a child. The cyst had been growing for years.
Kyron commended the team for working with Dr. Patrick’s staff and getting everything done.
Here area few words from each team member……..
Helen(Dr. Patrick’s wife) was glad everything was going smoothly and thanked God for everyone’s effort.
Debbie…..saw a child that had surgery last year. The child and his mom remembered Debbie and the team. The boy has been doing well.
Christine…everyone is happy and full of love. When Christine got of the bus a little 3 year old girl was standing there waiting to shake Christine’s hand. Then when the team went to tour the huts a little girl came up and took Christine’s hand and walked around with her.
Jessica….was comparing spending time at the hospital before the rest of the team arrived last Tuesday to going to the outreach clinics. There are different programs around the hospital such at the malnutrition clinic I told you about previously. She said it was a cool experience for someone who is interested in public health and reinforces her desire to make a difference.
Roy….it was good getting to know people that he works with at the hospital (in the US) and working with them on a different level. He’s picking up some of the local dialogue and using it when he takes care of the patients. It’s fun to see their reaction when he talks with them.
Emily…has a daily affirmation that she is on the right track. She is intertested in International medicine.
Cindy J…when the patients start waking up after surgery they say thank you right away.
Polly….ate a bug. Someone offered her the bug and she didn’t want to turn him down so she ate it. I think it was a termite, they are a delicacy in Uganda. She said it was good to see joy on everyone’s face and they are glad when eveyone uses the local language.
Rishad…when they toured the hut compound it was interesting to see how they live. Before the elder became a christian he had four wives and 21 children. After he became a christian 3 wives left him and the 21 children.
Wes….the whole experience has been great and alot more than he expected. Working in the OR has been great. He’s been doing alot of filming and said it’s like being on an episode of M.A.S.H.
Rick….a patient was under local anesthetic for a hernia operation. The area being operated on is draped so the patient can’t see the surgery being done. The patient wanted to know when they were going to start the surgery. He didn’t realize it was already being done since he couldn’t see it.
Judy….overall experience has been good. She said she was outside the hospital taking pictures and women kept coming up to her and wanted her to take pictures of them with their babies. The dad’s were feeling left out so Judy told them to get over there so she could take a picture of all of them.
Cindy O…..at the end of clinic when the kids were playing the drums noone wanted to dance. A lady with a baby on her back got out in front of everyone and started dancing around. After that everyone joined in. (I don’t know if the team members danced or not)
Janice….saw a little boy playing with a toy that was somewhat like a car. He had a stick and was pushing the car around. Janice wanted to take a picture of him but he thought she wanted the toy. Then when she went into town her camera “fell out” of her bag. A lady standing near by “found” the camera and wanted a reward for finding it. A security guard ran the women out of the store. He said she is known as a pick pocket and told Janice not to give her any money.
Kyron….has enjoyed making rounds and interacting with the patients. The family of one patient gave him some food. (I don’t know what it was.) Kyron said it was pretty good and said “yum yum” and the family laughed and were happy to share their food.
Dr. Patrick…a lady named Barbara has a trade school and teaches people to sew. She was at the church site on the first day of clinic and asked the team to come over for lunch. Since then people from around the area have been coming by to thank her for having the team there. Patrick sometimes feels the work he does is inadequate but somehow the people are all doing well. He says we are not in this alone. The patients get better after treating them with medicine even though he’s not sure what is wrong with them.
Shai…walked to the Mbale Hospital to take a tour with Craig and Dr. Patrick. He said it was eye popping to see how poor and inadequate the facilities were. He sees what an impact Dr. Patick is making in his village and can appreciate it more after seeing the hospital at Mbale.
Bonnie….amazing how much is done with so little and in such a short amount of time.
Ronald….is grateful to everyone for how smooth everything is running. He was happy that he was able to diagnose a patient with a pathologic murmur. The patient will go to a hospital in Kampala to seek treatment.
Rob…is amazed at the remote villages he could go to, he said you wouldn’t be able to see any of this if you just came for a visit. He met a woman who needed to go to Mbale for testing. She said she had never left her village. (I’m not sure of her age but am guessing it was an elderly lady) .
The clinic team will be at Tirinyi Church tomorrow.
Continue to pray for good rest and good health for the team. Pray also for the patients seen in the clinic and those needing surgery.
Hope you’ve had a good day!!!
Until tomorrow……………………..