still

I am staring at the computer searching for the words. This is never an easy post to write.

Baby Obre breathed his last today on my watch.

He had been struggling off and on over the last few weeks, unable to keep is O2 sats up without oxygen. Because of the extra demands on his body, he developed congestive heart failure and, most recently, pneumonia from aspiration.

His heart could take it no longer.

I ask for your prayers. Please pray for his mama who is traveling back home with empty arms and an aching heart as I write this.

I find comfort and peace in knowing that it really is for the best. The decision was made yesterday that extreme measures were not appropriate. He was not in any shape to return home to his village.

Baby Obre was, however, more than ready to return Home to Jesus.

I bet those angels up there are eating up your sweet feet, little one... And that makes me smile!

Photo above of co-worker and friend, Jen, with baby Obre

kids in Kpalime :-)

independence day

Happy Independence Day Togo!!

Celebrating 50 years of independence!!

To commemorate the day, we in the wards sang along to African praise and worship while the patients eagerly and excitedly created their own Togolese flag made with green, yellow, and red construction paper. They glued on the stripes and cut out the single star. Their artwork is now proudly displayed above each of their beds. Mini colorful flags now decorate and brighten the wards, showcasing a bit of their pride and patriotism. :-)

We ended the shift most appropriately... the translators and some of the patients sang their nation's national anthem, and then we prayed together for the nation of Togo.

This beautiful nation, it is an honor to serve you and your people.

May you enjoy fifty more years!

tucking away

For when time passes and these days become but distant memories, I jot down these words. For me. To remember these moments; these patients who have left small prints on my heart.


Vincent's return, his battle against cancer and his peaceful death.

Mawuli's husband who faithfully stood by and refused to give up hope.

Baby Obrien's miracle with the healing power of prayer! (Read prior post God of Miracles)

Baby Maurius who got fat enough to have his lip and palate repaired. He came back from surgery with a tiny tracheostomy due to airway issues. He liked to hold the trach tubing in his little hand in the cutest way. Or his tiny eyes that would peer at me whenever I was talking about him :-) And I mustn't forget his mama--so spunky, singing loudly to calm his cries, with her favorite--the" Yovo" chant. This got us all laughing :-)

The beauty of Akuavi after the bulging tissue growth was removed from her eye. Oh, those eyes! Life returned to them. And her face. It shined with such joy, and her smile couldn't hide it either!

And now, five-year old Afi who had a tracheostomy placed because the tumor in her mouth is slowly occluding her airway. She of course is not happy about it, but she is adjusting to her trach, and is now showing us her sweet, fun personality.

Remember.

wordless wednesday...change of shift

cuties in casts

This past week was the last week of over six weeks of orthopedic surgeries and casting. Being in the world of maxillo-facial surgeries, I haven't had as much interaction with these sweet (and loud) :-) kiddos this outreach. Even so, I thought I'd share some of the precious photos captured by our photographers so you can have a visual of what's been going on in the hospital these last several weeks (tough stuff, but someone's got to do it) :-) These are sure to make you smile...

weekend in Ghana

Easter was especially memorable this year.

No, we didn't go to church or share communion. We, but, spent a much-needed weekend away in Ghana. We celebrated in our togetherness, in our inner moments of quiet reflections, and in the rest of our spirits. We experienced another African country. And we made new memories...

After we were cleared by immigration and crossed the border, we were immediately bombarded by locals asking us if we wanted to exchange money, and get a taxi. They wanted our business. And it didn't help matters that our white skin screamed "foreigner" and "money." It was a little overwhelming. But, my wise and calm husband took over and we were able to exchange money (even though they discreetly tried to cheat us 6 CD's) and we piled into a car taxi with three other locals for the first leg of our journey: a three-hour drive to the capital city of Accra.

This brings me to our first-hand experience of African driving. Not that we haven't been out in the 15 months we've been here. Its just that its either been in the form of walking, or in a landrover where Tim or another of our crew is driving. And of course, observing their driving on the streets. Big difference. Number one, they drive FAST. Number two, they don't slow down if they are approaching another vehicle or pedestrian. Instead, they honk. This is their way of saying, "I'm coming, get out of the way!" And number three, they pass each other despite oncoming traffic, expecting the oncoming vehicle to slow down when they see you coming in their lane. We were never in any real danger, but I said many quiet prayers for protection :-).

Aside from the bumps and potholes here and there, the scenery was beautiful. It was refreshing to be off ship and in the city, to be "among," and enjoy the countryside and villages we passed through. I was surprised by the city of Accra. It appeared to be much more developed. It had paved roads and street lights. Billboard advertisements and some western-style building structures. It also appeared to have a lot of Christian influence. Many vehicles had Christian expressions on the back, like "Heaven Helps," or "The Lord is King." Tim's pretty sure our bus said "Meet Jesus" on the back :-). Most of the street-side businesses were named from Scripture like "The Lord is My Shepherd Hair" or "God Will Provide Enterprises." I was pretty intrigued by this and enjoyed reading the names (Ghana is English-speaking).

Here in Accra, we learned the art of bartering for transportation. The taxi drivers see the white skin and simply try to rip you off. I share this not to portray a negative light on the African people. Please, don't misinterpret me. I love these people. Its just simply part of their culture; a business interaction. Its expected. And they expect you to barter down (even though they hope you are gullible enough to pay the ridiculous price). You really can't blame them. Tim had this skill fairly mastered by our return :-).

After another three-hour bus ride to Cape Coast and a short taxi ride, we arrived in Elmina to our resort-like hotel off the beach. We stayed in the "African Village" section of the hotel in a mud hut with a fan (2/3 the price!). It was warm of course (we didn't even have to dry off after a shower), but the fan made it tolerable and allowed us to sleep. We spent very little inside, except to sleep.

The next day was the highlight of our weekend and worth the seven-hour drive! We spent the first few hours of our morning at Kakum National Park where we hiked up to the top of the rainforest. Here we walked across the 350 meter long canopy walk over the rainforest. We walked over seven bridges, the longest being about 70 feet long. Once we recovered from the initial nerves of what we were actually doing and looking down at the drop, we took in the spectacular view of the tree tops and the lush vegetation/surroundings. It was indeed a life-time experience!!

From the canopy walk we rode to a nearby hotel that is built over a lake full of over 4o crocodiles. Here, we got to touch a tame crocodile just like that! Its mouth wasn't even tied shut... we were only inches away. :-)

We then visited an old, historic slave-trade castle that was only a few miles from our hotel. Ghana used to have over thirty such castles back in the day. These castles were where the slaves were taken to and held while waiting for the ships to come and take them away, never to return. It was very moving to hear the stories. A couple I won't forget, like how each slave was marked with their owner's initials on their hand, chest, or back with burning metal. Or how they were chained to a cannon-sized ball and forced to sit in the hot sun for hours without food or water. We went down to the "room of no return" where, from there, the slaves passed through a key-like hole off the shore onto a slave ship. They were never seen again.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening off the beach, relaxing in the sun, in the pool, in a book, in the sound of the waves, and in conversation. That night we enjoyed a delicious meal off the beach, and watched an African dance and acrobat show.

We spent our last day back in Accra at an air-conditioned hotel where we spent the afternoon walking the street in search of Fanmilk, playing pool, and a "day-in."

Ghana was just what we needed. We were blessed.

Thank you for all of your sweet comments, encouragement, and prayers. I returned to learn that the patient who was dying, passed a peaceful death that morning. He left this world peacefully and loved by all who cared for him.

how i want to live

"When we think about laying down a life for another we usually think in terms of a singular event. But it is possible for us to lay down our lives over the course of a lifetime, minute by minute and day by day. And it is the work of the Spirit to empower us as we seek to lose ourselves in acts of lovingkindness and sacrificial living."

- Elaine Puckett, professor at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia

God of miracles

Its my week on-call.

Last night I woke to my pager beeping. I called down to the ward to see what was going on. They wanted to let me know the baby that was having trouble breathing earlier that evening was soon to be intubated. The team was there and getting ready. Everything was under control so I did not go down.

I was quite surprised, then, to return in the morning and learn that he was not in fact intubated after all...

"It was a miracle!" they said.

The anesthetist and surgeon were all ready to intubate, with drugs and instruments in hand, when the surgeon paused to pray. Immediately his sats popped back up and he no longer worked so hard to breathe. The distress was gone! The C-pap machine that he required earlier was no longer even necessary. His PICU nurse said in all her years of nursing, she has never seen anything like this. When its time to intubate, you intubate!

That, my friends, is the awesome power of prayer!!

Praise God.

His body in you and me

Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion is to look out to the earth. Yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good, and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now.

- St. Teresa of Avila

tough things

Monday was rough...

Little Ani, who we plumped up last year in Benin and repaired her lip, returned to the ship a week or so ago a very different baby from when she left. She was sick and very underweight. She wasn't feeding and lost a lot of weight. On Monday she aspirated and couldn't clear her airway. Our excellent emergency response team here on board did everything they could.

She went home to Jesus.

It was a blow, especially for those of us that have cared for her and loved on her from the very beginning. We are mourning her. We hurt for her mama who grew to love this angel and tenderly cared for her. This is not the first baby she has lost. Please pray for her. Ani was going to be a big sister in a few months.

That evening I came down to the ward to visit Ani's mama because I hadn't seen her since Ani passed away. They looked very busy on the ward. The charge nurse told me that one of the patients in the other ward was getting a central line placed any minute because they couldn't draw any blood, and they just got a new patient who was admitted for a blood transfusion. Instinct pushed me to stay and help.

My visit turned into a long day.

During the line insertion the patient ended up declining respiratory-wise, as she had a very fragile airway to begin with due to her underlying condition, and was immediately sent to ICU. This made for a very exciting and busy evening, and a stretch to a day that was already exhausting to say the least. Admist all the bustle, I missed seeing Ani's mama before she left.

On top of all that, we've had a patient from last year back with us who has become terminal. He is dying. Its a matter of time. This has been extra taxing on all those involved in his care over the last few weeks.

Today on my ward a patient is near the end of her 6+ hour surgery to remove her enormous facial tumor as I write this. She received three units of blood pre-op and three to four units in the OR. She will require some extra care and attention when she comes back to the ward.

This week I have also learned of some very ugly and upsetting things regarding family dynamics at home with a couple of our patients.

A few of our nurses are out sick.

...Its a little heavy down on Deck 3.

Please pray for the nursing staff. For health. For rest. For peace of heart. Yet our sorrow is less than these...Please pray for Ani's family. For the ICU patient and her devoted husband. And for the patient who is holding on.

Thank you. We have an extra long weekend ahead of us due to the Easter holiday. Tim and I are going away next-door to Ghana for a few days.

It is good.

He gives and takes away; my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be your Name.