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| Sharon |
It has been awhile since I've given an update on what's been happening in Uganda since I came back to Canada. We, meaning Wendy (sister) and I, together with all of you, want to develop a child surgery program. As you might know from following along while I was in Uganda we were able to see three children through the surgery process. They are: Sharon who had a large growth in her lower lumbar removed, George who had a testicular hernia fixed, and Brian who went for a major hip relocation. We have completed two more since that time, Angel and Vincent (both had hernias), through the help and facilitation of volunteers Steve and Christie Martin who were in Jinja for several weeks in July.
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| George |
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| Sharon and her Dad after surgery |
The organization of this program has developed significantly in that we have found a recent nursing graduate from the Jinja School of Nursing who is now helping us facilitate the program. Her name is Olivia. She has done an excellent job of updating us on the follow up care of the five children that we have worked with so far. She has a solid medical background, works well with kids, and has a generous spirit in her desire to help children in her country. We are working out a system of intake to determine who we are looking to work with and what the process of doing surgeries will look like. There are a lot of logistics in coordinating medical appointments and hospital stays for kids whose families have no money or resources to spare, especially if they are coming from outside of Jinja. Making sure the family and child get to the appointments at the right time on the right day, coordinating transportation, food, and accommodations before, during, and after surgery requires someone who is sharp, organized, and resourceful.
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| Sharon, Brian, George: all at Rippon Clinic |
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| Vincent | |
Olivia is starting to do this for us and we are very excited about the prospect of developing a program that will significantly improve the course of children's lives. With a single surgery we will be able to help a child go from being an outcast and neglected even by his own family to being a healthy participant in his family and community. We want to work with kids who would otherwise never be able to afford a surgery and for whom a surgery will change their life.
Here are some of our primary commitments with this program:
1) Use competent and trustworthy medical professionals to perform the exams and operations.
2) Facilitate the care of the child from the initial consultation through to complete recovery.
3) Develop trusting relationships with the medical clinics and their staff
4) Provide compassionate support to the child and his/her family
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| Last week: Brian in hip sipca and leg cast |
The prospect of bringing a child into a clinic to be examined and prepared for surgery is a scary experience for the child and the family. Most of those we work with will have never been in a hospital before. One walk through Jinja Main Hospital is enough to make anyone nervous as you see line ups of people awaiting medical care and the beds filled with patients on deaths door. I learned quickly that you don't go to the hospital in Africa unless there is something serious and it is often too late once the person finally gets the care they need. We don't want to start pumping through surgeries but rather take things slowly making sure that each child is responding well and is receiving the ingredients necessary to make a full recovery. Sometimes this is going to mean helping that family provide sufficient nutrition while the child is recovering.
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| o ya...the cast is finally off! |
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| Brian was excited to try out his new crutches |
Brian needs wound dressings where the pins were inserted and still has one more pin to come out in another week or so. After that we will begin physiotherapy. It will be a long road to get his hip joint active again and strengthening the muscles that have been contorted due to walking on a dislocated hip for the past two years. I trust that if anyone is resilient it is this little guy.
