Jimmy and Chase Miller- Serving Kenya since 2011

 This was a week full of surgeries.  Many patients have received notification of NHIF approval for surgeries.  This is the governmental healthy insurance which costs 500 Ksh per month ($5.00). Even with this low monthly fee many are not able to afford.  We needed to triage patients with the more treatable diseases over those with advanced diseases because of the limited time. This patient is a victim of the medical system.  I saw him in Feb 2022 and he underwent a tracheostomy and biopsy for a laryngeal cancer.  Unfortunately the biopsy was negative.  We have found inaccurate results with pathology specimens quite frequently as they are sent to Nairobi for evaluation.  He was seen in Nairobi and several other hospitals near him since February.  He returned to Tenwek when they heard I was visiting again.  His exam now revealed advanced cancer involving the neck and larynx.  We reviewed our findings and his poor prognosis.  We ta...

 I thought I would give you a snapshot of an ordinary day at Tenwek.  The morning walk to clinic is cool 50 degrees but there is hope of warmth to come. "...that you may know the HOPE to which he has called you the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and his incomparably great power for us who believe." Ephesians 1:18 The topography is unlike anything you would see in the states.  the trees are lush, roads dusty, and the smell of cow manure in the air. Morning rounds are always an adventure.  There is no privacy for these patients.  Families intermingle and help each other with translation of the languages.  Families are responsible for supplying their loved ones with food. the hospital cafeteria burned down several years ago. This trip I have had 3 residents to teach.  2 family medicine residents and 1 general surgery resident.  I could not do the work without them.  We have been averaging 30-50 patients a day in clinic.  E...

 Praise God I arrived safely last Saturday with uneventful travels.  I did get stopped at the border and searched.   I was sternly told that even donations are now taxed.  But God was gracious and we were able to pass through without extra Tarif.  Please pray Jimmy is as fortunate.  He begins travels on Sunday. My first week was at AIC Cure Hospital doing cleft lip and palate surgeries.  We had a small team of eleven with 4 surgeons.  What a privilege to be involved in a such a transformative surgery.  The children are precious in God's eyes and yet the world would say they are cursed.  Well God turned a curse into a blessing 29 times in one week! We saw children from near and far.  One family came from eleven hours away in a Somalian refugee camp in northwest Kenya.  Mother had her bilateral cleft lip repaired at age 8 in this same hospital.  She brought her 3 year old boy for repair. One of the biggest joys this week was...