Panorama of the new building

Here is a view around the hospital. On one side you can see the new building. The other side is the view as you walk down between the old wards.

Hospital

Week #2 Nyankunde

We hope that you are enjoying our photos and stories from Nyankunde!

It has been a very profitable time here, a time of learning a new medical system, all set within a very personable culture and language.  We are living in a village where there are no local stores-rather a local market, dirt roads, plenty of houses, and a hospital.  We are surrounded by green hills as far as the eye can see.  Every ridge is farmed.  Nyankunde is a little hamlet of a town amongst the palm trees, a place that has historically been a place of healing.  It feels like a privilege to be here.  Voila notre maison (here is our house).

The yard says "Bon Samaritain"

How can one describe the immersion that takes place?  Suddenly I am conducting rounds in French (or doing my best to), looking at my own ultrasound, examining a child's urine under the microscope, trying to determine the many causes of jaundice in this place, and how to best use rare resources.  There are many children with malnutrition here, and several without parents.  I diagnosed and am treating my first case of pellagra (vitamin B3 deficiency), countless cases of malaria, and even saw a girl with (what I believe to be) a rare autoimmune disease.  So much of diagnosis depends on the physical exam and clinical evolution, not lab tests.  It is a paradigm shift and something to get used to.  Yesterday I was at a child's bedside when the child stopped breathing, and I had to decide on an appropriate intervention.  In the US, I would not think twice about resuscitation, but I had to really think about what supportive interventions were possible.  The medical challenges are many, but it really is rewarding to see children improve. 

Omviti learning the hoyer lift

Other things...Warren is tinkering as usual.  We have almost installed a solar hot water heater on the house.  Our house will run completely on solar, with the exception of a propane stove!  We have been taking showers literally under the stars the last few days.  I told Warren tonight that we should install an outdoor enclosed bathtub for bathing!

We have been running together in the evenings...up and down the airstrip.  It feels good to run again...but will be better when we can take our bikes out as well.

Setting up a new OR building and ICU is a BIG job!  We are really hoping to get things organized and clean, ready to use the facility in January.  I have reviewed my surgical instruments and concluded that there is a retractor for every purpose.  

Brand names are important.  Case in point: "John Dear"

Nyankunde Hospital is behind us hidden in the trees

 The big excitement tomorrow will be the planting of our garden...stay tuned.  Love that "John Dear" wheelbarrow!

August 29

Hi

We've been in Nyankunde for almost a week now.  It has been a busy time.  We've been setting up the new operating room facility.  This has involved going through a lot of stuff, cleaning things, making an inventory of instruments, fixing things, etc.  It all sounds pretty unexciting, but it is a necessary step.  There is still a tremendous amount of work.  I come home every night feeling like I should have done more.  

There is also the inescapable challenge of patient care.  Tomorrow I am schedule to operate on one man's prostate, wire someone's jaw closed, operate on a mass that is growing out of a young woman's face, repair a rectovaginal fistula (if you don't know what this is, don't ask), and do something else that I can't quite remember.  There are a few Congolese doctors here and they take care of the routine stuff, but there are always those challenging cases...

In the evenings it is quiet and peaceful.  The climate is pleasant.  There is no traffic, no TV, no city noises. 

There are lots of questions that we will need to answer as we consider returning in January.  Some of them are questions like, "Do we really need to employ a gardener?"  Others are big questions like, "How do we find fellowship here and what are ways in which we can have a spiritual impact in this community?"  We don't have many answers now, but we are at least learning which are the right questions.  

One daunting matter is simply the considerable expense of living here.  You wouldn't think it, but it's pretty expensive to travel to Congo and actually live there.  Still, we continue to trust that God has called us here and He will provide whatever we need.

Thanks for your prayers and emails.  It is great to feel like we're still in touch.  We will be back in mid-September for a few weeks, then it's off to Sudan.  

I am attaching a link for two panoramas I made.  It should give you a little glimpse of how beautiful it is here.  Don't spread the word too much!  Otherwise everyone will be wanting to come and live here!

Warren (for both of us)

Our front yard

A hike

The long journey from Charlotte to Nyankunde, DRC Aug 22

Greetings from Nyankunde!

It's been a long journey to reach here.  We left Charlotte and flew to Washington DC.  From there we flew to Addis Ababa, and then to Entebbe.  From there we took a taxi to Kampala, where we spent a day seeing the city and getting to know the SP Uganda staff a bit.

Yesterday we took an bus from Kampala to Bwera, which is on the border with DRC.  We crossed over into DRC and were met by some Congolese folks.  There was the usual delay at the border (the man with the proper stamp for the passport was in a meeting) but we managed to get in the country without even having our luggage opened!  This is kind of miraculous.  From Kasindi (on the Congo side) we took a car to Beni.  We passed through the thick of the Virunga National Park, where Lindsey claims she saw a gorilla.  I think it might have been a guerilla.  It can be hard to distinguish the two.  We spent the night in Beni.  This morning we made it to Nyankunde.  It was a long trip, but it's good to know that it is doable.  You never know until you try.

Things at Nyankunde are going well.  The new OR/ICU building looks fantastic, but it is pretty much empty.  It will take a lot of work to get things going.  Now it is evening.  You can't imagine how peaceful and quiet it is here.  There is only the sound of the crickets and the wind in the trees.  I asked Lindsey whether she would get bored with only me around in the evenings.  She said no, but she did hesitate a little...  We'll see.

Warren (for the Coopers)