Special patients

Monday, July 11

It may seem like a small thing, but the addition of millet porridge to our normal breakfast was very welcome. The doctors had to finish quickly, catching a taxi to arrive at Mazimbu in time for the morning report. The rest of the team had time to linger over coffee as we waited for Barbara and her Land Cruiser for our ride. Barbara’s car is set up with a bench seat in front and middle and 2 vertical benches in the far back. That is Barbara plus two passengers in front, four in the middle and three on each bench in the back. So we can almost fit our whole team in Barbara’s car!

As we have come together as a team over the past few days, we have all become familiar with our system and we can set up and begin work very quickly. Our front waiting area was full when we arrived and we quickly began triage and reception.

We were delighted to have the tailor arrive at the hospital to work with us on our custom clothes. Gertrude, who is working with the team as a translator, jumped in to help with communication. She also has a flair for fashion and had lots of suggestions for style and fit. We can’t wait for our new clothes to be delivered Thursday!

Mary, Andrea’s first surgical patient of this trip, was well enough to be discharged today. Pati visited her room to wish her well and was surprised when Mary presented her with the gift of a shawl, which was given to express her gratitude for the blood donation. Mary rejoiced at her health, giving thanks to God for bringing the team to Africa.

And Joyce came back to see us this year! If you read the blog from 2010, you will see the story about Joyce. We removed a 25 lb ovarian cyst, which had been preventing her from any type of normal life; she was even unable to eat and was emaciated. Now, a year later, she is in great health and shows lovely roundness to her limbs as she is filling out. She praised Christ over and over and thanked us repeatedly. We were so happy to see her and to see tangible positive results from our work in Tanzania.

We have also been working with another patient from last year, Magari, whose high blood pressure prevented him from qualifying for the surgery he needs. Leslie has seen him three times so far, working with his medication to try to lower his pressure. He is a very patient man and he has really worked his way into the hearts of the team. And the medication is working! So he is scheduled for surgery tomorrow and we are all rejoicing with him.

Dani was touched today by our translator, Nova, as she witnessed his interaction with a mother and her two young sons. Evidently, the mother could not afford the small token payment required before being seen by our doctors so he reached into his pocket and gave her the money. It is good to know that our fellow Tanzanians join with us in wanting to serve and help those in need.