Tenwek

Well, the last several days have been very busy at Tenwek Hospital. I am currently working in ophthalmology and am thoroughly enjoying working with the patients here. It is amazing what a difference eye care can make in the lives of the patients! I have worked in the OR 2 days this week and have worked in ophtho clinic the other 2 days. We saw probably 100 patients today in clinic and saw such a vast variety of diseases. I am amazed by the different eye illnesses that are here: vitamin A deficiency, rubella, HSV keratitis in kids, pediatric cataracts, traumatic cataracts (often from thorns here), HIV-related eye disease, TB eye disease, and the list continues. The patients that have surgery stay in the eye ward for several days. The ward consists of two big rooms--one for men and one for ladies. There have been a bunch of kids in the ward this week, and I have enjoyed making friends with them, despite our language barrier. The patients travel from all over Kenya to receive eye care here. One particular girl somehow made it 150 kilometers despite being almost blind and being barefoot. There was a man who has recently become blind from an illness associated with his progressing HIV status. There was a precious, smart 13 year old girl that I saw today who is almost blind due to vitamin A deficiency. There are also many very happy cases where the patients were blind and now they see following eye surgery--it is so fun to celebrate these cases! I am posting below a couple of pictures of some really inspirational patients from this week.

Yesterday afternoon we spent time in the nursery doing eye exams on premature babies. My job was to hold the little ones while Dr. Cropsey examined their eyes. Well, the babies don't wear diapers here, and despite my lining my lap with towels, my pants were given "wet blessings" by four babies. :) The Kenyan nurses laughed and said that I should consider myself blessed. They also said that that is a sign that I will have quadruplets--I sure hope not!

Last night I took call with the visiting OB/GYN physician here, and I was able to participate with him in a c-section. It was so neat to be the first to hold the hand of the little Kenyan baby boy and to pass him off to the waiting nurse.

I have tried to learn some Swahili phrases to communicate with the patients, and that has really helped; however, this area is surrounded by the Kipsigis tribe, and they speak Kipsigis. I am used to being able to communicate with patients in English and Spanish, so not being able to speak their language has motivated me to learn new words to hopefully form a better bond. I am praying that God will use me to share His love with the people that I encounter. They have already taught me so much by their smiles, trust, and perseverance.

These are some inspirational kids who had eye surgery this week--they became my friends and loved to draw pictures while they were waiting for their eyes to heal.

This man was a school teacher who had to quit teaching due to blindness. He was blind for about 12 years, until he recently received a corneal transplant. He now can see 20/20 and is so happy! Praise God!

This dam just down the mountain from us provides the electricity that powers the hospital.

The view from our guest house is beautiful.

Here I am standing by the cross that is on a hill above the Tenwek surgical suite. Yes, I am wearing a wrap over pants while exercising--that seems to be the appropriate thing here. I can't wait to see how that works on a run! :)

Arrival at Tenwek!

Although my trip to Nairobi went very smoothly, it was quite long. I was so happy to arrive at the airport only to discover that I had another 2 hours or so of waiting through lines for my visa, immigration, and customs. Thankfully, my luggage all arrived intact and on time--what a blessing! When I walked through the exit door Sunday night, there were hundreds of people, many who were holding signs printed with American names. I scanned through the crowd and found my name being held by a young man. I asked him his name, knowing the name of the driver who was to take me to the hotel where I stayed. His name didn't match the name I knew! So, I asked him where he was taking me, and he said the right place. So, I decided to head on with him. Thankfully, he did take me to the right place, but I had to endure a long discussion he wanted to have with me about wanting to marry a white woman like me. I got a little nervous, as he was driving me through dark streets in Nairobi talking about marriage :). I prayed for safety, and God provided a safe arrival to the Mennonite Guest House. I'm posting a picture of the guest house below--it is a lovely oasis just outside Nairobi with gardens and a beautiful setting. It was a great place to rest after such a long trip! The next day I rode on a van with two other physicians to Bomet (about 4 hours from Nairobi). The landscape was beautiful! We drove through the rift valley (picture below) and saw the mountain that was the inspiration for the Lion King (picture below). The road had recently been paved and was very much improved from the pot-hole-filled road that used to be in its place. We arrived at Tenwek Hospital around lunchtime and were greeted by the visiting staff with a delicious lunch. The afternoon was spent with an orientation of the hospital and getting settled into my room at the guest house (picture below). I had dinner with my Wheaton friend Alyssa who is a Med-Peds doctor here for 2 years. It was so fun to catch up and to hear about what all she is doing here. Today I began ophthalmology and scrubbed into 2 OR cases and saw some clinic patients. I even was able to see a patient to evaluate for a possible pediatric rheumatology association with her eye disease. It was a great, long first day! I am amazed at the people who work at this hospital and will plan to share more about Tenwek in subsequent posts. Thank you for joining with me on this adventure!

Mennonite Guest House in Nairobi

The Rift Valley

The hill to the left was the inspiration for The Lion King.

My room at Tenwek Guest House

She made it!

Another Jeff update for those seeking "safe travel confirmation"... I've exchanged a couple emails with Katherine, and we spoke on the phone ever-so-briefly before being cut off. She has made it safely to Tenwek hospital, and the trip has gone well so far. I'll let her give all the details and share the stories -- just wanted to let you know that she's there safe and sound. Thanks for your prayers, and thanks be to God for the safe journey thus far!

Airport departure

Hey there everybody... this is Jeff, providing some behind-the-scenes commentary while Katherine is en route. Her flights to Amsterdam and then Nairobi appeared to be on time and safely landed. I haven't heard from Katherine yet, but I trust she's resting comfortably at the Mennonite Guest House and getting some much needed sleep. She'll be heading to Tenwek tomorrow and I expect we'll hear from her then.

Here's a picture of us (and Katherine's parents) at the Birmingham airport before her departure. Rest assured -- more exciting pictures will certainly follow!

Jeff

Leaving tomorrow...

Well, the bags are packed (mostly), and I am excited to start the trip to Kenya tomorrow! Thank you for joining me on this journey...I look forward to sharing about the adventures that lie ahead!

Here's the link to Tenwek Hospital's website: http://www.tenwek.org