Graduation

It has been a busy two weeks since our last blog post.  We took part in the first graduation of internal medicine residents from Mbingo, we had 3 families head home for a few months, and as always, the patients keep coming.

To give you and idea of some of the pathology we have seen recently, we will tell you what Chuck saw on rounds on the men's ward in just one day this past week:  acute stroke, severe pulmonary hypertension, new HIV with pancolitis, acute kidney injury after malaria with creatinine 12, pathologic rib fracture, nephrotic syndrome with creatinine 17 and thrombocytopenia, hepatocellular carcinoma, lung abscess after TB, glomerulonephritis with thrombocytopenia, CML with WBC 85,000, pulmonary Kaposi's sarcoma with additional lesions on the tongue, CLL with WBC 77,000 and splenic mass and hip fracture, Kaposi's sarcoma on the abdomen and metastatic to lymph nodes with new HIV, mediastinal mass, cryptococcal meningitis with CD4 of 6, anemia due to myelofibrosis, acute kidney injury with K 7.7 from benign porostatic hypertrophy, metastatic prostate cancer, bleeding duodenal ulcer, fever of unknown origin in an HIV patient, cor pulmonale, and acute bloody diarrhea.  Remember, that was just one morning on one ward...

 This is a picture of the front of the chapel that sits near the entrance of the hospital.  The hospital was founded in 1952, but for many years was a hospital for leprosy.  It slowly expanded and in the past 6 years it has grown rapidly with the addition of the surgical and medical teaching programs.

 This is a picture of the entrance to the hospital.  This picture was taken on a Sunday afternoon, because otherwise it would be overrun with people and taxis/buses.

 We took an official picture of all of the teaching faculty, residents, house officers, and nurse practitioner students last week.  We continue to be thankful for the opportunity to teach here at Mbingo and all the help the residents/students provide with so many patients to see.

 This picture was taken during our graduation ceremony, which was held inside the chapel.  We had all of the leaders of the Cameroonian Baptist Convention (the larger organization of which Mbingo Baptist Hospital is a part) there as we celebrated the achievements of the internal medicine and surgical graduating residents.

 It was a packed house with many people lined up at the door to get a view inside.

 We also had to tell Dennis and Nancy Palmer goodbye this week.  They are the cornerstones of the internal medicine and pediatrics department here and Dennis started the CIMS (Christian Internal Medicine Specialization) residency 4 years ago.  They have become great friends and serve as our mentors here at Mbingo.  They will be home for 5 months visiting churches, going to missions conferences, and finding volunteers and supporters for Mbingo in addition to seeing their family and friends.  They will be dearly missed.  During the time Dennis is gone, Chuck has officially been named the Interim Director of the CIMS program...big shoes to fill for sure.

 We also told the Sparks (vascular surgeon and family) and the Streatfeilds (Australian anesthesiologist/general practitioner couple) goodbye for a few months.  We have been having a biweekly praise and worship time at our house and used the time this week to both sing and fellowship with them before leaving.  There was more than enough work with all of them here, but we will be trusting God that those of us here will be able to fill in all the gaps while they are home.

 Isaac continues to grow and prosper here.  He loves being outdoors, playing in his new sandbox, helping take care of the Sparks' dog, Archer, and learning new words.  He is always on the go and can easily wear out two adults in one day.

The sunsets here can be dramatic over the mountains especially after the rains.

Thanks to all of you who support us in so many ways.  Please continue to pray for us, but even more for the patients that we see on a daily basis that push the limits of the care we are able to provide here at Mbingo.