Chuck's parents (Charlie and Ginger) have arrived safely and have been with us here at Mbingo for over a week. They did have a cancelled flight, lost bags, and a change of airlines, but at least they made it safely. They have been helping at the hospital, at home, and have been pushed in their hiking abilities.
This is all of us on a short hike down to the airstrip. This was a welcome hike for Charlie after we took him on a grueling 6 mile hike to a waterfall a few days before. He did well, but did drink almost a gallon of water on returning to the house! You can see how happy Isaac is to have his Gigi and Dodad here to see him.
Charlie has been working at the hospital with Chuck. This photo is from rounds on the men's ward. In addition to Chuck and Charlie, you can see from left: Norah (resident), Alex (nurse practitioner student), Corine (house officer), and Irene (head ward nurse). Each of the physicians sees half of the patients on the ward and then we have teaching rounds where we can see up to 32 patients on the ward.
We have been seeing plenty of pathology at the hospital. As always, TB is present in all its different forms. This is a chest x-ray showing miliary TB, a life-threatening disseminated form of active tuberculosis. Angela even diagnosed TB from a rash on a child's face. We have also had plenty of hepatitis, which is good timing, since that is part of Charlie's specialty of Gastroenterology.
This is Chuck doing an EGD with Charlie watching for esophageal varices (enlarged blood vessels in the esophagus). Chuck has been doing some banding (using rubber bands to shrink the vessels) of the varices and was happy to have Charlie check his technique and give him new tips/tricks for this invasive procedure.
Ginger has been working just as hard at home taking care of / playing with Isaac. Isaac wakes up at 6am and does not slow down until bedtime, except for his nap. This photo shows Gigi and Isaac picking leaves from the banana trees just a short walk from our house.
Ginger and Isaac have also been watching for airplane or helicopters that occasionally fly over the hospital or even land to transport patients to the hospital. This photos shows a helicopter that recently landed. Sometimes the prop planes can bring a patient from as far away as Nigeria.
A visit to our house at Mbingo would not be complete without a trip to get more chickens. We recently ate our chickens and went to the poultry to get more chicks. This is Charlie showing Isaac how to put them into the coop.
As we mentioned above, Ginger and Charlie have been hiking with us too and have been enjoying the incredible surroundings that we live in. This photo was from a hike to the "Knob" that gives a view of the hospital with the mountains around. Despite being in the middle of rainy season, we have had mostly nice weather and have not been rained on during a hike yet!
Isaac in the "down dog" yoga position. Having Chuck's parents here has allowed us to get a chance to exercise more. Sometimes we do yoga and Isaac likes to copy us. He has almost mastered the "down dog" position if he can just tuck that head in a little bit more.
We have seen God at work in many areas lately at the hospital. We are constantly pushed to our human limits, but so often, God then makes his presence clear and provides for us and for our patients. Thank you to each of you for your prayers and encouragement as we serve here at Mbingo.
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