I was able to describe many of the different clinics our team members have been running in yesterday's blog, but I did not include insights into the physical therapy clinic, the vision clinic, or the operating room.  So here you go!

 

Without a prescription, near-sighted patients are the most difficult to treat in the vision clinic.  We brought a few hundred pairs of glasses with us, representing a variety of prescriptions.  Matching prescriptions to patients is sometimes complicated in these conditions, but John, his daughter Karleen, and many others have done their best to assist each person who walks through their doorway.  The easiest people to help are those who are far-sighted and just want to be able to see well enough to read.  John loves sharing about his experiences when patients are overjoyed because they can finally read their Bibles again.

 

Bev and Debbie have been running the physical therapy clinic this week.  I visited them briefly and saw Bev treating a 9-month-old with Cerebral Palsy.  Bev and a local physical therapist were training the child's mom to help the baby strengthen her core muscles and improve her development. I'm looking forward to spending a little more time in this clinic!

 

Most of my time today was spent in the operating room with Larry, Danielle, Doug, Dan, and Kyle.  This room is always busy and whoever is working in the operating room is the last to be back to the hotel.  Today, the air conditioning unit wasn't working at all.  The temperature in the room was likely in the 90's (American operating rooms are kept at a cool 65ºF).  Most of the doctors and assistants were sweating during surgery.  The power was irregular today.  It went out at a crucial time in one surgery, making it difficult for the doctors to see what they were doing (surgery by cell phone light, anyone?) and impossible to monitor oxygen levels or the heart rate of the patient.   This is a normal occurrence and the Ugandan doctors didn't seem phased.  Thankfully, all of the surgeries have been successful so far, in spite of the conditions!

 

Prayer Requests:

 

I have a special prayer request for an 8-year-old girl named Nancy and her mom, Joyce.  Nancy was very afraid to come into surgery today, but she was brave and sat down on the table anyway.  It was a little difficult for her mother to watch, and I made sure to reach out to Joyce throughout the procedure, knowing how scary it can be to watch your own child go under anesthesia.  After it was done and Nancy was in the ward recovering, I prayed with Joyce and asked her for her permission to request further prayers for their family.  Joyce was very pleased with the idea.  So please do pray for a speedy recovery for Nancy, and praise God for a successful surgery.

 

We heard about the fire in Black Forest this morning.  Please pray for Larry, Bev, and Ricki, whose homes have been evacuated.  We will also be praying for the Black Forest and Colorado Springs areas.

 

We thank you for continuing your prayers over our health, and ask you to lift up Rudy and Melissa today as they haven't been feeling very well.

Thank you!

 

 

Obligatory Cute Kid Photo of the Day

Personal Favorite Photo of the Day

-- back story.  These kids were hanging out at the entrance of the hospital, and Rachel, Sarah and I decided they needed some candy.  Rachel hid the candy behind her back on the walk over.  This just made me smile SO. MUCH.