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Showing posts from March, 2022

Arrived home safely

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 We arrived home safely and are COVID negative!  A few travel issues required us to come home 2 days earlier than planned but we are grateful there were no major issues. As I reflect on the month, I see God's hand on so many details.  He orchestrated patients to be seen, all the help I needed in clinic, and miraculously healed his people. I am grateful for my neurosurgical colleagues who were so helpful on several cases.  Enock had a benign growth in his sinus that was impinging on his eye and brain.  He underwent excision of the mass.  It was quite difficult to remove but we were able to save his eye and there was no cerebral spinal fluid leak. I enjoyed teaching the general surgery resident assigned to me.  His name is Yves, from Burundi.  He tells me his height is a trait found in his tribe.  He certainly learned how to handle trauma this month. There are always the cases that break my heart.  Shown below is an 18 year old male and his older brother who came to clinic early in m

God Heals!

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 What a blessing to be part of all God is doing for His people at Tenwek Hospital.  I continue to be amazed at how well patients recover despite lack of updated equipment, substandard sterility, and minimal instruments. This is the young girl we operated on for the cerebellar abscess and chronic ear infection.  She is fully recovered with no permanent deficits.  God's miraculous healing power! I have seen lots of trauma cases this trip.  Not only road traffic accidents but also tribal violence.  The panga is the weapon of choice in this area.  The deep belly adds weight for slicing even through bone. This elderly women was assaulted with a panga weapon which sliced right through her mandible bone (lower jaw).  Her husband was killed.  She came to us for repair 6 weeks after the injury.  She was unable to eat because of the malunion of the mandible bone. The next gentleman sustained a panga injury to the face.  He presented with facial paralysis and a large laceration that was close