Hospital Experience

Life in Uganda continues to be filled with new adventures. As of this week, I can now talk about hospitalization in Uganda. Last week I visited a doctor at the private patient clinic at Mulago Hospital (the national hospital) suffering from severe cough, wheezing and shortness of breath. He diagnosed acute bronchitis and decided I should be hospitalized! I looked at him and asked, "Am I THAT sick?" So off I went to the private ward and found myself placed in the VIP room where I spent the next 4 nights, mostly waiting for the labs to open (closed weekends) and for the doctor to review the results. Clearly my experience was not a normal Ugandan experience - nurses actually tended to me and the doctor came every day. My young friend Monica and her baby Patricia stayed in the room with me as patients are expected to have caretakers. I was so thrilled to be released yesterday. The lung x ray came back clear, and the cough is improving.

Reflecting on the experience, it was amazing how calm I was - and I have to thank God for that, as many people were covering me with prayer. My fellow students and lecturers were praying, calling and visiting. People from Fort Portal and the US were praying as well. I shared with a friend that the last place I ever expected to be was Mulago Hospital - when I first came to Uganda the only thing I knew about hospitals in Uganda was that people tended to die there, and I had been advised to avoid them if at all possible! To God be the glory - the Great Healer. Continue praying for all who find themselves hospitalized in Uganda and elsewhere.

Knocking Eyes

Having a teenager in the house is yet another experience. Grace, Monica’s 16 year old sister came along when Monica and Patricia returned from their visit home. She just finished a major milestone in her education and is now waiting for the results which will allow her to continue education in February.

The language of a teen can be quite amusing. Today as we were enjoying lunch Grace noticed a young man looking at her sister. She informed her that the man was “knocking eyes” with her. That phrase has become one that brings great laughter each time any of us is caught even glancing at a man! I can’t wait until I learn the next phrase of teen lingo.

Less than 2 weeks remain before I head off to the U.S. This is a challenging time preparing for being away for 6 weeks – taking care of the ministry and other expenses that continue while I am away. It will be my first Christmas stateside in more than 10 years – pray for my adjustment to COLD and SNOW!

Blessings on your day

Is there a Doctor in the Country?

I realized that much of my blog has been reporting with little reflecting. Allow me to do some reflection on events of last week. I called a consultant doctor/professor directly and asked how to make an appointment to see him. He told me to come to his clinic at 2 p.m. This was unexpected and as it turned out, unwise, as I had a physical therapy appointment at 5 p.m. Arriving at 1:30 p.m. thinking there might be paperwork to fill out, I discovered that I was # 10! And, the doctor had not yet arrived. So I waited … and waited … and waited. The doctor finally came about 3 and began seeing patients. I saw him at 5:30 and he sent me for lab and a consultation with the dietitian. I left there at 6:30 and rushed for my 5 p.m. appointment. The therapist graciously took me as his last patient at 8 p.m. I returned home at 9:30. Friday a repeat of the same although this time someone had saved #3 for me. However the doctor came 3 1/2 hours late. I saw him briefly then returned home to rest before going to my 5 p.m. physical therapy “appointment.” Appointment is in quotes as when I arrived there were 5 people waiting ahead of me. In a conversation with a young woman who accompanied her mother, I learned that they had a 4 p.m. appointment. They saw the therapist just before me.  Again I was the last patient and left there about 9:30 p.m.

While from the western perspective, these were extremely frustrating experiences, I started thinking about how this is the normal way for Ugandans to get health care. They show up early and wait in long lines only to find that the doctor has gone home at the end of the day. Many have to travel long distances to find a doctor to care for their particular health issue. And at times, they find no doctor available. In Uganda the doctor/patient ratio is 1 doctor for 24,000 people. Kampala is much better than Fort Portal and Karugutu.  I am fortunate that I can go to private clinics. It’s even worse for patients who have little money and need to go to the government hospitals. Government pay (about $350/month) for medical doctors is very low compared to what they can make in private clinics or in other countries. A number of Ugandan doctors are serving outside the country.

Getting the appropriate medication is also a challenge. Many people are diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes, but cannot afford to purchase the medicines. When someone dies, it is very normal to be told that they died of pressure and diabetes.

Pray for the people of Uganda – that God would make a way where there seems to be no way to get proper and timely medical care.

Blessings on your day.

Good intentions

When I started blogging barely 3 weeks ago, I tried to write each day. Then it dropped to once a week. And now I haven’t even kept that up! Having a disk degeneration problem in the neck and a shoulder that was “frozen” – the physiotherapist’s words – has kept me from spending much time at the computer.

However, this picture is priceless and I needed to share it with you. As I traveled down the highway, my attention was drawn to this vehicle. At first I thought the truck had backed into these guys and flattened  them – shows the early influence of cartoons on my imagination. As we drew closer, we realized that they were holding on to the structure to keep it from falling off the  truck. There were no ropes at all!

Another traveling story is not so humorous – as I was driving along Hoima-Kampala Road, I saw what looked to be a big animal lying in the middle of the road. As I passed I realized that it was a human being. Someone was putting the warning sign (branches with green leaves) around him, so he must have just fallen off a truck, gotten hit by a vehicle or something else. Unfortunately, in Uganda, it is not generally a good idea to stop so I continued on and prayed for the man and his family.

Monica and Patricia are now visiting their family in Hoima. Patricia’s grandmother is ecstatic. And the rest of the family are very happy as well. They will return with Monica’s sister in about a week. The house is awfully quiet!

Blessings on your day.

Another week?

Sunday to Sunday. Having a baby in the house is definitely a change in lifestyle. Days and dates just move right on by. Mostly I just get to hold Patricia and help her go to sleep. Everything else is done for her by her Mother. Occasionally Monica leaves to go to a nearby shop, and of course Patricia decides just as she leaves to start crying. Yikes! But it is so much fun to see how much change occurs day to day. She recognizes us now, she’s starting to grasp some, her legs are really strong and she enjoys standing on them – with support of course. She laughs and “talks” to us. In this photo she is sitting on her own for the first time. I tease Monica that Patricia will have an American accent.

We had visitors Friday – Monica’s father (Patricia’s grandfather: Jaja) and her cousin-brother. Godfrey, (Jaja) was amazed at how much she has changed in the past 2 weeks. It was really great to see her just gazing at his face while he held her.

And Friday was my Mother’s birthday (Betty) – I called and sang Happy Birthday to her. Update on Dad – he’s in a rehabilitation facility and yesterday was able to feed himself. They also had him standing with assistance. Each step is step towards recovery. To God be the glory – thank you for your prayers and concern. My Aunt Ruth had gall bladder surgery Friday and is now home.

“Rejoice in the Lord always” Phil. 4:4a

Blessings on your day.

Visiting

Sunday afternoon is a time for visiting friends and family. So today we went to visit Margaret, a friend who lives in Namugongo, a nearby village. She has grown children and many of the children’s children are with Margaret. When the children saw baby Patricia, they were so excited; everyone wanted to hold her. She was very cooperative.

Margaret is a wonderful storyteller. I hope that I can give you even a glimpse of the story she told us. I had a difficult time trying to decide if I should laugh or cry. She is now 58. When she was 22 (in 1974) and still a student in secondary school she got pregnant. This was not a good thing, so the family hushed it up and even pretended that the baby that was born belonged to someone else. He grew up thinking his grandmother was his mother.

But the funny story was how her aunt insisted that the witch doctors be brought in to help her give birth normally. Apparently she has an abnormal cervix which closed instead of opened so the doctors were planning a C-section. The doctors suggested that she be brought to the hospital and that the witch doctors work on her there. I can just picture the chanting and jumping around. They smeared all kinds of things on her body. The funniest part of the story was when one witch doctor – a woman – told Margaret to spread her legs. She then puffed on a pipe with who knows what in it and then blew between her legs. While Margaret is explaining this she is using me as an example – putting her hands on my knees and blowing. It was hysterical. Ultimately, the doctors prevailed and the parents sent the witch doctors away.

We prayed together with her family before leaving and came home. Monica is now bathing Patricia in preparation for sleep – we hope!

Blessings on your day.

Ugandan Missionaries

One of the wonderful shifts going on in missions today is the recent, but should be obvious, realization that God can use local Christians as missionaries to home and foreign fields. Today I have as a guest in my home Kahuma Cheaperfield, a young Ugandan missionary who works with Life Ministry Uganda. I have been blessed to work with him for a number of years in ministry in Kabarole and Bundibugyo (western Uganda). He is now raising support for becoming a full time staff member of Life Ministry Uganda (This is Campus Crusade for Christ). His personal support budget is approximately $200/month and the ministry budget is $500/month. Since August he has been on a ministry partner development assignment meeting and sharing the ministry God has given him. It is not well-known or understood means of support locally – Ugandans will give for weddings and funerals, but otherwise many are not generous for other good causes. Kahuma is an amazing evangelist and an incredibly energetic worker – always planning the next missions. Pray with him as God opens doors for him to share the vision of how God has called him to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in western Uganda and beyond.

Blessings on your day.