Coopers in the Congo: A Birthday Boy, Refugees, & An Unusual Case of Tuberculosis

August 31, 2020

Emmanuel’s 6^thBirthday

Emmanuel’s long awaited birthday finally arrived! We had a reptile themed party, complete with attendance of his chameleon! The missionary kids played musical chairs for the first time…but it was a little stressful for Emmanuel. We played pin the tail on the chameleon and ate cake over the campfire in our new fire pit. It was a special day and I think he felt treasured. He told us the other day that he thinks being 6 is more work. Maybe he has taken his dad’s counsel to heart that he needs to think about the consequences of his actions before acting. He is already asking when his next birthday will be!

We have a new appreciation for birthdays here in Congo. It really is something to be celebrated when there is so much disease around, especially malaria. We are so thankful to God for our son Emmanuel and for health!

Pericardial Tuberculosis

We have formed more of an intentional relationship with Adi Hospital. Adi is located about an hour (by plane) north of here on the border of Sudan and Uganda. We were called on to go and place a pericardial drain in a child with probable tuberculosis. This is a rare, life threatening complication of tuberculosis. The procedure went well and the child had immediate improvement in his cardiac function. We are hopeful that he will survive. It was worth the long arduous road between Aru and Adi to be able to help this little boy. Emmanuel was touched to know that he was almost this boy’s age.

While we were there for 48hours, Warren operated on another complicated case. I consulted several kids and gave a medical conference on pediatric tuberculosis (TB). I always learn the most when I prepare such a large topic. We discussed an often neglected topic which is maternal TB and consequent neonatal TB. As it turns out that in childbearing years, women have the highest prevalence of TB activation than any other time in their lives. Pregnancy in and of itself is a risk factor for TB re-activation and it often goes undetected. We see at least two cases of year of suspected maternal-child transmission of TB. It is a very relevant topic! Then we discussed how to manage pericardial TB, the prognosis, etc.

It sounds like they want us to come back quarterly to do some teaching on practical bedside ultrasound skills, and medical/surgical support. This was so encouraging!

Sickness

Emmanuel and I were both sick with a flu-like illness a couple of weeks ago. His fever last for two weeks and mine one week. We were both quite tired with upper respiratory symptoms. Because we are in Covid times and we have had Covid cases in our hospital, we treated this illness like Covid even our tests were supposedly negative. I am feeling much better and the cough had gone away. Still it is pause to think and really protect oneself and family, other staff. I hope that we can improve our protocols to better protect people hospital staff and other patients.

We are thankful to be back to health again.

Refugees

Our community has absorbed an additional 600 households due to the insecurity around us. There is no UNHCR camp, there are no food handouts, etc. People are settled in traditional homes by the village chief and the neighbors are expected to help to provide for their needs, until they can get back on their feet. Many people can not access their old fields due to insecurity and they are forced to abandon their crops and start over. This leads to food insecurity and undernutrition. We sent a hospital vehicle to evacuate a desperately sick man from a neighboring health center. We have admitted babies whose mothers’ are not making enough milk. These are hard times. We are seeing a very exaggerated number of malnourished children, and often their mothers are not well. We are living through difficult times. When security is threatened, so is food. If everyone does their part we will be able to provide for people in desperate need.

Tribalism is an ugly thing. Hate is ugly and makes people do horrendous things. This geographic area feels quite tenuous at present. We find that we really need our evening walks and to get out from time to time. I have a new understanding of Jesus' words about worry.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petitions, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6,7

Thank you for your interest in our lives and continuing story in Congo. We trust that God is working through us to represent Him even in tough times. Continue to pray for reconciliation and lasting peace in our area. Pray that God will convict peoples' hearts. Pray for the difficult financial situation our hospital is facing with less patients and consultations, that our staff would have their needs met and have the strength to carry on.

Blessings,

Lindsey (for the Coopers)