Warren here. It has been a while since I wrote a post on this blog. Lindsey is better than me at keeping things up to date, but I thought I would add my own two cents.
The big news is that I am no longer the only surgeon at Nyankunde Hospital. We recently saw the arrival of the Stafford family. He is a General Surgeon and she is OB/GYN. They have two small kids. Their arrival was the culmination of a long and circuitous journey, made possible through the Post-Residency Program of Samaritan’s Purse. This amazing program facilitates the transition from Residency to the mission field. It takes motivated physicians who feel the call to the mission field and provides them with the support to get there. We met the Stafford’s several years ago and they expressed to us the call that they felt to come and serve in Congo. Getting them out here has been like battling the Lernaean Hydra. With every serpentine head cut off, two seemed to grow in its place. There was Ebola, Covid, closed borders, political problems, security challenges, housing challenges, etc. Their journey took them to Switzerland for language study. The decision was made to send them to Togo. Now, against all odds and all reasonable advice, they are here! My approach to recruitment has always been to give visitors every reason not to come, and then see what happens. I have no intention of trying to convince anyone to come here. It just doesn’t work well. Anyway, they are here...and now I can start slacking.
Having two surgeons will open new horizons. It is so great to have a young surgeon who is full of energy and ready to teach more patiently than myself. It will elevate the standard of care and will bring a level of cooperative energy that we have sorely lacked. Congo is in great need of surgical training. It has been my prayer for the past decade that perhaps one day we could start a formal surgical training program here. Having two surgeons is a significant step in that direction and I look forward to seeing what God will do in this place.
Life in Nyankunde continues on, despite the challenges. The hospital is in dire financial need and the level of morale is low. At the present time, we have only two nurses working in the OR and giving anesthesia. Salaries have not been paid in months. Due to the security situation we do not have many patients being referred for elective surgery. We end up doing mostly emergency surgery. This is ok, and is certainly needed, but emergency patients do not pay. They are generally poor. They often have complex orthopedic problems which require repeated operations and consume medical resources. They need blood, but don’t have blood donors. Many of them are injured as a result of tribal violence. We do our best to save life and limb, and with every patient the hospitals sinks deeper into a financial hole. It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. If we had a few elective cases such as hernias, prostatectomies, cholecystectomies, it would provide some income for the hospital. The rumors in Bunia are that Nyankunde is very unsafe and that it is the base of operations of the militia. These are not exactly true, but the rumors keep paying patients away, often to their own detriment.
We are doing our best to try to counter these rumors, and help to put a positive face on the hospital. We are working on several strategies to provide “good press”. I’ve encouraged our administration to try to think out of the box. We have recently had a few referrals from the outside which will hopefully help to counteract some of the negative perceptions. I have a few ideas. More on that subject to come. Still, for the moment, it feels like we are in survival mode, or something less.
Despite everything, we are doing well. Emmanuel is making tremendous strides in school. He is starting to read and write. He is becoming quite the artist. Favorite subjects are airplanes, sharks, his friends, flying snakes and other mythical beasts. No Hydras, yet, but we will work on that. It feels like he is in the process of working out his identity. What we love most of all is that he is kind. He is genuinely concerned for others. We have to stop him from giving away all his toys. Having a child grow up is a chance to once again experience all of the joys and sorrows of childhood that we all went through but perhaps forgot. It is not always easy, but it is so great, and so much fun. Lindsey is busy treating kids, planting things, harvesting soy, hosting, and basically running the household. We are in the dry season, and we both love it. It has its downsides; the heat, the dust, the ever-present burning, but we love the sunshine and the ability to be outside. The sunsets are fabulous.
I am, of course, never without a project of some sort. My recent one was the construction of the “Hill Hut”. Behind our house is a steep hill with a little winding path. On our forays we discovered the ruins of a little hut. It is around 7x7 feet, and is located on the top of a hill that commands nearly 360 degrees of incredible views. Apparently it was once used for communications. It has been in ruin for the past 30 or 40 years, far as I can tell. Most of the foundation, the floor and about 1/2 of the walls were intact. It seemed completely logical to me that we renovate this little hut as a destination to camp and watch the sunrise, the stars and the sunset. With a brisk clip, it takes 15 minutes to get from our house to the hut. It made sense until we starting carrying sand, cement, bricks and water up that steep trail. I hired a team and they made innumerable trips up and down the hill. It was exhausting. I bought a metal door and window and we constructed the walls around these. We carried up lumber, roofing material, nails, tools, a ladder etc. In the beginning Lindsey thought I was crazy. By the end I was convinced that she was right. These “little” projects always take more time, money and effort than I would have ever imagined. But now it’s finished, and it is marvelous. A 15 minute hike seems to take us to the top of the world. There is always a cool breeze and I sit up there in a camp chair and watch the sun go down. Something about a being on the top of a mountain with a great view just does something calming to my mind. This little endeavor is probably cementing the notion in the population that the white man has gone off the deep end, but I don’t care. If it provides a fun way to experience the outdoors, and gives me a sense of peace and closeness to God...it’s worth it. We should all have ridiculous projects from time to time.
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