Friday, July 8
Our first “normal” day began with a typical Tanzanian morning tea of bread, eggs, and coffee. The doctors made an early start, arriving at the hospital for morning report. Remaining members of the team followed, arriving to a line of patients waiting to be seen.
Triage, worked primarily by Dani and Lisa, begins the patient's journey through our system, followed by reception as Susie and Noni take vital signs and record the patient’s information. Next they are seen by one of our three providers; Dr. Leslie, Dr. Doug, or Dr. Andrea. We have helpers working with each doctor to record their diagnosis and recommended treatment. Today Anne recorded for Leslie, Paige for Andrea, and Chelsea for Doug. After the patient’s consultation with our doctors is finished, their care continues at the pharmacy where Glennis and Karne dispense our meds under the doctor’s orders, and sometimes with Pati or Susie, who are managing the scheduling of the surgeries our doctors will perform. Occasionally, also, the docs have other recommendations or referrals that may need extra attention by many of us to accomplish. Andrea and Doug spend many busy hours performing our first surgeries with the help of Cindy and Lisa, who circulated in the OR to hand the doctors the instruments requested, and the Tanzanian medical staff providing support. We were relieved that TANESCO was not an additional challenge to contend with today and we were able to complete all three of our scheduled procedures.
As the hospital was closing down, seven of us were able to return home while the other six stayed to finish their work. At the hotel, the early group received a phone call from Barbara telling us we were eating out and the restaurant where we were to meet for dinner. We took two “registered” taxis over to the restaurant, where we had to negotiate (argue) for prices. It was a new and interesting experience for most of us. We went to a lovely Indian restaurant called “The Greens”. As usual, we were on Tanzanian time and spent about 3 hours dining. With the help of a restaurant employee’s vehicle, we all traveled back to the Catholic Center, crawled under mosquito nets and rested our eyes in preparation for another busy day.
Phil. 2:3-4—Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind esteem others as better than ourselves. And let us look out for not only our own interests, but also the interests of others.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Saba Saba
Thursday, July 7
SABA SABA!
We woke up today around 6:30. Many of us hear the morning call to worship for the nuns, and all of us hear the rooster that never fails to wake us all. We go down to breakfast to have our usual pieces of bread and coffee.
Barbara told us last night that we might need to move to a different location to stay because of miscommunications about necessary accommodations, so we all packed last night just in case. This morning we were told that we were staying put, so we had to unpack our entire luggage.
We made our way to Mazimbu, observing the surroundings: people, animals, mountains, and buildings. Many people live in extreme poverty, but they go about their day, trying to stay busy and support their families. When we arrived at the hospital, we were amazed to discover there was no electricity. Evidently, there is a shortage of electricity and TANESCO (Tanzania Electric Supply Company) manages the shortage by rotating blackouts. July 7 is Saba Saba in Tanzania (saba means 7), a national holiday, so the blackouts were more extensive today. Barbara jokes that TANESCO’s slogan should be “Keeping the power on….sorta.” There is, in fact, a generator, but it is currently not working and the part to repair it is not readily available. We were supposed to perform five surgeries today, and all of our patients were there, with empty fasting stomachs, waiting for their scheduled surgeries. We had to reschedule all of them because of the electricity situation. These people are truly a patient and caring people. They never once complained when our doctors explained the situation to them. The positive aspect of the situation was we got to see so many patients in the clinical setting.
While at the hospital, many of us were privileged to see our first Masai, Nasaa. He was a very tall and thin man, and his “regular clothing” was so captivating. He wore a wrapped skirt and a shirt and vest. On his belt hung a knife and he carried a staff which looks like a pole. We took him to Dr. Doug; the next Tuesday, he will come back for surgery. He gave Anne a particular greeting and offered her his hand in parting.
The whole team has worked constantly. The work is demanding: keeping records for surgery, conferring with the doctors, checking patients who have been referred to us, and treating our patients. Through all of our busy times, the work is absolutely rewarding, gifting, and priceless.
One of our countless gifts happened when Anne was sitting on the bench feeling a little sleepy. Two young boys joined her. Suddenly, Noni, one of our young and talented translators, came to Anne with a request: she had been approached by a women in the ward, who was there caring for one of her family members (an inpatient) and she wanted to know if the team could help her 15 year old daughter, Grace, who has never walked or spoken. Anne was overwhelmed at the request because she has a grandchild who has special needs and is also named Grace. She went with Noni to meet the woman and shared her story. Anne asked her if she knew Jesus, and the woman responded that she did, and Anne said she would pray for Grace.
All in all, it’s been another amazing day as we all work as a team to share the love of Christ through our medical assistance with our beloved patients.
God’s work. Our hands.
1 Cor. 15:58- Beloved brethren, remain steadfast, immovable, ever abounding in the work of the Lord; knowing that your labor is not in vain.
SABA SABA!
We woke up today around 6:30. Many of us hear the morning call to worship for the nuns, and all of us hear the rooster that never fails to wake us all. We go down to breakfast to have our usual pieces of bread and coffee.
Barbara told us last night that we might need to move to a different location to stay because of miscommunications about necessary accommodations, so we all packed last night just in case. This morning we were told that we were staying put, so we had to unpack our entire luggage.
We made our way to Mazimbu, observing the surroundings: people, animals, mountains, and buildings. Many people live in extreme poverty, but they go about their day, trying to stay busy and support their families. When we arrived at the hospital, we were amazed to discover there was no electricity. Evidently, there is a shortage of electricity and TANESCO (Tanzania Electric Supply Company) manages the shortage by rotating blackouts. July 7 is Saba Saba in Tanzania (saba means 7), a national holiday, so the blackouts were more extensive today. Barbara jokes that TANESCO’s slogan should be “Keeping the power on….sorta.” There is, in fact, a generator, but it is currently not working and the part to repair it is not readily available. We were supposed to perform five surgeries today, and all of our patients were there, with empty fasting stomachs, waiting for their scheduled surgeries. We had to reschedule all of them because of the electricity situation. These people are truly a patient and caring people. They never once complained when our doctors explained the situation to them. The positive aspect of the situation was we got to see so many patients in the clinical setting.
While at the hospital, many of us were privileged to see our first Masai, Nasaa. He was a very tall and thin man, and his “regular clothing” was so captivating. He wore a wrapped skirt and a shirt and vest. On his belt hung a knife and he carried a staff which looks like a pole. We took him to Dr. Doug; the next Tuesday, he will come back for surgery. He gave Anne a particular greeting and offered her his hand in parting.
The whole team has worked constantly. The work is demanding: keeping records for surgery, conferring with the doctors, checking patients who have been referred to us, and treating our patients. Through all of our busy times, the work is absolutely rewarding, gifting, and priceless.
One of our countless gifts happened when Anne was sitting on the bench feeling a little sleepy. Two young boys joined her. Suddenly, Noni, one of our young and talented translators, came to Anne with a request: she had been approached by a women in the ward, who was there caring for one of her family members (an inpatient) and she wanted to know if the team could help her 15 year old daughter, Grace, who has never walked or spoken. Anne was overwhelmed at the request because she has a grandchild who has special needs and is also named Grace. She went with Noni to meet the woman and shared her story. Anne asked her if she knew Jesus, and the woman responded that she did, and Anne said she would pray for Grace.
All in all, it’s been another amazing day as we all work as a team to share the love of Christ through our medical assistance with our beloved patients.
God’s work. Our hands.
1 Cor. 15:58- Beloved brethren, remain steadfast, immovable, ever abounding in the work of the Lord; knowing that your labor is not in vain.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Friday Night at The Greens! And talk to us!! Please
Hello friends and family! We are eating Friday night dinner here at the Greens Indian Restaurant. We are behind on posts so we apologize but will upload some soon! Life is great and we are all doing well. No one is sick and our first few surgeries have gone well, all patients are being treated (96 so far) and we are happy and busy. We are tired of the rice and sauce, cold showers, broken fans but we are so appreciative of everything we are experiencing, plus it is cooler here than in Oklahoma and Arkansas and Texas!!!!! No humidity. The people are great and we are loving what we are doing. (Love the 'relaxed' hospital atmosphere where there is less charting) Working Saturday but have Sunday off and will be worshipping with Bishop Mameo's congregation most likely. Thinking of you all. Blessings from our team to everyone. Love and Hugs. Please comment at the blog site because we are lonely for our friends, family and fans! : )
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Work begins
Wednesday, July 6
Bishop Jacob Mameo is the head of the Morogoro diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania and leads morning worship daily for his staff. The team was able to join in the staff worship this morning, and met with Bishop Mameo afterwards to exchange formal greetings.
Our arrival at Mazimbu hospital in mid-morning was marked by more formal greetings as the returning team members renewed their relationship with Matron Siguru and the hospital staff and the new team members were introduced. In Tanzania, the highest value is placed on relationships. As Americans, we sometimes struggle with this concept, wanting to dive in to our work as we excuse our impatience with the tradeoff of helping just one more person. With coaching from Barbara, we are learning to slow down and enjoy getting to know our co-workers.
Once introductions were completed, we changed from our Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes into our scrubs and headed out to our bus to unload all thirteen team bags. The next couple of hours were spent organizing, unpacking, inventorying our equipment, working to get our work spaces set up and assigning work stations. Our lunch caterers, Grace and Deanna, delivered our meal at 12:30 and we began our work with patients at 1. Lisa and Dani worked the screening desk, taking histories and making sure that our patients were a good fit with our doctors. Pati and Paige were assigned to the reception desk, entering personal information into our records and taking vital signs. Anne would then guide the patients to the waiting area for the doctor they were consulting: Andrea’s speciality is gynecology so most of the women were directed to her bench; Doug’s speciality is surgery, so he consulted with patients that looked likely to need surgery; and Leslie’s speciality is family practice so her patients were all those who did not fit into the previous two categories. Susie and Chelsea worked with Leslie and Andrea to record their diagnosis and treatment. Karne worked with Glennis in the pharmacy, dispensing our meds in accordance with the doctor’s prescriptions. And Cindy hovered, going from station to station to answer questions and help wherever needed.
We were able to consult with 24 patients today, and scheduled 9 of those for surgery, beginning tomorrow. It was a very busy afternoon, but we all felt like it was a great day and we have a great plan in place to follow for work for the remainder of our time in Tanzania.
Note to all our friends and family--we have not had internet access until now, close to midnight on Wednesday evening, so there is only time to upload the blogs about our time so far. Check our blog tomorrow for pictures that we will have to share with everyone!
Bishop Jacob Mameo is the head of the Morogoro diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania and leads morning worship daily for his staff. The team was able to join in the staff worship this morning, and met with Bishop Mameo afterwards to exchange formal greetings.
Our arrival at Mazimbu hospital in mid-morning was marked by more formal greetings as the returning team members renewed their relationship with Matron Siguru and the hospital staff and the new team members were introduced. In Tanzania, the highest value is placed on relationships. As Americans, we sometimes struggle with this concept, wanting to dive in to our work as we excuse our impatience with the tradeoff of helping just one more person. With coaching from Barbara, we are learning to slow down and enjoy getting to know our co-workers.
Once introductions were completed, we changed from our Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes into our scrubs and headed out to our bus to unload all thirteen team bags. The next couple of hours were spent organizing, unpacking, inventorying our equipment, working to get our work spaces set up and assigning work stations. Our lunch caterers, Grace and Deanna, delivered our meal at 12:30 and we began our work with patients at 1. Lisa and Dani worked the screening desk, taking histories and making sure that our patients were a good fit with our doctors. Pati and Paige were assigned to the reception desk, entering personal information into our records and taking vital signs. Anne would then guide the patients to the waiting area for the doctor they were consulting: Andrea’s speciality is gynecology so most of the women were directed to her bench; Doug’s speciality is surgery, so he consulted with patients that looked likely to need surgery; and Leslie’s speciality is family practice so her patients were all those who did not fit into the previous two categories. Susie and Chelsea worked with Leslie and Andrea to record their diagnosis and treatment. Karne worked with Glennis in the pharmacy, dispensing our meds in accordance with the doctor’s prescriptions. And Cindy hovered, going from station to station to answer questions and help wherever needed.
We were able to consult with 24 patients today, and scheduled 9 of those for surgery, beginning tomorrow. It was a very busy afternoon, but we all felt like it was a great day and we have a great plan in place to follow for work for the remainder of our time in Tanzania.
Note to all our friends and family--we have not had internet access until now, close to midnight on Wednesday evening, so there is only time to upload the blogs about our time so far. Check our blog tomorrow for pictures that we will have to share with everyone!
Arrival in Dar and travel to Morogoro
Wednesday July 6
After our arrival at Dar es Salaam Monday evening around 10, we were happy to see Barbara (Robertson), the liaison for our team. Barbara is from Washington State, but has lived in Tanzania for 12 years and works for the ELCA as a missionary assigned to the Morogoro diocese of the ELCT. Her fluent Swahili and intuitive understanding of Tanzanian culture and customs paves our way as we meet and work with our new Tanzanian brothers and sisters. All 13 team members and all of our personal and medical bags arrived safe and well.
Monday night was spent at the Catholic guest house in Dar es Salaam, just a short ride from the airport. This first taste of Tanzania, in the dark, gave us very few glimpses of the teeming city that would come alive the next morning.
The Catholic guest house is a walled compound that allowed each of us a small private room with a bath: very clean and utilitarian. As we will see throughout Tanzania, all of our beds were draped with mosquito nets as an added prevention against malaria.
Breakfast was our first chance to visit with Barbara, who took the time to coach us on the dos and don’ts of life in Tanzania before we did our last hop, a three hour drive to Morogoro. We had received an invitation from the family of a patient the team first met in 2008 and had treated each year since then. Jenifa suffered from Thyroid cancer, which ultimately claimed her life just a few months ago. Our intervention in 2008, and the subsequent treatment begun by our team and continued by her family, added several years to her life. During that time, Jenifa’s spirit touched everyone she came into contact with, and she never missed a chance to praise God daily for her blessings. So when we stopped at Jenifa’s house to join her family for a simple lunch, we made a solemn trek across the field to the communal burial site where Jenifa’s grave, the freshest one there, was well tended and decorated with flowers and mementos. Andrea led us in a prayer, as we honored the life of this spirit-filled woman.
We returned to Jenifa’s house to see sisal mats spread out for our comfort under the shade of the trees. Sitting crosslegged in a circle, Jenifa’s daughter served each of us by pouring water over our hands to wash before our meal--a large bowl of rice, seasoned with a few beans, sliced tomatoes, boiled potatoes and a small piece of chicken, washed down with fresh, boiled milk seasoned with sugar.
The end of our day found us at the Amabilis guest house in Morogoro. We unpacked and then relaxed outside under the Tanzanian sky (with a beer) while we had our first team meeting, prepping for our first day at Mazimbu hospital.
After our arrival at Dar es Salaam Monday evening around 10, we were happy to see Barbara (Robertson), the liaison for our team. Barbara is from Washington State, but has lived in Tanzania for 12 years and works for the ELCA as a missionary assigned to the Morogoro diocese of the ELCT. Her fluent Swahili and intuitive understanding of Tanzanian culture and customs paves our way as we meet and work with our new Tanzanian brothers and sisters. All 13 team members and all of our personal and medical bags arrived safe and well.
Monday night was spent at the Catholic guest house in Dar es Salaam, just a short ride from the airport. This first taste of Tanzania, in the dark, gave us very few glimpses of the teeming city that would come alive the next morning.
The Catholic guest house is a walled compound that allowed each of us a small private room with a bath: very clean and utilitarian. As we will see throughout Tanzania, all of our beds were draped with mosquito nets as an added prevention against malaria.
Breakfast was our first chance to visit with Barbara, who took the time to coach us on the dos and don’ts of life in Tanzania before we did our last hop, a three hour drive to Morogoro. We had received an invitation from the family of a patient the team first met in 2008 and had treated each year since then. Jenifa suffered from Thyroid cancer, which ultimately claimed her life just a few months ago. Our intervention in 2008, and the subsequent treatment begun by our team and continued by her family, added several years to her life. During that time, Jenifa’s spirit touched everyone she came into contact with, and she never missed a chance to praise God daily for her blessings. So when we stopped at Jenifa’s house to join her family for a simple lunch, we made a solemn trek across the field to the communal burial site where Jenifa’s grave, the freshest one there, was well tended and decorated with flowers and mementos. Andrea led us in a prayer, as we honored the life of this spirit-filled woman.
We returned to Jenifa’s house to see sisal mats spread out for our comfort under the shade of the trees. Sitting crosslegged in a circle, Jenifa’s daughter served each of us by pouring water over our hands to wash before our meal--a large bowl of rice, seasoned with a few beans, sliced tomatoes, boiled potatoes and a small piece of chicken, washed down with fresh, boiled milk seasoned with sugar.
The end of our day found us at the Amabilis guest house in Morogoro. We unpacked and then relaxed outside under the Tanzanian sky (with a beer) while we had our first team meeting, prepping for our first day at Mazimbu hospital.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Tanzania 2011 surgery trips begins!
Meet your 2011 Tanzania surgical team:
Cindy Pennie, Team leader and RN, Stillwater, OK
Doug Treptow, surgeon, Rogers
Andrea Doeden, obstetrician and gynecologist, Trinidad, Co
Leslie Menchetti , nurse practitioner, Rogers, Ar
Lisa Eccles, RN, Arcadia, Ok
Pati Murdock , helper (logistics), Rogers, Ar
Karne Beighle, helper, (Paige’s mother), Edmond, Ok
Paige Beighle, helper (PT student), Edmond, Ok
Anne Duhon, helper (Pati’s mother), Whitehouse, Tx
Chelsea Anderson, helper (pre-med student), Rogers, AR
Dani Shackleton, ,helper (student nurse) (Treptow’s family), Lincoln, Ne
Susie Stussi, helper, Edmond, Ok
Glennis Treptow, helper (Doug’s wife), Rogers, AR
As we begin our trip this morning, the team is leaving from 3 different airports and we will not unite until we meet in Amsterdam, early Sunday morning (late Saturday evening local time). The Arkansas team (Doug, Glennis, Chelsea, Lesli and Dani) leaves from the local airport in NW Arkansas and connects to Amsterdam through Atlanta. The Oklahoma team ( Cindy, Andrea, Karen, Paige, Susie and Lisa) leaves from Oklahoma City and meets up with Pati and Anne in Dallas, before travelling on to Amsterdam. Pati and Anne are flying out of Tyler, Tx, which allows Pati to take her daughter, Shelby, to stay with her dad, Anne’s husband, Bob, for a long visit together while Anne is gone. Once we arrive in Dar es Salaam, at 10 pm Sunday evening, more than 27 hours will have passed since we left our home cities. In Dar es Salaam tomorrow evening, we will stay at a local guesthouse, continuing on to Morogoro by car, a 3 hour trip. This will be the most dangerous part of our trip, as the two-lane highway between the two cities is a corridor that sees many vehicle accidents. Tanzanian drivers generally discount street and traffic signs as being merely a “suggestion”.
Cindy Pennie, Team leader and RN, Stillwater, OK
Doug Treptow, surgeon, Rogers
Andrea Doeden, obstetrician and gynecologist, Trinidad, Co
Leslie Menchetti , nurse practitioner, Rogers, Ar
Lisa Eccles, RN, Arcadia, Ok
Pati Murdock , helper (logistics), Rogers, Ar
Karne Beighle, helper, (Paige’s mother), Edmond, Ok
Paige Beighle, helper (PT student), Edmond, Ok
Anne Duhon, helper (Pati’s mother), Whitehouse, Tx
Chelsea Anderson, helper (pre-med student), Rogers, AR
Dani Shackleton, ,helper (student nurse) (Treptow’s family), Lincoln, Ne
Susie Stussi, helper, Edmond, Ok
Glennis Treptow, helper (Doug’s wife), Rogers, AR
As we begin our trip this morning, the team is leaving from 3 different airports and we will not unite until we meet in Amsterdam, early Sunday morning (late Saturday evening local time). The Arkansas team (Doug, Glennis, Chelsea, Lesli and Dani) leaves from the local airport in NW Arkansas and connects to Amsterdam through Atlanta. The Oklahoma team ( Cindy, Andrea, Karen, Paige, Susie and Lisa) leaves from Oklahoma City and meets up with Pati and Anne in Dallas, before travelling on to Amsterdam. Pati and Anne are flying out of Tyler, Tx, which allows Pati to take her daughter, Shelby, to stay with her dad, Anne’s husband, Bob, for a long visit together while Anne is gone. Once we arrive in Dar es Salaam, at 10 pm Sunday evening, more than 27 hours will have passed since we left our home cities. In Dar es Salaam tomorrow evening, we will stay at a local guesthouse, continuing on to Morogoro by car, a 3 hour trip. This will be the most dangerous part of our trip, as the two-lane highway between the two cities is a corridor that sees many vehicle accidents. Tanzanian drivers generally discount street and traffic signs as being merely a “suggestion”.
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