This week has certainly been a full one. I feel like I've been on the run since we got back from Nairobi with my old UCLA friend Ann last Sunday. Here is the day-by-day craziness of the week:
Monday was the Children's Home and School memorial service for Kelvin.
Tuesday was the funeral.
Wednesday I was realizing just how far behind I was getting. Wed was also the first day of "The Great Pharmacy Inventory". Has a scary ring to it doesn't it? It turns out that our pharmacy has not had an inventory since 2002. I was asked by the clinic advisory committee to develop a tracking system and then inventory the drugs. Let me give a HUGE thanks to our interns Kayte, and Joanna, as well as my friend Ann. They spent the day counting pills with me.
Thurs was Mother-Baby clinic followed by more fun in the pharmacy. During the clinic hours one of my pregnant friends showed up sick. After doing a history and physical I started her on treatment for malaria.
Friday morning was, you guessed it, more pharmacy inventory!! Only during the pharm inventory I was called into the treatment room to see the daughter of one of William's cousins. The mother had been force-feeding the nine-month-old baby porridge when she aspirated. (Aspiration is a fancy medical term that means the food went into the lungs instead of the stomach.) By the time I was called in to consult on the case the baby had a fever of 104, and was in severe respiratory distress. During the course of her physical exam I could see her rapidly deteriorating and losing consciousness. Being that it was Friday, our ambulance had taken our HIV patients to the local HIV clinic for their appointments. I called the driver and asked him to drive like the devil to get to the clinic and take the baby to the hospital. As we waited for him to arrive I couldn't help but think "This child is dying in front of my eyes!" The most frustrating thing is that we didn't even have oxygen to put her on. I laid my hands over her and asked God for a miracle before she got in the ambulance.
Friday afternoon I went to do a follow-up home visit on the pregnant mom with malaria. That was followed by a huge goodbye service for our intern, Jeremiah, who hosted a soccer camp at our local public school. Several months ago I heard about Jeremiah's interest in doing something with soccer while here. I simply made arrangements with the principle of our local public school to hold an after-school soccer camp. The farewell ceremony was overwhelming as I wound up being one of the guests-of-honor. I was overwhelmed with the many thanks I received for helping to coordinate the camp. It was a reminder to me that even small thoughts and actions can have deep impacts. (Also a humorous reminder of the many hats I wear!)
Friday evening I learned that Chepchumba was stabilized in the ER and had been admitted to the hospital.
Saturday I headed into town for the day with our interns and my friend Ann. We went to the hospital to visit Chepchumba. This was the highlight of the week! She looked one-hundred, no make that one-thousand, times better!!! Thank you father for working a miracle in this little one's body!
Saturday evening we found out that an in-law to William's brother had gotten drunk, fallen in the river and drowned.
That brings us to today. Our church was meeting at a distant location for their quarterly assembly. Not having transportation we stayed home to rest today. And I must say after this week I was in desperate need of some rest and recharging of my personal batteries. Just as I was preparing to start dinner I got a phone call to come assist with a delivery at the clinic. After a few hours of tough labor the baby girl finally came. She had a bit of distress at birth but was doing fine after a few minutes of warming and stimulating.
My heart is full and I'm more than ready to call it a week and head to bed. After all, who knows what tomorrow may hold?
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