Aman and Mphambano

My last post, last Wed. was before the evening events - Aman, the little guy that has been in the Tiyamike ward for over 3 months, had a sudden and severe respiratory event. He has multiple congenital deformities, and no one seems to know what 'syndrome' it is... not that it matters, none of it is correctable. We all thought it would be nice to let the family know what to expect long term. He was 4 years old and weighed ~7 kg. He was able to talk, but his right leg was so deformed he could not walk. He had been in the ward because he was oxygen dependent (used a concentrator). Wednesday he complained of leg pain and then became extremely short of breath. We wondered then, as we do now, if he had blood clots in this deformed leg, that he was throwing up to his lungs. Joseph and I got a call Wed. evening to come now to the ward - the two of us, plus Carson and Becky and the ward nurses, worked with him for some time. At one point he stopped breathing and his heart slowed almost to a standstill. By a true miracle we were able to use simple resuscitation (BVM for the medical folks out there) and get him back. We used simple methods because that is all we have here! The one and only oxygen cylinder in the entire clinic was brought up from the operating theater to his bedside. By Thursday morning he actually looked a little perky and took something to drink. All day Thursday he held his own, but barely. Friday he had a few sips to drink and then stopped, just lying still, trying to breath. We prepared the family for the inevitable. He died Friday night. Pray for his family as they deal with this loss. The one good thing that came out of his death - the adminstrators for the clinic demanded the oxygen company fill some of the clinics tanks and they did!

There is always hope here, even when it seems dark.... Carson has a little boy from Crisis Nursery, Mphambano, who came in very malnourished. He is ~18 months old, has a full set of teeth, and weighs only a little over 6 kg (~13 pounds). He looks ~4-5 months old until he smiles at you! He is doing great with Carson, growing and interacting. He is a doll. Another great occurrence this week was little Chikumbutso's second HIV test was negative!! Yeah!! And lastly, my week in the clinic was pretty uneventful as far as my patients go. I always dread the patient that I cannot diagnosis or help because of lack of equipment, tests, etc. So, either my clinical skills are improving or I just got very lucky this past week!

Our weekend was spent quietly, I was packing for the return trip home - deciding what to leave; Joseph did some minor repairs around the house and studied. We both went to the carver's market to get Sue and Katie a couple things they had requested but had not bought. Thanks to Joseph's supreme bargaining skills, he was able to get the things they wanted at a decent price! Sunday was our last time at Flood church for this trip - how I will miss that church!! Then we invited our friend, Charles, and his family over for dinner. He is an ABC student. We met him last year when we was one of our guards and wanted to help translate in the village clinics. This year he is pretty much Joseph's 'private' translator! Charles lives on campus with his wife, Aleta, son Praise (2 y.o) and currently has two other children in the house, Enson (~4 y.o.) and Alinafe (11 y.o.) They all came for a big pot of beef stew. As Americans, we sometimes cook things that the Malawians do not like... I asked Charles if they had ever had a stew - a meal with all the meat, vegetables, and everything in one big pot. He said 'oh yes, in the village they will make a pot like this with animal bones, bananas and carrots'. Oh, yummy (NOT). Anyway, they all seemed to like the stew we made, even without the bananas! Afterwards the kids watched a cartoon video. A great time was had by all. Of course, dessert was served - Malawians tend to have a 'sweet tooth' just like we do - peanut butter and chocolate brownies.

Thanksgiving / Praise: for Chikumbutso's negative test; for Charles and his family that we may count them as friends; for safe travels; for my uneventful week in the clinic;for the non 'demonstrations' on Wed.; for Mphambano and his recovery.

Prayer: for Aman's family; for our continued safety; for this country as she faces multiple problems, that her citizens and legislators will work out satisfactory solutions in a peaceful manner; for us as we plan the prison clinic this week.

Pictures:

Musuwa family with us - Joseph, Aleta, Charles, Praise, me and little Enson on the floor (Alinafe took this photo and did a good job!)

Charles and family watching the cartoon video

Two photos of Mphambano (those of you who friend me on facebook will recognise him!)