A Time to Sew

Ecclesiastes in the Bible says that there is a time for every season. It seems that we here at the clinic have moved into a season of sewing up wounds. People in our village are finishing up the harvest season which means a few things.

1. They are using more sharp instruments.
   
2. They have cash in their pockets from selling maize.
   
3. Said cash is being used to purchase alcohol.
   
4. Alcohol is leading to fights involving sharp instruments.
   

Get the picture?

The other night I got a knock on my window that there was an emergency at the clinic. It just so happened that the electricity was out that night. Let me take you on a rabbit trail for just a minute here. I have to confess that if you ever came to Kipkaren and used a head lamp I was probably snickering to myself at how funny you looked. I realize that probably makes me a terrible host, but I think that walking down the road with a headlamp just looks a bit dorky. However a few months back I had to deliver a baby in the dark and a USA team member came to the rescue with a head lamp for me to borrow. It was amazing! We have since had several headlamps donated to the clinic. I keep one of them on my nightstand for night-time powerless emergencies.

So I get this knock on my window and I'm heading to the clinic with my oh-so-stylish headlamp when I begin to see drops of blood on the ground. It is pitch black out so my headlight is the only illumination around. I felt like I was in a movie following a trail of blood. It lead me, you guessed it, to the clinic!

The first person I met was a mom who had just arrived with her sick baby. I could see the baby was sick but not critical. So I told the mom that I needed to find out where the blood was coming from before attending to the baby. I found a slightly intoxicated young man who had been attacked with a knife. The attacker went for his throat and he fended the knife off with his hand. His thumb was pretty sliced up but not life or limb-threatening. So I had him hold pressure and moved on to see the baby.

After taking care of the malaria baby it was back to Mr. Knife-Wound. It took me about an hour to sew everything up using the super-duper headlamp. There were at least half a dozen people in the room all giving their input throughout the process. Every now and then I wish for a good old American hospital where you can throw the crowds out and use some good modern technology (like electric lights for example)! As I was putting in the last stitch the power came back on. Great timing!

While still on the subject of wounds, let me ask my praying friends to be praying for a young man named Kimeli. He is in his early twenties. Last weekend he was assisting a friend of ours with cleaning up after his harvest. They were using a wood-chipper to grind the maize stalks. Well you may be able to imagine where this story is going. At the end of the day they were finishing up and Kimeli decided to toss one last bunch into the machine. It kicked back a bit and instead of looking for the stick they use to push material in he used his hand. He lost the hand completely. Thank God there was a vehicle on site that was able to drive him immediately to the closest medical facility. He was then transferred to a hospital in Eldoret. I understand he is being discharged today. Your prayers for Kimeli and his family would be greatly appreciated.

In fact please pray that this wound season comes to a quick close. Thanks for all of your ongoing prayers, encouragement and support!