Photos

Testing how to post pictures.  Here are some we've taken so far...

Our smiley little Miss Gracie playing on the floor with Daddy at Brett and Sherri's home in Koutiala.

 Nap time in a borrowed pack-n-play with mosquito netting just in case.

 Local pottery along the Niger river in a small town between Bamako and Koutiala.

Mural in pediatric ward at the hospital.

 Baby with cleft lip and palate waiting to be weighed and receive more formula.  A repair is planned to take place this summer when a visiting surgeon is in country.

Little baby born with omphalocele.

Small moto ball bearing we extracted from this boy's ear canal.  Yikes!

Visiting surgeon, Dr. Rick, removing a large ovarian mass.

Yea!  It worked!  Hopefully we will be able to include pictures along with our future posts.  Enjoy!

In His Image

DD&G

Together again

Yesterday was quite the adventure for our family.  Dean left Koutiala to escort an injured volunteer (Dr. Dan, a pediatrician from NC) to Bamako where he was then flown out to Spain for medical treatment.  Dr. Dan fell over the weekend and injured his knee.  He was stabilized here in Koutiala and seemed to be recovering rather well, praise God.  Originally Dr. Dan was to fly from Mali to a couple other countries where he would volunteer before returning home.  However his injury prohibited continuing with this plan and after much debate and discussion with his evacuation insurance representatives, it was determined he should be medically escorted to Madrid, Spain for diagnostic evaluation.  Dean accompanied him on the 5 hour bumpy ride to Bamako.  All went well and Dr. Dan safely arrived at the airport and as far as we know is now in Spain getting medical care.

As if that wasn't adventure enough, part two of Dean's journey began this morning when he boarded the local bus that returned him to Koutiala around 1:00 PM.  He says, "It was better than a 'chicken bus' -- I had my own seat."  Actually, he thought the ride was fun and was even able to read along the way.

Meanwhile, Gracie and I continued about our regular day -- I was at the hospital and Gracie was with Marte (the nanny).  It was a long day; we didn't make it home until 6:00 PM.  The hospital actually wasn't that busy for a Monday, but still little things here and there take time to complete and before you know it the day is gone.  Upon returning from the long day, I was pleasantly surprised and relieved at an unexpected dinner invitation from Angela, the guesthouse supervisor.  Gracie and I enjoyed a wonderful home-cooked meal with Angela and her family before turning in early for much needed rest.

Now, Dean and I are sitting outside using the neighbor's (Angela's) internet while Gracie naps.  Today is a holiday here so we have the afternoon free.  And tonight we are going to a local "restaurant."  We will see how that goes...

Reunited
DD&G

Back online

Well the internet has been out at the guest house the last several days.  We have been writing a bit, waiting for an opportunity to post.  So here it is...


2/10/11

Today, I (Dianna) performed 2 lumbar punctures.  These were done on Allou and Kadja, two little children who have leukemia (total of 3 at the hospital presently).  This precious boy, Allou, and girl, Kadja, are already forty plus days into their treatments.  Chronic steroids have turned their thin, gaunt faces into little round, moon facies.  Sherri and Brett try hard (clapping hands, singing, balancing a bottle on his head) to make these little faces smile with occasional success.  Weeks of IV sticks and ketamine shots have made them quite fearful of the hospital staff.  No porta-caths or PICC lines here and peripheral IV sites seem to last only a few hours.  This is sad; their anxious faces and terror-filled cries pull at my heart.  One must cling to hope in the medication’s success, yes, but more importantly in God’s mercy.  Might He provide strength and courage anew each day for Allou and Kadja along with the other patients as well as the hospital staff.


From Dean:
I assisted the surgeon today.  An older lady has been in the hospital for about a month with a non-healing foot wound.  She has had problems with her foot for a long time and she finally had an amputation (done here by an OB/Gyn) across the middle of her foot.  The skin graft didn’t do so well after the amputation, so she has been here while they try to come up with a new plan.  Today we debrided some of the unhealthy tissue in hopes of trying another skin graft.  I hope that Jesus Christ is glorified when people see so much concern for an older woman that many may more readily dismiss.

It is very encouraging to join in the worship service each morning before the workday starts.  We don’t understand the language (French and Bambara), but we can hear the enthusiasm in the singing and the speaking.  We usually know the passage of Scripture being referenced, so at least we can follow along in the Bible.

2/12/11

Internet remains down.  We have had a relaxing weekend thus far.  This weekend we are “off” from hospital rounds.  So what have we been doing?  Well, we had Julie, Bryan (the interim school teachers here for the missionary children) and their 7-week-old son Caleb over for dinner last night -- an attempt at Friday night pizza which was a decent success.  We have enjoyed visiting with Julie and Bryan and look forward to more time with them over the next few weeks.  Today we walked to the local street market with Mary, a nurse who is finishing her Bambara language study before starting full-time at the hospital.  Gracie enjoyed the ride in her Bjorn and was quite a conversation starter with the locals!  We discovered a variety of new foods that are accessible:  papaya, plantains, green beans, and pineapple along with various peppers and spices.

Several new folks are staying at the guest house with us.  There is a group who has been vaccinating cattle out in local villages; they are staying over for a couple of nights before returning to Bamako homeward bound.  We have enjoyed getting to hear their stories about their time in the villages.  Hopefully we will be able to take a trip out to one of the surrounding villages while we are here.

Well our borrowed internet time is over.  We will post more when we can.

Blessings,
DD&G

Settling In

Well day three at the hospital is complete, as is our first week away from home.  We feel a little more settled and familiar with our surroundings.  Gracie has transitioned so smoothly -- an absolute blessing.  She is sleeping soundly while Dean and I catch up on emails and read a bit.  Having internet is great because we can keep in touch with family and friends -- but also means we feel the need to keep up with other things (like loose ends at work) and our evenings seem to slip away quickly.

The hospital remains busy, busy, busy.  Every day is a new adventure, and honestly, we never quite know what to expect.

Yesterday, Dianna spent the morning helping calculate and administer chemo to the little boy diagnosed with ALL (common form of childhood leukemia with fair prognosis if treated).  Although it is sad to see such a little guy have an IV and lumbar puncture (one of the chemo drugs has to be given "intrathecally" -- in the spinal fluid), it is a blessing that the hospital has access to the medications he needs (treatment includes 3 chemo drugs plus other meds to help keep side effects at bay).

Dean helped in surgery again -- hernia repair and saw a large ovarian mass be removed.  In the clinic he saw a baby born without a tongue -- they came up with a special bottle/nipple to help the mom get the child nutrition (since tongue needed to suck/nurse normally).  He also ate lunch at the local food stand in front of the hospital -- rice and herb sauce with a few bits of beef and fish parts (large bowl for 25 cents) -- yum!  Dianna stuck with peanut butter (also locally made) and bread : )

Today, we are happy to report the little premie who had problems urinating has improved.  On closer inspection he seems to have normal external anatomy and a regular foley catheter was placed allowing regular drainage of his bladder.  The mystery remains, however; he still does not void spontaneously (perhaps severe posterior urethral valves?).  But we were thankful to not send this small baby to surgery.

Several other interesting cases we have seen in the last two days:

- Large ovarian mass removed (dermoid cyst) -- over 30 lbs!!
- Baby born with an omphalocele (intestines outside the belly -- in his case small bowel and part of liver)
- Chest tube placement on lady with bilateral pleural effusions (fluid in the lung cavity) -- not sure if heart failure (she had a baby 1 month ago) -- she has improved with removal of some fluid
- Extracting a metal ball bearing (from a "moto") from a young boy's ear

With all this (and more), how can we not be excited to return tomorrow and see what's next?

Until then-
DD&G

Hospital - Jour un

Well it has been an interesting first day to say the least...

We awoke to the morning call to prayer at 0500.  After drifting back to sleep we were awakened again by our alarm clock, 0630 on the spot.  Should jet lag seem worse on day 4 in country?  Once we (okay I, Dianna) convinced ourselves to get out of bed, we had cereal and quiet time before waking Gracie.  Amazingly we had an on time departure from the guest house with safe arrival to the hospital.  Why so amazed at a safe arrival?

Envision a red dirt "road" lined with small store fronts; open food vendor stands with tomato, potato, onion, and banana piles; gasoline stations (the gas is stored in glass bottles displayed on a wooden stand -- like a "lemonade stand" -- but don't be fooled and try to drink).   Now add in a steady stream of foot traffic (school kids with lunch pails; women balancing baskets on their heads; donkey carts) plus a moderate flow of bicycles and motos (small motorcycles) with a sprinkling of cars -- oh and don't forget the pot holes --Voila!  Recipe for disaster?  No, no.  Just your standard street.

So, after a 3 mile drive along such streets, we were happy to pull onto the hospital grounds after only a gentle "bump" with a donkey cart!

We joined the hospital staff for morning devotions from 0730 to 0800 -- we read along in English while the devotion was given in both French and Bambara (local trade language).  Then I walked Gracie to one of the doctor's home where she spent the morning with a local nanny, and returned to the hospital to join Dean on in-patient pediatric rounds.

What did we see?
- 2 month girl with bacterial meningitis
- Several kids with burns who have had skin grafting
- Premies in homemade incubators being fed by their mothers who pump breast milk and give to the child via a nasogastric tube (small tube from nose to stomach)
- New diagnosis of leukemia -- parents brought 5 year old boy in because they noticed a firm mass in his belly (his spleen) -- when we left to pick up Gracie at 1430 the bone marrow biopsy was being examined to determine specific type of leukemia
- Dean assisted on a c-section, the lady's 4th so it came with a tubal ligation as well
- 2 week old boy, premie, with absence of urethral meatus ("no pee hole") -- still figuring out what to do longterm for him but temporary fix with suprapubic catheter

These were the highlights amongst other patients.  And that seems to be a typical Monday morning!

We are definitely going to learn a lot and see a lot while we are here.  In addition we hope to help a lot.  We will keep updates coming...

Pray On -
DD&G

Arrived!

We have made it safely to Koutiala, Mali.  Praise God for a safe journey.  Gracie has done amazingly well -- she is such a trooper.  We are settling in at the guest house, very nice accommodations complete with kitchen and wireless internet.  We feel rather spoiled.  We have been warmly welcomed by the CMA (Christian Missionary Alliance) team members and look forward to getting to know them better as we join in their work here at the hospital.

The weather is glorious!  We chuckled at the locals in their sweaters and hooded jackets to bear the 60F windy weather -- we find it delightful in comparison to -20F snow-laden Wichita.

Tomorrow Dean will join Brett (an American Pediatrician who lives here) for hospital rounds.  Gracie and I plan to stay in and work on adjusting to our new schedule and surroundings.  Hopefully we can upload some pictures soon.  Our goal is to post regularly so keep reading...

Please keep us in your prayers.

Au revoir--
DD&G

Blizzard

Delayed.  Blustery winds and 5 inches of snow kept us from taking off but didn't keep us from driving to the airport.  Unbeknownst to us, our flight was cancelled while we were en route to Mid-continent Airport.  We arrived to find the ticket counters fairly empty...only a few dazed travelers like us wandered the quiet waiting area.  Ah, but the time was not wasted, we were able to sort out a few technicalities on our reservations that could have caused our actual departure to be delayed.  And we had the opportunity to have the pre-departure quiet evening we originally desired (the original pre-departure evening involved a plumber in our basement until long after dark).  Adventure.  We are loving it!

We plan to depart this afternoon at 13:10, Lord willing, with arrival in Bamako on Thursday evening.

Miss Gracie?  She remains our smiley girl who still has no idea what might come next.

Ready (again) for take off --

DD&G