Coopers in the Congo: Coming Back

February 19, 2020

Coming Back

Jacob our new puppy

Did you ever take a long pause from something, then return to it to find it was like you never left? I have experienced that this week after returning to consulting patients after an 18mo hiatus. It is as if I closed one computer app and started another, to find it like I left it. Even some of the patients/parents are the same. The same challenges are these of providing medical care in a poor area, the same joys also. It feels like a favorite pair of old shoes. As I have often said the nutrition kids are like an extension of my family and they consider me a bit like a mother. It really is a special relationship.

It feels good to be back. I think most of you know that our family was in the USA for an extended period in 2019. Since returning to Congo in August 2019 I have had very limited patient contact due to the possible risk of exposure to Ebola. The risk was real, even this fall as our hospital received patients with Ebola and triaged many others for testing. I have been teaching at the nursing school, preparing sessions with our young physicians, as well as taking on various projects like a children’s garden for hospitalized children. I did homeschooling for our son Emmanuel as well. THANKFULLY, for the last 1.5months there have been no new Ebola cases in Ituri Province which has opened the door for me to start providing patient care again.

In a way, I am thankful for the time away from patient care because it has opened my eyes to other ministry opportunities and relationships. A pediatric garden, a farming project, etc… I have been able to play a role in the rehabilitation of the hospital chapel and the installation of a memorial in photographs inside. It is so important to consider the past in the present and honor those who have preceded us. One sees things with new eyes after being away for a while. It is easier to try new things.

A Pediatric Play Garden

This week a project two years in the making is coming to fruition. Our pediatric play garden

The beginnings

is going up! It is very exciting to see something happen that has required a lot of planning/ordering/begging for material and funding. It was designed for children who are hospitalized for long periods of time, especially for children in the nutrition program. It is an essential part of the healing process to have a place to play and explore the world again. The children have been sitting on the wall alongside the garden, looking longingly at the slide and swings. In another two weeks they will be playing inside the garden. I hope that it will be a pretty place and one that people want to visit and contributes to the healing process.

A couple of pediatric patients

We are currently caring for a little girl who was attacked by bees last weekend and had an anaphylactic reaction. I am reminded that we need to always look in every orifice. Everyday she sneezed out another bee! Today we gave her anesthesia and pulled more bees out of her ears. She is fortunate to have survived.

There is another little girl with chronic kidney disease, a sort of nephrotic syndrome that doesn’t respond to normal treatment. These are the conditions that you see a specialist for and probably have a renal biopsy to better define the disease. We are limited here in our ability to analyze a kidney biopsy, so we are left with clinical management and observation. It can seem limiting at times, but I can honestly say that it probably makes us better clinicians to make decisions in the absence of all of these things. For now we changes doses of steroids and we observe.

Then there is a 11mo baby with growth retardation and the beginning signs of malnutrition. I remember the mother with short stature from previous hospitalizations with other children. She confirmed that she had 4 girls that all died, seemingly from malnutrition. The family is living in the village of Sezabo which has suffered from insecurity these previous days. Life can not be easy. Most people in the area walk to Sezabo to farm in the fields and then return to their respective villages. We want to do everything we can to discover why this baby is suffering from malnutrition: immune status, hypothyroidism, etc so that it doesn't happen again.

The last interesting case is a young girl with an abscess between her liver and rib cage. Very unusual location and we still don’t know why it is there. Warren says that pain is often pus that needs to be drained. It is very true.

On the homefront: Jacob, the new puppy

Jacob is his name. He is a native breed of the Congo, one of the top African breeds of dogs, the basenji. He gains about 1lb a week so far! I had forgotten how much puppies bite! But he is really cute, smart, and has a nice disposition. We hope that Emmanuel will learn responsibility in caring for his needs. Right now we are trying to teach Emmanuel how to not overly excite the dog and be his master. We have struggled to keep dogs healthy in this environment and we are really hoping that a native breed will have a stronger immune system.

Thanks for your interest in our lives. Pray for our little hospital in our little corner of the world, unknown to many. Pray that the Lord might be honored in our work and ministry.

Lindsey