During the month of November, we treated 16 patients from our village community and our local fellowships. Some were routine care and others were special cases for which we raised additional funding through Kingdom Driven Ministries.
One woman, Naomi Wanjala , went to our local clinic at the end of last month (October) with what we thought would be a routine labor and delivery. She did deliver a beautiful baby girl, but suddenly experienced hemorrhaging afterwards and was subsequently referred to the district hospital. When the bleeding ceased, she was discharged. However, her condition did not improve. Her post-partum bleeding abruptly stopped completely and her milk never came in for the baby. We immediately requested special funding from our donors and received enough to send her to a local private hospital where she could receive a better quality of care. Based on our understanding of her symptoms and some good old Google searching, we suspected thyroid problems due to the post-partum hemorrhage, what is known as Sheehan’s Syndrome. She received several blood transfusions at the hospital and also some injections to address the thyroid issues. After an initial visit and follow-up at the hospital, we are happy to report that Naomi is now feeling much improved, and is producing a small amount of mother’s milk for the little one! We had also received some funding earmarked for baby formula, which was received as a great blessing by the family in the initial weeks of stress, and is now still being used to supplement Naomi’s nursing efforts.
Another special case was 4 year-old Alvin, grandson of one our fellowship’s wazee (elder men). He had a bump in his nose which was making breathing difficult and he often cried from discomfort. The family did not have means to even take him in for a diagnosis, much less treatment, so this condition lingered for quite some time until we were able to secure some funding to send him to the District hospital for a consultation. It was diagnosed as a nasal polyp or cyst, and he had a special scan to assess and measure the growth in anticipation of surgical removal. It was so large that it was found to have fractured the bone in his nose, thus the pain he was having, poor little guy! Several families cooperatively gave enough money to fund the surgery, which will take place soon. Praise the Lord! Please pray with us for complete removal of the cyst and healing for Alvin, as in a small percentage of cases the polyp can re-grow.
Our regular medical assistance for the community and for our fellowships goes out as the needs present themselves. This month, several patients were treated for pneumonia and other respiratory infections (including 2 month-old Jeremiah), as well as septic wounds, trauma from assault, malaria, and even a breast ulcer. We also treated a couple of ear infections. Mary Stella, an older Mama in our local fellowship who has had club feet from birth but is remarkably self-sufficient and joyful in the Lord, suffered an unfortunate accident on a motorbike during routine travel and was sent to the District hospital for a cast. Please pray for her complete recovery!
Our expenses for routine medical care this month (including purchase of OTC malaria medicine and ibuprofen, but excluding special cases, which received their own funding) came to approximately $300. We are thankful for all those who have so generously given to care for these needs. We see their faces, experience their pain, and know their joy in having brothers and sisters around the world care for them!