3rd Week
" For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name."
Psalm 33:21
The Lord was truly present caring for his people on this trip. There were many barriers to care this trip but God made a way as we persisted in advocating for the people. The Kenyan health care system is undergoing an overhaul. They are in a time of transition presently and this is making it quite hard to get approval by NHIF (governmental insurance) for surgery. We often needed to submit for prior approval 3-4 times per patient. This created a lot of work for my resident and clinical officer but with persistence those that we believed God wanted us to operate on were accepted. The line of patients waiting for ENT surgery is still long, but in a way this is God beckoning me to return.
Remember the patient with the large maxillary cyst? He remained in the hospital for over 10 days as he recovered from surgery and settled finances. He always seemed to have a somber face. As I spent time with him one day he admitted that he did not know Christ as his savior. But he was ready. We talked about God's love for him and eternal life. He gave his life to the Lord that day. There was a palpable change in the air and a noticeable change in his expression. The chaplains came and spent time with him and gave him a bible in his tribal language. I saw him the next day with the deed to his land in his hand. He was planning on giving his land to the hospital to pay for his surgical expenses. I was able to use the generous donations to pay the remainder of his bill.
This week we operated on a young women with a parotid tumor. Pathology from a previous biopsy revealed a cancer but it did not specify the type. It seemed the Lord paved the way for her as she came from "far" and despite our long waitlist for surgery she was able to have surgery the next day. All went well for her and we are praying that the tumor is benign.
I also operated on a patient with a large skin growth in his ear. the growth had eroded the bone separating the brain from the ear and exposed the nerve that moves the face. I was concerned about the extent of his disease but God was so faithful to go beyond my skill level. I was able to remove the entire mass with no injury to the facial nerve. Praise God. There are many more ear surgeries waiting to be done and I feel this surgery paved the way for more to be done.
We operated on a young women with a sinus mass. she had been treated previously at another hospital and woke up blind in her right eye. It was unclear what had happened but the Ct scan did show loss of bone between the sinus cavities and the eye. When we got into the case it was evident that what we thought was a mass was actually infection. She underwent successful drainage of the infection and we are so grateful that her final outcome was very treatable.
This week I saw my second case of Anthrax. We never see this in the US. This occurs from eating infected meat often of dead animals. The patient was extremely uncomfortable when she presented but fortunately gave no signs of meningitis. My last patient presented with seizures and CSF involvement of anthrax. Unfortunately he died of his disease. This patient was successfully treated and will go home on 6 weeks of antibiotics but should fully recover.
The last patient I will tell you about is a man that came for a hearing aid fitting. He had significant hearing impairment and presented with his brother. After I fitted him with the hearing aid, I asked as I always do if he knew the Lord. His brother reported he did not attend church and did not know the Lord. He gave his life to the Lord that day and we were all rejoicing in God's expanding kingdom. The chaplain came and shared more with him and presented him with a bible.
As I sit here and recount all that God has done I am in awe. He is truly a miracle working God. Thank you again for all your prayers. I will be starting the long journey home this weekend.
Chase
