September 4, 2016

 We got up early, got dressed and headed for church,picking up Jan on our way as she needed a ride. After church, as usual,we headed out to eat at Burger King so we could go to the bus station to get tickets to the airport,then get groceries all while in town. OOPS, on the way we realize we forgot to bring our passports, which we needed for the tickets. We get the groceries then headed back home,dropped off the groceries, got the passports and headed back into town which is about 40 minutes to the bus station. Got the tickets for the 5:00 bus to take us to the airport on Saturday when we fly home.  Once we got home, got changed, ate dinner, the day was gone. Praising God for two safe trips to town and back.

Friday September 2, 2016

The Good news is that The baby Mary Ann was caring for went home today! When she was born, they didn't expect her to live and although tiny, she is doing well. Litttle Jose, who I am caring for, isn't doing very well. His blood sugar bottomed out today at 38, which is dangerously low. I gave him sugar water. It rose to 77. This afternoon he was allowed to drink half his formula by mouth and the other half by NG tube. I am very concerned for him. He seems to know me now and I can calm him quite easily. 

Karl worked on infusion pumps again and Glen built a shelf for the emergency room today. 

We are scheduled to go to the dump with Lisa tomorrow but one of her kids broke his leg in two places last night. I am hoping we can still go.  

September 1,2016

The little one I am in care of is doing about the same. Still low blood sugars and the same as yesterday . The baby Mary Ann is caring for is doing well and going home tomorrow. 

Karl fixed another infusion pump in the morning and went into the operating room while two doctors removed a rod from a patience leg that was infected. He needed to instruct the doctors how to use the c-arm.  

Glen took a field trip with Mike( the head of maintainence) to see the woodshop of a local casket maker who also makes doors and cabinets. After that Glen was working on routing some wood when the router broke. Karl will try to fix it tomorrow.  

Aug 31 Wednesday    

The dirt roads on the way to the hospital are really bumpy and bad. The baby I am caring for is getting stronger and can now turn his head. He is still being fed by NG tube which was changed to every two hours instead of every hour but the dose was increased. His blood sugar is still low so they added sugar water to be given in the hour he isn't being fed. He gets that by mouth and loves it. It is good to see him eat. I check his blood sugar every two hours before he eats. He still has an IV in. I am so glad I am here to help with him as the nurses are busy. i love my job! I sure will miss him and I believe he will miss me also. Mary Ann's baby is doing well. She is having a little of a rough time with adjusting to being breast fed only as the bottle was easier for her. The plan is still for her to go home on Friday and come back on Monday for a weight check to see how she is doing. We may need to stop and pick her up to bring her in, not sure yet. 

Karl worked on and fixed three infusion pumps today and Glen was fixing a chair. I don't have too many photos of them as we are with the babies. 

We had a welcome shower this afternoon that cooled things off a bit. A friend, Tubercia,that we went to see yesterday brought us fresh warm tortillas today at the hospital that she made. We ate some on the way home. They were so good!What a great gift from such a poor but giving lady. 

Tuesday..Aug 30,2016

I have been waking up at 3 am for the past two nights and can't get back to sleep so I am very tired. Last night I had a slight asthma attack to please be in prayer for me on these two issues. We arrived at the hospital today to find the babies sleeping. Around 8:30 Mary Ann fed her baby who drank the whole bottle. Around 9:00 am I fed my baby in the NG tube but I noticed it was not in all the way. I asked one nurse about it and she said it was fine, but I was aftrid to feed him as I thought if it is not in all the way it may go into his lungs. I did feed him but didn't feel comfortable doing it. He made out fine for that feeding. He did not have diarrhea for the first time since I have been assigned to him. He seemed much more content today and slept a lot. Later when it was time to feed him again, I asked the head nurse about the NG tube and she said they needed to take an x-Ray to see if it was in. Jose was not happy with this. It was barely in place and if it slipped up a little more, would not be in his stomach so they pushed it in about 2 inches. Karl worked on  an IV pump and Glen worked on the baby caskets.We only worked a half a day today so we could go to the children's center to show Glen and Mary Ann. The hospital started the children's center and they now have 38 kids. It varies as some do go back home and new ones come but a lot of them have ongoing medical needs and the parents can't care for them. Some of the kids have been abandoned or neglected and a small percent of them are there only temporary until they get better which could be after many surgeries or until they are strong enough. We brought the kids some tootsie rolls and lollipops for the little ones.

 After the children's home, we took them to meet Tubercia, the woman with 11 children that Conestoga Church helped raise funds to build her a block house many years ago.  We had a nice visit with her and saw some the children. Most are grown but she still has 4-5 at home. The youngest are 12 year old twins. She let us show Mary Ann and Glen inside her old house and in her new one. She is sewing ( more like embroidery) to make enough money to send the kids to school.She also has a pig with the hope of having baby pigs to sell.  

Thank you for your prayers and support that allows to to continue to serve in this way. We are truly grateful for all of you. It will be hard for me leave this year as my heart here.  

Monday

   It was a bitter sweet day..Jose had a rough weekend the nurse told me. Today wasn't much better. He cried a lot. He had to have a tube put in down his nose into his stomach to eat. He also had to go for an x ray. His blood sugar dropped to a dangerously low 46 . He had to be fed sugar water through a syringe.He was not happy today although he seemed stronger. He could actually turn his head and his little legs seemed stronger when he kicked and cried while they put the tube in. His blood sugar dropped to a dangerous 46 and he needed to be fed sugar water by a syringe.

Mary Ann's little one had good news. When we arrived this morning the mom said she missed us the two days we were not here. We both got a big hug. The baby  was doing very well and it looks like she will be going home this weekend although she is only a little over 3 lbs. Her daddy came for a visit and the mom went home this afternoon with him, the first time in 23 days! She will be back tomorrow.  

 Karl worked on putting the C- arm back together since they can't get the part they need. Then he worked on the oxygenator, and tried to fix a missionary's dryer but needs a part to complete the job.  

Glen worked on finishing up the cart he started on Friday and then made several small caskets in 3 different sizes for the hospital to have on hand. I am hoping they do not need one for my little baby.  

 Please pray for baby Miligro that she will will continue to eat and be able to go home this weekend. Also pray for Jose that the doctors will be able to figure out exactly what's wrong with him resolve the issue. 

Thank you for continued prayers for all of us.  we count on them every day.

Sunday

We went to church this morning. After church we went to eat as we also grocery shop while in the city and it is too far to come home,eat and return. While grocery shopping both Mary Ann and I picked out a few things for the babies we are caring for at the hospital. Jose, the baby I am caring for has no clothing and no blanket to put around him. I chose to get him a little shirt and 3 baby towels as they were less expensive than one blanket and can be used to wrap him in. I also got a toy to hang above where he sleeps as he is starting to look around and I thought it would help keep his eyes focused on something. Mary Ann chose to get 2 packages of diapers,one for the baby she is caring for and one for the hospital. She also got a onesie for Milagro, the baby she is caring for. Please keep these little ones in your prayers. 

Saturday  

A day off from the hospital but I am concerned about the baby I am caring for. He seemed to eat better yesterday but it took a lot of retraining the nurses on the formula. People here breastfeed their babies and they rarely deal with formula. I wish we were closer to the hospital so I could go check on him today. He is very weak but I have seen some progress in the week I've been with him. He now moves his arms and legs and attempts to hold his head a bit but still can not. He keeps his eyes open longer also. He even smiled for me. Hope he does not regress. Please keep little Jose in your prayers. 

  Yesterday Glen worked on making a wooden cart for the hospital and Karl worked on the oxygenator for the hospital. Mary Ann and I did babies. Love my job this year! 

Karl will some gardening this morning. The repair man is here for the refrigerator at our neighbor's house that we are caring for while they are in the states and the repairman for our house is coming this morning. After that, Karl and Glen will go to town to get a part for our house (, if he can get it ) and try to meet up with Freddy whom we have been witnessing to for several years. I had laundry to finish. 

The days are going by quickly and I can't believe we are half way through our trip already. Praising God for good health and safety so far. please continue to pray for us, especially as Karl drives on the roads. Pray our car continues to run and for our health and safety. Feel free to email us, we would love to hear from you.

Wednesday  

It was raining very hard when we left for work at 7 am but by the time we arrived at he hospital it had stopped. Today was a day of doing things we really enjoyed. Mary Ann and I were assigned to help with two premature babies. The little one I cared for today was 21/2 months old and only weighed 6 lbs.His mother was told to bring the baby in for a follow up visit but never did. When she finally brought him back  he was in bad shape. Malnutritioned and possibly other serious issues but they are not able to do all the testing the baby needed here. He has no strength at all and is very weak.The mother wanted to bring the baby back home but when the hospital said no as he was too sick, the mother just left the baby behind and went home. My job was to feed him, hold him,change him and care for him all day. The other baby was a 3 lb baby who needed to be fed every 2 hours and the mother was exagusted. Mary Ann helped with her today. She fed the baby so the mom could get some sleep and held the baby to give the mom a break as well as change the baby. We will be doing this the remainder of the week so I may not post anything the rest of the week. 

Glen continues to make house signs out of wood which he really enjoys. Karl continues to work on the c- arm.  

Tuesday

We left at 7 am for the hospital and arrived at 8 am for work. In the lobby of the hospital there was a 4 day old baby. When I asked what it's name was they said they had not named it yet. Both Mary Ann and I  expected to work in vital signs again but when we went to our area we were told there were no patients for us as only 2 doctors were in,so we continued to do what we left off doing yesterday which was pulling files for the optomology team coming soon. We did that all day but finally finished. 

At lunchtime we saw one monkey in the tree taking a nap. Later he woke up so we could get a photo of him. 

During the night a pregnant woman with eclampsia came into the hospital and was in great danger of losing her and the life of her unborn baby. The doctor had to take the baby. The baby weighed only 1 lb something and did not make it. Glen was able to make a casket for the little baby. Once he finished that he continued to work in the woods shop making house numbers for different areas around the hospital grounds. Karl worked on the PA system and once he completed that he worked on the C- arm. It was a busy,very hot,but fulfilling day completing some of the tasks set before us today.