Just another day in Kibogora

How can a place so beautiful, with such wonderful people, 

also contain so much pain and sorrow and hardship?  

This morning, I walked down to the hospital to deliver the police report for Specios, the special little ten year old girl who died last Sunday from being crushed by the huge road construction truck.

I found Tim in X-Ray, and handed over his report - only to see another heart wrenching situation. An elderly man, severely malnourished to the point of seemingly EVERY bone in his body protruding from his skin, his eyes looking like hallowed out wells of sorrow in his skeletal face, was being x-rayed. Somewhere, a while back, he had a tooth pulled. The remaining hole then became infected. The infection spread down into his chest and lungs, and now he can hardly breathe. His O2 stats are extremely low. Tim is operating on this man now, but due to the severity of his malnutrition, his chances are slim. 

Poverty has such a profound effect on Health, from so many angles. 

Before I left, I went to pray for a little 2 1/2 year old boy from Idjwi island who came in a few days ago with terrible, deep burns on over 30 percent of his little body, after falling backwards into hot cooking oil. His entire back, back of his legs and back of his upper arms are horribly burned. The risk of infection is sky high. The family is desperately poor like every other family living in Idjwi island. 

Our mesher is broken. So, Tim can't begin to do the repair work once he is ready for that, due to broken tools. Yet we cannot transfer him to the Burn Center in Kigali because he isn't Rwandan and isn't in the country with any papers. Like all other Idjwi folks, they just came to our hospital by boat, and not through a border station. They likely have no papers. The baby probably has no birth certificate or any other identification. 

He is a victim of the poverty into which he was born. 

 Even the fact that he was burned by falling into the oil is due to his poverty, as richer people have elevated cook stoves which protect

their children from this risk. 

After praying for little Erisha with his big brother, Patrice, and his mother, Mama Erisha, I walked back to the compound to say farewell to Dr Matt and Dr Marie Croft, who left today after serving with us for 7 months. Tim, Marie and Matt have worked hard together at the hospital, enjoying such camaraderie there. Marie has thrilled everyone with her baking delights (she even sent a goodbye gift of delicious scones and jam!!). Matt played on the hospital football team and Marie sang in the hospital choir. They started a staff aerobics and wellness/weight watchers program.  They made exercise fun and purposeful.   When I think of them, I think of this verse:  "Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well." ~ 1 Thessalonians 2:8.  That sums up Matt and Marie.  That's what they did.  They were an inspiration to us, but also just plain fun to have around.  We surely have been blessed with some brilliant Brits around here!  First Dave and Naomi, and then Matt and Marie.  And of course, all the regular Brits, too. 

We will miss our Saturday movie nights, our trips to swim in Lake Kivu, and just seeing them around. 

Saying goodbye is hard for me. Worse, seeing such suffering patients, especially when the chances that we can help them are very slim to none, discourages me as well, and makes me feel heavy and so tired. And I'm not even the doctor! Just think of what it does to Tim! 

But soon, our friends the Lands will be joining us here. And two of our kids will come home for term break. And before we know it, we'll see Hannah in July.  

For anyone who has time, we need prayer, and more than us, the patients and families described in the above post need your prayers. 

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.