Coopers in the Congo: An epidemic and a full life on the field

August 14, 2018

An Epidemic

Mixing chlorine hand wash stations

There is a lot going on in our minds and hearts these days. Last week was one of the longest weeks of our lives overseas...so much happened. Many of you have probably heard that eastern Congo is experiencing an Ebola epidemic, the country’s 10th epidemic. The declaration came only days after the previous one ended in western Congo. The area affected is in North Kivu, 3 hours south of here. We have not had any active cases of Ebola here, but it is cause for much preparation and testing of suspected individuals. Samaritan’s Purse (SP) has been a great resource as we work on hospital sanitation protocols, isolation, decontamination and overall ways to protect ourselves from pathogens such as this. Our SP nursing friend, John, has been here working with the staff. One never wants these things to happen and my heart goes through many emotions everyday. Keep praying for the Congo, for the people who are incredibly fearful, and that hospital ministry will be able to continue. We want our presence to be an encouragement to our Congolese colleagues. We really should not write more details here, but feel free to contact us and please pray for these preparations.

“We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in

his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.” Psalm 33:20-23

Pediatric Victories

We have had a run of amazing recoveries from extrapulmonary TB, close to 14 cases! It is such a blessing to see kids recover their strength and ability of play, gain weight, and for some to walk

A child with peritoneal TB and
drainage of a pancreatic pseudocyst

again. I am reminded of how miraculous the human body is. One little boy whose name is Emmanuel is recovering from TB meningitis. He had a classic presentation of the disease complete with nerve palsies, inability to swallow, seizures….scary stuff. After weeks of treatment and a few setbacks he is recovering slowly. After almost 2months of nasogastric feeds he regained neurological function enough to swallow again. Absolutely amazing! There have been 7 other kids just like this who have recovered. Our number of pediatric hospitalizations increases in July due to malaria and many get diagnosed with chronic infections.

Sometimes families communicate a profound sense of thankfulness to me and it all feels worth it. I am just an instrument God is using to further His kingdom and blessing here. It is an sacred honor to care for the physical body. To see these recoveries makes it all worth it!

Congo Impact Team

In July, Nyankunde hosted a sports evangelism team from California called “Congo Impact.” The

local kids called it “Summer Camp”. It was a much anticipated event with music, Scriptural teaching, and fun. We took care of the team’s lodging, health, and food during their stay here. It was hard to participate in the daytime activities so this was a way we could be involved. There is some amazing videography of the village and hospital. As always with visitors I see things with a little different lens, a new lens. I see beauty in a new way, as well as brokenness. I see that the Congolese are a colorful and strong people. They have a dynamic walk with God. They have a real sense of spiritual combat and that all is not well in the world and that we must fight with prayer. It is always a blessing to have visitors come, even as a reminder of what I am doing here.

During their time here we took a few video clips of the hospital, including the old chapel that CME is looking to rebuild. It was encouraging to me to hear how the chapel was used for evangelical

There is no roof

music groups, theater, graduations, weddings and spiritual counseling. The chapel was a centralized building for the entire community. One of the hospital personnel mentioned how the building had housed many instruments, all of which were pillaged during the conflict. Upon moving back after the war, everyone talked about how medical care had to be prioritized for a displaced population. The chapel was not the most pressing need. There isn’t currently enough space for large group meetings in the current temporary meeting place. It is moving to see that the Congolese have started to make bricks to rehabilitate this chapel. We

Hospital administration testifies to the importance of the chapel

are encouraged by several churches who have shown interest in giving to this project. Feel free to contact us independently if you are interested in what is going on!

Family Newsroom

In other news, we have added a new animal to our family, a friendly goat named Elsa. She is very accustomed to people and tries to get in the house. Emmanuel dotes his love on her. Emmanuel is learning to swim in a small pool 2m x 2m and spends most afternoons running and plunging into the water with his friends. It is great to see kids have so much fun with such simple things. A few weeks ago a few of our Congolese neighbors came over for a little swim and the pool turned into a giant instrument. I am told that girls grow up playing rhythms in the river with their hands while the boys swim. It was very interesting for us to see. We are harvesting our peanuts, turning over the garden, and trying two new beehives. There is not a dull moment and there is always a project to be done (or cleaned up).

-Pray for the containment of the Ebola crisis here in eastern Congo. It has been stressful time and difficult to know when/if to separate myself from the risks at the hospital. Pray for encouragement of our staff who have been feeling a lot of fear and uncertainty.

-Pray that we would love well in Jesus' name everyday.

Blessings,
Lindsey

from Warren: the Mysterious case of the Exploding water bottle.

So it seems we are the referral center for weird and wonderful cases. Recently we saw a man with an unusual story. He came home from work thirsty...very thirsty. He got a bottle of water and was about to open it up when...it exploded!

Me: Exploded?

Him: Yes, it exploded!

Me: Was it ordinary water, or was there some alcohol in it, or maybe some alcohol in you?

Him: No. Ordinary water. Then I passed out, woke up and found myself wet with water, and I had a sharp pain in my chest.

Me: Fascinating...

I could continue on in this vein, but in the interest of time, I will summarize. He was surprised to see that the plastic cap of the water bottle was missing. The pain in his chest became worse and he found that he could not eat or drink without pain. After consultation with a series of hospitals, he came to Nyankunde, concerned that the missing bottle top might have ended up inside him somehow. He arrived at our facility about a week after the incident. I made him try to drink some water and it was pretty clear that something was wrong. We decided to take a look with a scope.

After he received sedation and some ketamine, I decided to question him again. It was such a ridiculous story that I couldn’t believe it. Under the influence of my “truth serum” the story remained the same; exploding water bottle, chest pain and inability to swallow.

We put the scope down and halfway down the esophagus, there was a flash of blue. It looked kind of like the top of a water bottle. Actually, exactly like it. We were able to push the bottle top into the stomach, then get a snare around it. Even then, it was not easy to remove. It took a fair amount of pulling to get it out of this upper esophagus. We had to move his neck into different positions before it came out. A quick check demonstrated that he was still breathing and was not bleeding.

In the end, it was a nice little case and we were able to help the man. I don’t ever say that I’ve seen it all, there is always something surprising.

Another surprising event that has struck has been the Ebola outbreak in the neighboring region of North Kivu. It has now officially spread to Ituri. This is where we live. You can read about it in the news, I guess. So far we have not had any cases here, but we are doing our best to prepare for what may happen.

Warren

Our team is rejoicing. Look closely and you will see the bottle cap at the end of the snare.

A recent trip to the top of cell-phone tower hill, AKA Nyankunde Mountain. Quick tip: you get a really good cell phone signal when you are at the base of the tower!