One step at a time

            This week on the pediatrics ward has been a great learning experience.  Most of what comes in to the hospital here is quite similar to America in terms of the clinical scenario, although the underlying cause is often quite different.  We mainly have admissions for respiratory and gastrointestinal complaints (pneumonia vs. bronchiolitis, diarrhea, dehydration, etc.).  One of my patients with diarrhea was positive for Entamoeba hystolitica, which, as my fellow med student friends know, is quite rare to find in the US.   There is one boy with bacterial meningitis who was admitted before I started working on peds.  He was initially not at all alert neurologically, but has slowly been recovering throughout the week.  He still has a lot of pain in his neck and back and while moving his legs.  We’re hopeful that he’ll make a full recovery, but he may have to be transferred to a larger facility.  In the outpatient department today we saw a 15-year-old girl with heart failure from rheumatic heart disease.  This is another clinical manifestation that we don’t often see in the US.  This patient is a likely candidate for heart transplant at another larger mission hospital in Kenya, so hopefully she can be set up to have that procedure soon.  It was quite dramatic to see all of the clinical signs of heart failure that I normally see in the geriatric population in an adolescent girl.   

            One other aspect of serving at Kapsowar that I’ve loved is the community health outreach I’ve participated in.  Again this week we spoke to about 350 high school girls at a boarding school in a town called Sambirir, about half an hour away from Kapsowar.  I did struggle this week with speaking slowly and loudly enough for them to understand, but I’m praying that they understood enough of my message to have a bit of an impact on their lives.  I’ve been going most weeks with one of the family doctors here and another Kenyan social worker who is a very dynamic speaker and always has the kids laughing at his stories.   I mainly share my personal story of how God has encouraged me as a single Christian woman, and some of the challenges I’ve faced in that role as well.  I’m hopeful that hearing the experiences of a female closer to their age will be influential in helping them make more positive decisions in regard to their health. 

            For the first time this week I was able to work at a community clinic that we set up near where the girls school is located.   I was amazed at how it all came together.  We set up two speakers and a sound system to be able to be able to advertise the clinic and share our message more broadly.   I saw several patients, along with another of the missionary doctors here. One of the local dentists did a few tooth extractions as well.  I haven’t had the chance to work at a mission clinic before and it was really cool to be a part of that, to help people who might not normally make it to the doctor with some of their physical ailments as well as spiritual.   

I read a devotional from Jesus, Calling this morning that was very fitting for the emotions I’ve been feeling this week.  Here’s an excerpt:

            “Follow me one step at a time.  That is all that I require of you…You see huge mountains looming, and you start wondering how you’re going to scale those heights.  Meanwhile, because you’re not looking where you’re going, you stumble on the easy path where I am now…If I do lead you up the cliffs, I will equip you thoroughly for that strenuous climb”

As I’ve been working at Kapsowar, I’ve started to dwell on the fact that soon I’m going to be starting my first year of residency, and I’ve been overwhelmed by that prospect.  Throughout my clinical years of med school I’ve been attacked by negative thoughts about by medical knowledge and clinical performance.  Now, that internship is approaching in a few months, those feelings have been flooding back to me.  I’ve also wanted to jump ahead in time and know where I’ll be living for the next 3 years.  I know match day will be really nerve-wracking because I could potentially end up on either coast.  Reading the above passage today just confirmed once again, that my worries are futile.  God has been faithful to reveal each step of my journey one step at a time (although I am always wishing that he would show me a few more steps in advance).  I’ll end the post with this verse:

           

            “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone” 

-       Psalm 91: 11-12

Prayer requests:

Patient T with bacterial meningitis for continued healing

For the girls we spoke to on Tuesday that they would remember what we said and apply it to their lives (in regard to alcohol abuse, sex education, following Christ)

That I would recover fully from my cold  

 Left to right: Ruth (social worker), Vivian (nurse), Jane (dentist), and me at the community clinic

At Chesoi, the village where we set up the clinic on Thursday