Sunday, February 14, 2010

Hospital Update

So a month has gone by now and I thought I might share how things have been going for me at the hospital. I want to share a few stories so you can get a glimpse of what it has been like and how you can best pray.
I have been working mostly in the Pediatric ward as well as Maternity. I also see a lot of outpatients in the afternoons. The mornings are not so bad here because the nurses aren’t normally ready for me to come for rounds until about 9:00am. So I get to start my day with devotions among the fellow missionaries here. We have been reading through the Psalms and praying together. I really appreciate the community of believers that are here, both the short-term and long-term people. Then I get to have breakfast with my family and have our family devotions. We read some in Hudson’s Children’s Bible and also through the Gospel of Matthew. I love to hear my kids pray. Next, I round with the nurses and nursing students on my inpatients. I have enjoyed praying with each one of them and sharing my testimony/the gospel with them. I am trying to learn Swahili and am in the process of working through a translation of the Evangelism Explosion track that my dad gave me before I left, just for that “divine appointment.” Thanks dad for that and for your example.
One patient you can pray for is Kiprotich. He is a 6 year old boy from a rural tribe that lives down in the valley called the Polcat. They are very traditional and resistant to change including the gospel. They have also been violent in the recent past with the other tribal groups in this area. But this boy was transferred to our hospital because of severe malaria and a very low blood count of 3, normal is around 12. We transfused him but he continued to have fevers. His belly then began getting bigger and he stopped passing urine well. As of today he was doing slightly better and we started treatment for intestinal parasites. Pray with me that he would survive his illness and that the parents would feel and know the love of Jesus from us. I would love to see more of an open door into reaching these people for Christ.
I have also been covering Maternity ward this week while our Obstetrician is away at a conference. It has been a good opportunity for me to get more comfortable with doing C-sections here and other procedures like tubal ligations and D&Cs (sorry for the medical jargon, I’ll try to keep it to a minimum.) This past Friday was probably the hardest day for me yet. I would like you to pray for two mothers who both came in with premature labor. The first lady, Gladys, came in at 28 weeks (full-term is 40 weeks) in labor, fully dilated. She soon delivered her baby and I noticed her belly was not as small as it should have been. Of course, you guessed it, she had twins. They both delivered head first, which is fortunate, and they weighed around 1kg or 2 pounds each. We spent a long time resuscitating them and they both began to breathe on their own, but very labored. Here at our hospital we don’t have a ventilator so babies have to be able to breathe on their own. Unfortunately, both babies went on to die later that night. They were just too small to survive. This is one of those instances where it is hard for me to see babies die that I know could have been saved in the States and it is even harder to see mom’s get so excited when they are surprised to give birth to twins only to lose them before they turn 1 day old. So please pray for Gladys as she seeks comfort from the Lord and trusts in His sovereignty.
Also, pray for June who is 19 and came in with preterm labor at 27 weeks. Her baby was turned in such a way that the hand actually delivered first. In this case I had to take her for a C-section and the baby survived for only a short time. Once again she was too premature for her lungs to breathe. The surgery went well and June is recovering, but it was hard to see her crying for the loss of her baby. I could see the Lord’s goodness to her and the peace He gave her as we prayed for her.
There is a lot of joy in the work I am doing at the hospital as well and I have to remind myself that God has not called me here to never have to go through hardship or struggle in my own life or sharing it with my patients. It is a privilege to be able to walk with them through their difficult times and point them to Christ, who is our ultimate comforter and healer. Thanks for your prayers. We love and miss you all.

8 comments:

Travis and Marlene said...

Thanks Kyle for the update, especially since I know you wrote it around 2:00 a.m. for you! I will pray for you to get sleep now! I will also be praying for the needs of those you mention. I know you are able to encourage these people with God's love and his word, as well as minister to their physical needs -
Love, Mom

April said...

We missed you guys tonight at the birthday party! The cousins had fun putting on a show. Micah quoted about 5 minutes of a movie, Abigail told "blonde" jokes, and it went down hill from there! Ezra told us the other day that Hudson was on his way home because he's already been in Africa for two days. He was so excited. We had to explain to him again what two years means. We love you all and miss you too! Tom starts at NLR tomorrow! He is excited!

Amanda said...

Wow. That is really heavy stuff. I see God's grace on you, and I will be praying. Love you guys.

Alecia said...

:-( I'm glad you're getting lots of experience in OB land but I'm sad for those ladies that lost their sweet babies...If they don't know the Lord yet...I pray this will draw them to Him.

NHP said...

Thank you for sharing Kyle. Our community group on Wed night will be lifting you in prayer as we are in charge of a "world" time. Each couple can lead it in anyway that would like. We have chosen to lift up 6 couples that we personally know who are serving Him throughout the world. You will be bathed in prayer on Wed night!
You are an amazing man Kyle and I KNOW that God has placed you in this hospital for such a time as this (Esther)... to love on these people and point them to Him. Press on learning the language, the Lord will open that door for you I am sure of it.
We love you all so much.
Natasha and Family

TeeNealie said...

I am crying as I read this. Those beautiful boys faces are so precious! Hudson fits right in. Please tell Gladys and June if you still have them there that there's a mommy in Oklahoma who is crying with them for the loss of their babies. I will pray for Jesus to heal their Mommy hearts.

TeeNealie said...

Vanessa,

I know you probably have nothing to do but sit and update the blog :) but I'm so curious - what are your days like? When you get time will you tell us what you and the boys do on a normal day? How and what do you cook/do laundry? Who are your friends? What do the boys do all day? Just curious! - Taresa

Christina said...

Kyle - sounds like you've been busy. Thank you so much for making it possible for me to come here. Miss you guys! See you soon.