I had a few interesting experiences this week. I went to another mobile clinic in a Muslim village, but this time I was the only “doctor” going! As I’ve mentioned before, the hospital is very short on residents right now, so there is no doctor available to go to the villages. Daniel and Goli (the physicians from Switzerland) have volunteered to go while they are here, but Daniel was sick this week and Goli stayed with the children. So that left me =) I was excited and a little nervous to be going alone. I’ve been to two mobile clinics before, and I knew that this one in particular has fewer patients that come every week. But I was thinking, “I’m not a real doctor yet! What if I don’t know what to do?” I said a couple of prayers on my way that there wouldn’t be anything really scary awaiting me, and that I would make good judgements. Praise God, nothing I saw threw me for a loop, and I think I managed the patients well. I referred one woman to the hospital to get an ECG because I think she has atrial fibrillation, so I hope she goes and has that followed up on.
After the clinic, we drove on to another village to attend a woman’s self-help group, which is part of a larger community health project led by people connected to EHA and Herbertpur Hospital. It was so interesting! This particular village is very large- over 7,000 people live there and it is a Muslim village. There are ten women’s self-help groups within this village, each with 12-15 members, and they have been meeting for 6 years. The groups primarily talk about ways to be economically self-sufficient (saving money, starting a business, etc), but they also address problems such as alcohol abuse and smoking. Women from this group have taken loans from a bank and started their own shops, and some have bought buffalo and sell the milk from the buffalo. Every month they deposit 100 rupees (~2 US dollars) into a collective savings fund. Over the past 6 years they have raised over 100,000 rupees (~2,300 US dollars)! That is a lot of money here in India, especially for impoverished people. It was so great to hear them talk about their plans to join other women’s groups and create a larger co-op where they could collaborate and invest in something larger to make money from. The women spoke of the difficulties they face- most are illiterate and uneducated, they all have families and houses to care for, and they have few resources. But their faces were glowing with their accomplishments. They asked me (through Mr. Robert translating for me) if women in the states sit together like this (they were all sitting on a dirt floor in a dirt and cement house) and what sort of jobs women do. I smiled to imagine women at home being comfortable on a dirt floor with flies buzzing around and going home to haul cow dung from the yard and spread it on the floors of their homes (this is what they do here)- I tried to answer in a way that was encouraging.
This weekend I’m taking a trip to Haridswar and Rajistan with Goli, Daniel, and the children. These are two cities that are part of the Hindu holy pilgrimage along the Ganges river. I’m really excited to see another city and learn a little more about the Hindu religion here. Pray for safe travels!
Prayer Requests:
- Angela left this week (she was another student from Texas here for 3 weeks). The day she left I started feeling much more homesick than I have in awhile. It gets lonely when everyone around me is speaking Hindi, allowing my thoughts to wonder towards thoughts of home. During these moments, I have been praying to the Lord and asking for joy and strength, knowing that He is all I need and He promises to fill me and lift me up. True to His character, the Lord has come through each day and made it wonderful, but I still struggle in the mornings. I would appreciate prayers for this during my last weeks here.
- Continue to pray that the Lord would provide more physicians here, especially in OB/Gyn and family medicine. (Two rural surgery residents that had been at another hospital for the past year returned this week- so that helps out a little bit!).
Praises:
- My Grandpa had a pretty major surgery last week, and it went as well as we could have hoped for! We were all very worried, considering his age and comorbidities, but God is so good and has granted us more time to spend with him. Grandpa got to celebrate sis 89th birthday on February 22nd! I wish I could have been there, but I’m really looking forward to celebrating with him when I come home.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
The World Cup!
February 19th marked the beginning of the World Cup - not the Soccer World Cup we all know and love, but the Cricket World Cup! Cricket is very popular here, so everyone is pretty pumped for the World Cup. Apparently, India has a really good shot of winning the tournament. The pastor at the church here loves cricket (he’s been talking about the Cricket World Cup since I got here!), so he organized a cricket tournament amongst the men that are a part of the church congregation. Today, just outside the hospital, I witnessed my very first game of cricket. It was really fun to watch, even though I still don’t understand any of the rules! But everyone was really excited and laughing, and the weather was beautiful.The picture above is me and Kian cheering on all of the players! The World Cup goes for 6 weeks, so this tournament is being held every Sunday for the next 6 weeks. Maybe I’ll learn some of the rules by the time I leave.
I also experienced my first bit of India gastroenteritis this week, but praise God it only lasted 24 hours =) Three other people also got sick this week so I’m thinking something in the mess hall was not quite right…. I was helping with a C-section and was about to re-scrub for a 2nd one, but I had to ask to leave! Dr. Daniel just smiled and told me to go rest. I felt a little silly =)
I spent this week on OB/Gyn again and I was reminded of the huge need for an OB/Gyn physician here. With the loss of two rural surgery residents in the past 3 weeks, Dr. Daniel and his wife, Dr. Jennifer, are covering the OB/Gyn outpatient department, maternity ward, and OB/Gyn surgeries (in addition to their normal tasks). I really enjoyed getting to spend more time with both of them this week (Dr. Jennifer even invited me over for pancakes!!), but I wish I could help them more with the workload. From what I can gather they have had a difficult time recruiting OB/Gyn doctors to come here. Being a mission hospital, the pay does not compare to what one would make at a government hospital, and the workload is pretty large.
I hope everyone at home is doing well. I miss all of you and enjoy hearing about everything that’s happening at home. I hear the Badgers are doing pretty well on the basketball front?! That’s so exciting! I hope to see a good March Madness when I get back!
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that God would provide more doctors to work here at Herbertpur. The few doctors that are here work very hard and are very dedicated to their patients, but it’s virtually impossible to provide the best patient care being short-staffed.
- Although I am really beginning to feel comfortable and enjoy my time here, I still have days where I really struggle with the food and feel very hungry- this continues to distract me and make me yearn to return home even when everything else is going well. Please pray that I would be able to look past this and trust in God for my needs.
Praises:
- I am so happy that the family from Switzerland is here! Goli and Daniel are wonderful, and I love their two children – Rami is 1.5 years old, and Kian is 3 years old. They are adorable! It has been so nice to have a family to spend time with and talk to. The boys are getting pretty comfortable around me and will sit on my lap and they love being tickled and swung around; it’s a lot of fun! I really praise God for bringing them here for the two months that I am here as well.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Surprise!
Being about midway through my time here in India, I thought I would share with you a few of the customs and practices here that I have experienced. Although I tried to imagine life in a developing country, I’m realizing that I still came with so many assumptions about the way “life works”, when in reality- it really doesn’t work that way! (Most of these are silly things, but a few more serious)
1.Prior to leaving I thought about how much hand sanitizer to bring along. I only brought 2 small travel-sized bottles, and I remember thinking “Oh I’ll be in a hospital- they’ve got to have hand sanitizer there!” Wrong. Hand sanitizer may be at every doorway in every patient room in the States, but here it is a far-away sink with one common bar of soap and a common towel.
2.Sticking to the hand-cleaning theme- everyone here eats with his or her right hand. I was warned about this, and I thought, “Oh I love eating with my hands!” But I envisioned having things that were easily picked up by my hands, and I thought there would be a ready supply of napkins for the mess! But wrong again. You are supposed to take your right hand, mix up all of your rice with the dal or the curry, and sort of shovel it into your mouth, without the assistance of napkins. Actually- it’s near impossible to find napkins anywhere. Even most of the stores in the market don’t carry them. There is again a common sink and towel to clean off with at the end of a meal.
3.I mentioned the Valentine’s Day Couples Dinner- well what I didn’t think about was the difficulty of cleaning up over 40 serving bowls, 60 coffee cups, and large pots without rags, paper toweling, etc.
4.Leaving the cleaning theme- the hospital here has only one ventilator. Today, we intubated a pregnant woman who had sepsis and acute pulmonary edema, but because she also has tuberculosis (like almost every patient here), we couldn’t put her on the ventilator because the hospital wouldn’t be able to use it again on anyone else. After bagging the woman myself for what seemed like forever, my hands really started cramping up so the nurses started taking shifts. In the end, the family-members were taught how to give air through the bag and they are now responsible for continued ventilation. I’ve seen this happen 2 other times. I never even thought about intubating a patient and not putting them on a ventilator- it’s so routine back home.
5. Yesterday we went to the operating theatre with a woman who had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. The procedure was done laparoscopically, but there was a lot of clotted blood mixed with tissue and Dr. Daniel couldn’t break it apart enough to pull it out of the port-hole in the patient’s abdomen. Back home, when trying to remove larger tissue pieces laparoscopically, we have fancy equipment with pouches on the end that can be opened up inside the patient, enclosed around the particular tissue to be removed, and slowly pulled out. But that stuff is too expensive to be used here, so Dr. Daniel asked one of the staff to go and get a condom! At first I was confused- then I realized, he planned to insert the condom into the woman’s abdomen, place the tissue inside the condom, and then grasp the condom with the laparascopic equipment and pull it through the port! It was genius and it worked brilliantly! I tried not to laugh as I watched the condom being stretched out insider her abdomen!
6.“Sterile” in the operating rooms and ICU here means everyone taking off their outside shoes and putting flip-flops on! I still find it so strange to be in the middle of a surgery and see everyone wearing sandals. I’m a little afraid that someone might drop a bloody scalpel on his or her foot!
Although there are many more things I’ve gotten used to, I don’t want to bore anyone! =) I just find it interesting that almost every day I run across something that makes me think “wow, I really take this or that for granted back home”. So many things that I view as “necessities” really are luxuries. I keep realizing how easy it is back home to find joy and contentment in my friends, family, and things around me. God is teaching me to find my joy in Him alone (I'm not good at it but I'm working at it!).
Prayer Requests:
- I had an uncomfortable situation with a young guy on the street this past weekend. Nothing bad happened in the end, but he harassed me and made me feel very uncomfortable. I hate feeling so vulnerable as a female traveling by herself, and now I’m a little nervous to be walking in this particular area. I would appreciate prayers for protection and for wisdom about where to go and not to go.
Praises:
- Life is getting easier for me here, so thank you for your prayers! Although God is still stretching me, I’m learning more what it means to trust in Him for my needs and my happiness.
- Goli and Daniel (the couple from Switzerland) officially have a translator working with them in the hospital. Goli was able to see over 40 patients by herself in the outpatient department this morning; this will really help the staff manage some of the volume of patients. It will help me as well when I’m working along with them!
1.Prior to leaving I thought about how much hand sanitizer to bring along. I only brought 2 small travel-sized bottles, and I remember thinking “Oh I’ll be in a hospital- they’ve got to have hand sanitizer there!” Wrong. Hand sanitizer may be at every doorway in every patient room in the States, but here it is a far-away sink with one common bar of soap and a common towel.
2.Sticking to the hand-cleaning theme- everyone here eats with his or her right hand. I was warned about this, and I thought, “Oh I love eating with my hands!” But I envisioned having things that were easily picked up by my hands, and I thought there would be a ready supply of napkins for the mess! But wrong again. You are supposed to take your right hand, mix up all of your rice with the dal or the curry, and sort of shovel it into your mouth, without the assistance of napkins. Actually- it’s near impossible to find napkins anywhere. Even most of the stores in the market don’t carry them. There is again a common sink and towel to clean off with at the end of a meal.
3.I mentioned the Valentine’s Day Couples Dinner- well what I didn’t think about was the difficulty of cleaning up over 40 serving bowls, 60 coffee cups, and large pots without rags, paper toweling, etc.
4.Leaving the cleaning theme- the hospital here has only one ventilator. Today, we intubated a pregnant woman who had sepsis and acute pulmonary edema, but because she also has tuberculosis (like almost every patient here), we couldn’t put her on the ventilator because the hospital wouldn’t be able to use it again on anyone else. After bagging the woman myself for what seemed like forever, my hands really started cramping up so the nurses started taking shifts. In the end, the family-members were taught how to give air through the bag and they are now responsible for continued ventilation. I’ve seen this happen 2 other times. I never even thought about intubating a patient and not putting them on a ventilator- it’s so routine back home.
5. Yesterday we went to the operating theatre with a woman who had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. The procedure was done laparoscopically, but there was a lot of clotted blood mixed with tissue and Dr. Daniel couldn’t break it apart enough to pull it out of the port-hole in the patient’s abdomen. Back home, when trying to remove larger tissue pieces laparoscopically, we have fancy equipment with pouches on the end that can be opened up inside the patient, enclosed around the particular tissue to be removed, and slowly pulled out. But that stuff is too expensive to be used here, so Dr. Daniel asked one of the staff to go and get a condom! At first I was confused- then I realized, he planned to insert the condom into the woman’s abdomen, place the tissue inside the condom, and then grasp the condom with the laparascopic equipment and pull it through the port! It was genius and it worked brilliantly! I tried not to laugh as I watched the condom being stretched out insider her abdomen!
6.“Sterile” in the operating rooms and ICU here means everyone taking off their outside shoes and putting flip-flops on! I still find it so strange to be in the middle of a surgery and see everyone wearing sandals. I’m a little afraid that someone might drop a bloody scalpel on his or her foot!
Although there are many more things I’ve gotten used to, I don’t want to bore anyone! =) I just find it interesting that almost every day I run across something that makes me think “wow, I really take this or that for granted back home”. So many things that I view as “necessities” really are luxuries. I keep realizing how easy it is back home to find joy and contentment in my friends, family, and things around me. God is teaching me to find my joy in Him alone (I'm not good at it but I'm working at it!).
Prayer Requests:
- I had an uncomfortable situation with a young guy on the street this past weekend. Nothing bad happened in the end, but he harassed me and made me feel very uncomfortable. I hate feeling so vulnerable as a female traveling by herself, and now I’m a little nervous to be walking in this particular area. I would appreciate prayers for protection and for wisdom about where to go and not to go.
Praises:
- Life is getting easier for me here, so thank you for your prayers! Although God is still stretching me, I’m learning more what it means to trust in Him for my needs and my happiness.
- Goli and Daniel (the couple from Switzerland) officially have a translator working with them in the hospital. Goli was able to see over 40 patients by herself in the outpatient department this morning; this will really help the staff manage some of the volume of patients. It will help me as well when I’m working along with them!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Love is in the Air!
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, there is a large "Married Couples" Dinner happening tomorrow night in the building where the church service is held each week. Apparently, the event is a big deal. All the couple are supposed to dress their best, and then there is a judging and the best-dressed couple wins a fancy dinner out in Dehradun. Initially when I heard about the dinner, I was a little bummed because I obviously wouldn't be able to join! (No- I have not fallen for any Indian boy, nor have I been arranged to marry anyone here!). But I was asked yesterday to help with preparations and with serving the dinner, so I gladly accepted!
The other student here from Texas (Angela) and I spent last night and a good part of today cutting out paper hearts and flowers, decorating plastic bottles to serve as flower vases, decorating paper plates and bowls with markers and shiny red tape, and blowing up heart-shaped balloons. Let me tell you- planning a party here is nothing like at home! You can't just go to "Party City" or "Target" and buy decorated plates, center pieces, etc. We went into the market, and Jubin (a nurse here) took us to the decorations store- it was about 6 feet wide and 12 feet long, covered from floor to ceiling with ribbons, paper, glitter, gems, I don't even know what else! You tell the man what you want, he brings out whatever he has and you pick from it. You may not end up with anything that you want, but you make do with whatever you can get. It's very amusing.
So tomorrow we will spend all day decorating the church area for Valentine's Day. Then we get to judge the couples for the best dressed....and hopefully get to enjoy some of the food as well (I heard there will be ice cream!!).
Quick update from my last blog:
The man I mentioned in my last blog (with the infected foot) came to the hospital yesterday! Praise God! I was in the casualty department when I saw a familiar-looking man getting an injection. When he sat up I recognized him and was so relieved. He walked over to me, took both of my hands in his, and thanked me for helping him. He wanted me to know that he was getting his antibiotics and all of his medications. He said he hoped that I would come back to the village again! It was really great to see him there.
The other student here from Texas (Angela) and I spent last night and a good part of today cutting out paper hearts and flowers, decorating plastic bottles to serve as flower vases, decorating paper plates and bowls with markers and shiny red tape, and blowing up heart-shaped balloons. Let me tell you- planning a party here is nothing like at home! You can't just go to "Party City" or "Target" and buy decorated plates, center pieces, etc. We went into the market, and Jubin (a nurse here) took us to the decorations store- it was about 6 feet wide and 12 feet long, covered from floor to ceiling with ribbons, paper, glitter, gems, I don't even know what else! You tell the man what you want, he brings out whatever he has and you pick from it. You may not end up with anything that you want, but you make do with whatever you can get. It's very amusing.
So tomorrow we will spend all day decorating the church area for Valentine's Day. Then we get to judge the couples for the best dressed....and hopefully get to enjoy some of the food as well (I heard there will be ice cream!!).
Quick update from my last blog:
The man I mentioned in my last blog (with the infected foot) came to the hospital yesterday! Praise God! I was in the casualty department when I saw a familiar-looking man getting an injection. When he sat up I recognized him and was so relieved. He walked over to me, took both of my hands in his, and thanked me for helping him. He wanted me to know that he was getting his antibiotics and all of his medications. He said he hoped that I would come back to the village again! It was really great to see him there.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Mirzapur
Mirzapur is the name of the village I traveled to today with the hospital’s mobile clinic. Every Thursday one of the doctors, a nurse, and a public health worker set up a clinic in a village about an hour outside of Herbertpur. Mirzapur is a mostly Muslim village, and there were a lot of interesting sights to see! Although apparently, we were the most interesting sight there, since the female physician from Switzerland (her name is Goli) and I drew stares from everybody that we passed! The kids would follow us down the street and whisper to each other. It was very amusing.
The clinic itself is in a 10-foot by 10-foot cement room along the side of the road; it’s locked up during the week and we store a desk, chairs, and medications inside for the weekly clinic on Thursday. All the patient’s charts from that village are also stored inside. In theory, the mobile clinic is wonderful, and they do manage to accomplish a lot with limited resources. But I realized today that patient after patient comes in with the same complaints- fever, body aches, back pain, fever, neck pain, fever, cough, etc. We didn’t have a thermometer with us, and no one actually measures their temperature, so these vague complaints are difficult to treat! And we can’t draw labs or get x-rays, so physical exam and history becomes very important. Also, I have noticed that almost every person we see is taking Amitryptiline, a drug that is rarely used in the United States in elderly individuals because of the associated side effects. When I asked the junior doctor why, he said that people complain of “uneasiness”; basically their description for anxiety, depression, and inability to sleep- and this is the medication always given. I was uneasy about prescribing it.
The craziest thing I saw today- a man came in complaining of back pain (go figure). But I noticed that his foot was covered in bandages, and these bandages were soaked through with yellow-redish fluid. Although the man insisted he was only concerned about his back pain, Goli and I insisted that we unwrap his foot (I think it would have gone ignored if we hadn’t been so forceful about it). As we lifted up the wrappings, I was shocked to see that all of the skin and subcutaneous tissue from the entire top of his foot was missing! I could see down to tendons and bones in an area extending from his toes to his ankle! It was crazy. We tried to describe the urgent need for treatment in a hospital and the dangerousness that is associated with walking around on this sort of thing. We referred him to our hospital, so I really hope he goes!
One of the things I will just not get tired of seeing here is all of the monkeys! They are everywhere and they are adorable (although they can be vicious and I usually try to keep my distance!). Along the road today there were hundreds just perching on rocks and branches, and little baby monkeys too! I loved it.
Prayer Requests:
- The hospital is very short on residents right now. Due to a variety of circumstances, they have lost 3 in the past two weeks, leaving only 2 left. This is a huge job for two residents! Please pray for guidance as the medical director and family medicine program director make decisions about leadership and recruitment. And pray also that God will provide more Christian physicians to work here.
Praises:
- The husband and wife from Switzerland think they have found a translator to help them in the hospital! This would make us much more useful in the casualty unit and outpatient departments, if we could see patients on our own without tying up someone else in translating for us.
- Thank you for all of your prayers and support!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Peaks and Valleys
This week has been filled with ups and downs. After finishing up my second week in the hospital here, I’m finding myself getting frustrated with being in such a different medical system and trying to decipher meaning from a language I don’t understand!
I spent this week rounding on the medicine wards and covering the casualty unit (emergency department) during the day. There are only 2 resident physicians here covering the entire hospital, so needless to say, I have found myself alone in the casualty dept. on many occasions trying to manage patients that I can’t even gather a history from. When I do manage to find someone to translate for me, I know I’m missing a lot in the translation. The medications available here are very different from back home, and oftentimes the protocols and first-line therapy is different (either due to cost, lack of availability, etc). Due to the cost and availability of investigations, there is a lot of empiric therapy, and a lot of antibiotics given. Many times I get frustrated on rounds with inefficiency and lack of organization.
I’m trying to be patient through these times and instead focus on what I’m learning in the process (which is a lot!), but it’s difficult at times. I realize that I cannot expect a hospital that is understaffed and filled with patients who may be illiterate and uneducated to function the way a hospital in the states would with more staff and more resources. Whenever I find myself thinking- “why don’t you do it like we do?”- I feel ashamed. Who am I to judge?
There is one particular resident physician here that I really admire- he is intelligent, up to date on evidenced based medicine, and very good with his patients. He is the only physician I have seen sit on the bedside and touch his patients (other than the physical exam). I really admire his heart and his dedication to this work.
On the bright side- I received my first gift here in India and it made me feel so special! Two nursing students (sisters) from the Christian Medical College in India were rotating here for 2 weeks. I worked with them for 2 days last week in the OB/Gyn outpatient department, but other than a few exchanged words and smiles in the mess hall, I didn’t think I had made much of an impression on them. Well yesterday, they came up to me to tell me they had to leave Herbertpur but the would really miss me. They hugged me and exchanged email addresses, and then presented me a gift- a beautiful coffee mug! I was so surprised by their warmth and affection, and so grateful for it! They are both struggling with their schooling and feeling slightly depressed, so I was able to share some words of encouragement and scripture with them. It was a great ending to what had otherwise been a frustrating day!
I want to share a Psalm I came across this week during a rough time (Psalm 16):
“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “you are my Lord; I have no good apart from you…you make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore”. (Vs. 1 and 11)
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that I am not quick to judge and that I don’t dwell on the frustrations I experience during the day, and instead focus on what I’m learning and how I can contribute.
- I’m really struggling with the food here; I feel hungry almost all of the time! Sometimes I’m distracted because I just think about how hungry I am and I get discouraged. Please pray that I would be able to concentrate and not focus on the food!
- Pray that I find my contentment and joy in the Lord in the midst of difficult circumstances.
- Continued good health =)
Praises:
- The weather is warming up!
- I found a large area behind the hospital today with walking paths! It’s away from the noisy and busy streets, and a great place to take a walk. I’m so happy to have a place to retreat to!
- The staff here have been very welcoming and make me feel at home. I praise God for their hospitality.
I spent this week rounding on the medicine wards and covering the casualty unit (emergency department) during the day. There are only 2 resident physicians here covering the entire hospital, so needless to say, I have found myself alone in the casualty dept. on many occasions trying to manage patients that I can’t even gather a history from. When I do manage to find someone to translate for me, I know I’m missing a lot in the translation. The medications available here are very different from back home, and oftentimes the protocols and first-line therapy is different (either due to cost, lack of availability, etc). Due to the cost and availability of investigations, there is a lot of empiric therapy, and a lot of antibiotics given. Many times I get frustrated on rounds with inefficiency and lack of organization.
I’m trying to be patient through these times and instead focus on what I’m learning in the process (which is a lot!), but it’s difficult at times. I realize that I cannot expect a hospital that is understaffed and filled with patients who may be illiterate and uneducated to function the way a hospital in the states would with more staff and more resources. Whenever I find myself thinking- “why don’t you do it like we do?”- I feel ashamed. Who am I to judge?
There is one particular resident physician here that I really admire- he is intelligent, up to date on evidenced based medicine, and very good with his patients. He is the only physician I have seen sit on the bedside and touch his patients (other than the physical exam). I really admire his heart and his dedication to this work.
On the bright side- I received my first gift here in India and it made me feel so special! Two nursing students (sisters) from the Christian Medical College in India were rotating here for 2 weeks. I worked with them for 2 days last week in the OB/Gyn outpatient department, but other than a few exchanged words and smiles in the mess hall, I didn’t think I had made much of an impression on them. Well yesterday, they came up to me to tell me they had to leave Herbertpur but the would really miss me. They hugged me and exchanged email addresses, and then presented me a gift- a beautiful coffee mug! I was so surprised by their warmth and affection, and so grateful for it! They are both struggling with their schooling and feeling slightly depressed, so I was able to share some words of encouragement and scripture with them. It was a great ending to what had otherwise been a frustrating day!
I want to share a Psalm I came across this week during a rough time (Psalm 16):
“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “you are my Lord; I have no good apart from you…you make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore”. (Vs. 1 and 11)
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that I am not quick to judge and that I don’t dwell on the frustrations I experience during the day, and instead focus on what I’m learning and how I can contribute.
- I’m really struggling with the food here; I feel hungry almost all of the time! Sometimes I’m distracted because I just think about how hungry I am and I get discouraged. Please pray that I would be able to concentrate and not focus on the food!
- Pray that I find my contentment and joy in the Lord in the midst of difficult circumstances.
- Continued good health =)
Praises:
- The weather is warming up!
- I found a large area behind the hospital today with walking paths! It’s away from the noisy and busy streets, and a great place to take a walk. I’m so happy to have a place to retreat to!
- The staff here have been very welcoming and make me feel at home. I praise God for their hospitality.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
A Day in the Life...
Dr. Daniel, the medical director of this hospital, is a general surgeon but by default he is also an internist, a family doctor, an obstetrician, an ultrasound technician, and not to mention- a husband and a father. I'm constantly struck by the required knowledge of the physicians here, and without easy computer reference like we have back in the States! For example, on Monday alone we treated heart failure, acute MI, snakebite, COPD exacerbation, entamoeba histolytica, suicide attempt by aluminum phosphate poisoning, hemorrhagic stroke, infective endocarditis, multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis, and more! I went from observing septic emoboli and petechiae on a young woman, to palpating the worst hepatosplenomegaly I've ever felt, to doing chest compressions on an 89 y/o woman (she regained her pulse but remained unresponsive with non-reactive pupils). Sorry to all the non-medical people reading this blog!!
But in the midst of it all, I love that before every surgery the surgical teams prays for the patient on the table and the surgery about to be undertaken, every morning the hospital compound meets for morning devotions, and before rounds every day we meet as a team of doctors and pray. I will admit that I usually don't know what is being said since the prayers are in Hindi...but I have been impressed by this all the same. I'm realizing how often I undertake situations without the guidance of the Lord. How many times to I eat my meal and forget to thank God for providing it for me?
Although I'm still missing some comforts from home, I'm starting to feel more settled here. The noises are becoming more routine, the faces more friendly, and the surroundings more familiar. Thanks for your continued prayer and support, and to all of you who have written me emails! I love reading them =)
In Him,
Katie
PS- I hear there is a crazy blizzard back home! I hope you all stay safe and bundled warmly inside. Take pictures for me so I can see it when I get home. =)
But in the midst of it all, I love that before every surgery the surgical teams prays for the patient on the table and the surgery about to be undertaken, every morning the hospital compound meets for morning devotions, and before rounds every day we meet as a team of doctors and pray. I will admit that I usually don't know what is being said since the prayers are in Hindi...but I have been impressed by this all the same. I'm realizing how often I undertake situations without the guidance of the Lord. How many times to I eat my meal and forget to thank God for providing it for me?
Although I'm still missing some comforts from home, I'm starting to feel more settled here. The noises are becoming more routine, the faces more friendly, and the surroundings more familiar. Thanks for your continued prayer and support, and to all of you who have written me emails! I love reading them =)
In Him,
Katie
PS- I hear there is a crazy blizzard back home! I hope you all stay safe and bundled warmly inside. Take pictures for me so I can see it when I get home. =)
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