Tanzania and Arapha

On the bus!

Taking four bus rides and a couple of taxis across two countries definitely wasn't the most direct route back to Eldoret after leaving Iraq, but it seemed like a good idea at the time! Since I was already traveling through Nairobi, it was a good chance to take a quick trip down to Tanzania to visit my sponsored child with Compassion International.


Just a few hours after arriving in Nairobi at 3am on Monday morning, I met up with Mety and we got on a bus to Tanzania! Five hours later, we reached Arusha and switched buses (easier than it sounds!)  We crammed into two very narrow seats on a much more crowded bus, with every seat filled and people standing all the way down the aisle. We drove about 3 hours and stopped at a police checkpoint where our conductor was promptly arrested. The driver went after him, and he got arrested too. There was a lot of commotion as most of the other passengers also offloaded and went to campaign for their release. We were in the middle of nowhere, with no other buses or taxis in sight, so Mety and I just stayed in our seats and waited. After about an hour, someone who knew someone who called a friend of a friend of some guy on our bus somehow got our driver and his cohort out of jail and we continued on our way. In total, it took us 6 and half hours to reach Singida - we were very tired when we finally rolled in at 9:30pm!



Thankfully, our $15 hotel in Singida turned out to be pretty nice, with a very clean room, soft beds and nice restaurant. No hot water, but after a good night's sleep and free breakfast we couldn't complain! Cold water gets the dirt off, it just doesn't melt soap very well.

Mety's Tree

We met our Compassion host, Graim, at the hotel and then traveled to the project site. Arapha wasn't there, so we didn't spend long at the site before traveling to her home. We did stay long enough to collect seeds from a beautiful red flowering tree on the project grounds that Graim said they call the "Christmas Tree". Mety was completely in love with it, so we're hoping the seeds will grow in Kenya! The rest of our time in Tanzania, anytime we saw that tree we called it "Mety's tree!"



When we reached Arapha's house, Arapha had left to fetch water, so I first met her older sister, then was led into the bedroom to meet her mom. The day before I arrived, Arapha's mom had accidentally lit her clothes on fire while cooking, and she sustained 2nd and 3rd degree burns from neck to thigh on her right side. She was lying on the single bed, in significant pain anytime she tried to move. It felt very weird to crowd into the room and sit down, but that's what we did.
I asked what kind of treatment she was receiving and was relieved to learn she is being attended by a private doctor who is coming to the house twice a day to give her injections of antibiotics and pain medicine, and dress her burns. She said she was excited to see me and was surprised that I had really come. She said when the Compassion staff first told her I was coming all they way to Singida to visit, she didn't believe them! I gave her a gift I brought of assorted spices from Istanbul, which seemed very inadequate given the situation, but it was all I had with me at the time. When Arapha arrived, we all prayed together for her mom's healing, and then Mety and I took her into town for lunch. I had chicken and fries, Arapha had fries, eggs, and roasted goat!
We talked over lunch, which was a bit difficult as Arapha doesn't know any English and I can't make sentences in Swahili!  When we first started talking, it was quite difficult because anytime I asked a question, Graim would answer it himself and leave Arapha out completely. I finally learned to say "can you please ask her...." before each question. I learned that she has completed her primary schooling and has just taken her final exams. She hasn't received the results yet, and in Tanzania, students' education ends at the primary level unless they achieve a fairly high score.
At 13, Arapha has already decided not to continue her schooling and instead wants to learn a trade and become a tailor. She plans to go live with her older sister while she attends a tailoring school, which Graim said can still be paid for under my Compassion sponsorship.

Me with Arapha and Graim (our translator)

We wanted to leave Singida by 1:30pm to try and make it back to Arusha before dark, so after lunch we went straight to the bus stage and bought return tickets. I was told that I could not give any cash gift toward Arapha's mother's care, so we went to a kiosk to buy food and household items for Arapha to take home. We were told our bus was coming in "three minutes" so we really rushed the poor kiosk guys - rice! sugar! toilet paper! salt! bread! soap! - and then we still waited almost half an hour for the bus to arrive! I guess that was three Tanzanian minutes.

Singida Bus Stage

We said goodbye and then crammed back onto another bus for the long journey back to Arusha! It was shorter this time, because no one got arrested, so we arrived in Arusha just before dark and then spent the night in another hotel - this one had hot water! 

The next day, we had an early breakfast and then transferred to another shuttle bus for the trek back to Nairobi. The scenery is really beautiful and the shuttle was very comfortable, especially compared to the cramped Tanzania buses, so the ride was quite nice! Once we arrived in Nairobi, we relaxed at Java House Cafe, shopped a little bit at the Maasai market outside, then got on an evening flight back to Eldoret. 

A view of Open Arms Village and the nearby community from the plane window! (Open Arms is on left side of the photo)

When we finally reached Mety's house, we cooked pancakes for dinner and then went straight to bed! 

It does feel really good to be home. =)

Istanbul

Our ICHF team spent a couple of days in Istanbul on the way to Iraq due to some Iraqi visa delays. It was disappointing losing surgery days for the Iraq trip, but we made the best of it and saw the city!

Istanbul! So many boats, so little time! Yes, I went on a boat ride! =)

 The first day in Istanbul, I had lunch with some of the ICHF team at a great fish restaurant right on the water. The restaurant sits under a bridge, and just above us were countless fishing poles hanging over the edge. Every once in a while, they would reel up a fish! Pretty sure the fish we had was very fresh! =)

Hot roasted chestnuts - yum!

Olives and cheese - two things that are very hard to get in Kenya!

One of the many store fronts sporting piles and piles of Turkish Delight.

This was the view from the rooftop restaurant where we stopped for drinks. Best hot chocolate I've had in a long time!

The Blue Mosque

Inside the Blue Mosque - really liked the lighting!  

The Hagia Sophia

Inside the Hagia Sophia 

A view of the street where we walked through the Old Town historic district. Perfect weather!

Ships on the horizon at sunset. Beautiful city, but by this time, I was ready to get on a plane back to Africa! Goodbye Istanbul! =)

Iraq Week 2

This week was a bit tiring, as we had some very sick kids in ICU and we also worked to graduate some of last week's cases who were giving us extra work to do! 

This boy was the very first case done on the day we arrived in Najaf. Now 8 years old, he should have been operated as an infant, and he experienced significant complications from his system essentially being shocked by his suddenly corrected heart. He was very sick for a few days and spent extra time on the ventilator, but he made a full recovery! It was really encouraging to see him steadily improve, though he did keep us very busy while he was in ICU!

Here he is off of the ventilator. He left ICU a few days after this photo, walking and doing well! 

This little guy was my favorite baby while we were there. (there's always one!) He was operated on the last ICHF trip, and was recovering well but then suddenly became sick and was admitted to another children's hospital in Najaf, where his condition was rapidly worsening. When our team arrived, he was transferred to our ICU in severe respiratory distress. Both of his lungs had filled with fluid, which collapsed his entire right lung and most of his left. We placed him on a ventilator, put in chest tubes to drain the fluid collecting around his lungs, and he quickly improved. He came off the ventilator the same night and was doing well for awhile, until one chest tube stopped draining and his right lung collapsed again. He needed surgery to clean out his lung and have a new chest tube placed, but there was already a case in surgery, so he had to wait more than 8 hours. I'm really grateful to all my RT friends back home who donated some supplies to me in May - they definitely saved this little guy! I was able to put him on a form of NCPAP that relaxed him enough to breathe on his own for a few more hours until he got his surgery.

 Afterward, he did very well! One of his chest tubes was removed before we left, the other continued to drain. He is only partially corrected, so hopefully he can have his final heart surgery on one of the upcoming ICHF trips. Love this baby!

For my RT friends - how to make emergency nasal CPAP with just a flow generator: Use a HFNC adapter to connect oxygen tubing directly to the flow line. Pry a disposable manometer off of an Ambu bag (pull HARD - it will come off!) Attach a pressure line or cut O2 tubing and create your own, the manometer fits perfectly. Connect your O2 tubing to a flow source, or wye an air line and O2 line together to make a blender, and - voila! NCPAP for the third world!

This baby was too unstable immediately after surgery to have her chest closed, so her sternum was covered with a special bandage and her chest was left open for 2 days until she stabilized. Then, the ICU became an OR and the surgical team closed her chest at the bedside! She tolerated the surgery very well.

Ready, set, levitate! Some of our local Iraqi nurses in action, lifting a patient so his bedding can be changed. Go team!

 Remember the jumper? He came back to ICU on the last day so he could have his pacer wires removed. He didn't really like us very much, but he did like the two DumDums he got as a reward! 

So, sad news - the rest of my second week photos got accidentally deleted when I arrived in Tanzania - I thought I had already transferred them to my computer - FAIL!  In total we operated on 13 children in 8 surgical days. 5 were still left in ICU when we left, which was really hard - please keep them in your prayers. Two were stable and going to discharge, but three were still sick and needing continued care. Pray that the local team is able to put their new knowledge into action and that these children recover well. 

Until next time....=)

Iraq Update - Week 1

After a few unexpected days in Istanbul due to delays in acquiring our visas for Iraq, we finally arrived on Wednesday and went straight to work! We have a really great team, and everyone works together very well.  

Just for fun, I came up with some future career ideas for these first few kids we've operated on. Without ICHF, they would not have lived into adulthood, but now, with fully repaired hearts - they have a whole new life ahead of them! Since they've spent their early years suffering from congenital heart disease in a country with no means to save them, maybe they haven't had a chance to think about what they want to be when they grown up. Now they'll have a few ideas! =)

First patient to leave the ICU - everyone was trying to get a photo before she wheeled out the door! Future career: Race car driver, Olympic speed skater 

  This little boy is five years old and he was the third child to get surgery this week. He's a bit drugged on morphine in this photo, but that didn't dampen his personality much at all!  He's very bright and talkative, and was constantly telling us hilarious things in Arabic which our translator couldn't help laughing as he translated! My favorite: "I give you my word, if you take these tubes out of my chest, I will do anything you say."

Second day post-op: smiling for his chest x-ray!               Future career: Actor, Comedian, and/or Lawyer

This gorgeous girl woke up and REALLY wanted to come off the ventilator, then had to wait a few extra hours due to some bleeding complications. Those were resolved, and she finally got her tube out!! She got scared when we started to take it out, so she just clamped her teeth together and bit down on it hard. I put her hand on the tube and let her just pull it out herself - she did great! All the makings of an excellent future Respiratory Therapist. =)

 The first word every kid says as soon as they are extubated is "mai!" which means "water!" She desperately wanted water when she was still on the ventilator, and all she could have was a wet sponge in her mouth. After her tube was out, we gave her a cup with a tiny bit of water - and she still drank most of it by dipping the sponge before she realized she could just drink it! So sweet.
Future career: Respiratory Therapist, Ice cream tester, barista

This little guy is 15 months old, and several times throughout the day he would wake from peaceful sleep, yell, and then fly off the bed! Right in the middle of morning rounds, he was rescued by Kristin, one of our nurses, who caught him in mid-air halfway to the floor! We don't have the option of a crib with railings, and didn't want to keep him tied down all day - most of the time he was very sweet and easy to contain. So we just had to keep a close eye on him every time he woke up. Anytime he stirred, whoever was nearby would run and catch him if he made a move! Future careers: base jumper, skydiver, bungee instructor, astronaut

 

That's all for week one!! More to come during week two! =)

Baby Ted

Ted and Brenda Whiteman, my neighbors at Open Arms, run a community outreach ministry in the neighborhood around Open Arms. During one of their outreaches, they gave out clothes to some of the poorest in our community. One of the women they gave clothes to later named her firstborn son after Ted! Baby Ted was born with a partial cleft lip and full cleft palate, and when Ted Whiteman heard this, he learned that Operation Smile was coming to Kisumu and made sure that Ted could be considered for surgery! Since Operation Smile was coming while the Whitemans were away in the US, I got to be the one to take Baby Ted to Kisumu!

In Kisumu at Operation Smile

Mety rented a car and we drove 2 1/2 hours to Kisumu so Baby Ted could be evaluated during the Operation Smile mission. It was a long drive on a very rough road, but we finally made it and Baby Ted was then seen by nurses, surgeons, photographers, speech therapists, a feeding specialist, a dentist, and an anesthesiologist! The screening process took about 8 hours and by the end, all of us were exhausted. But Baby Ted was assigned Priority 1 for surgery and was scheduled for his smile repair the following week!


Accompanied by his mom and her neighbor, Ted went back to Kisumu and was successfully operated. His mom, Nancy, texted me when he was out of surgery and said he was awake in the recovery room and "very active!" She was so excited at how well he did and how quickly he recovered. He came home to Mlango the next day!!

Two days after surgery - just perfect!

Ted on Nov 3rd!

Ted still needs an operation to repair his cleft palate, so he will go back to Operation Smile again in May, this time in Nakuru (which is a much nicer road!). Please keep praying for him as he grows big enough for his final surgery!

Somebody's growing up....

Look who's standing up!!! Asha has been standing on her own a lot lately, and walking if you hold her hands!

Today I went to say goodbye before leaving for Iraq and she walked to me by herself! 5 steps!! Such a big girl now!








I just love love love this baby!! She's had a bit of an attitude lately -  she definitely has a temper! But she still just melts me every time I see her!

Her sweet smile...

Her mischievous smile....

Her "kind of freaks me out!" smile! haha. =) She does this really funny thing where she scrunches up her whole face when she's excited - but I can't quite get the timing right to get a picture!

See you again in two weeks baby girl!

Home Sweet Cottage

Were you you picturing something like this? =)

Welcome to my home-sweet-home in Kenya!

Here it is from the front! This one is a little misleading because I have more plants on the porch than usual. A lot of those got relocated, but I'm thinking about getting some back!

 One of my pet "ducks". =)

My awesome kitchen, complete with refrigerator, microwave, and gas stove! Love, love, love!!

 This is the bedroom/dining room/kitchen area! The white things hanging over the beds are mosquito nets.

Here's the bathroom. The floor is tiled straight across to the shower area, which makes cleaning pretty easy! Except the drain is not the lowest part of the floor. Oh well, can't have it all!

The view out my kitchen window - pine trees! I love this - it reminds me of my home in Spokane!

The view out the side window - the cottage community clothesline.

Part of our running water system. 

 I have running water, electricity, and internet! Except when I don't... Ha.

 There's a spare bed in my cottage that is vacant right now - come and visit!!