December Update

 Happy holidays and Merry Christmas!

 

Sorry it has been so long since my last update. I’m going to use this blog to write about updates from the last couple of months and then post another blog soon with a reflection on one of my call nights.

 

-Covid here has significantly improved. Our Covid ward has gone from 20+ patients to 2, and we are no longer regularly seeing patients with Covid coming through the ER and clinic.

 

-Before it left, however, I contracted Covid. Thankfully my symptoms were mostly mild, likely due to vaccination. I still am without smell, which, occasionally (draining an abscess or cleaning a sore) is kind of nice.

 

-I was able to go on vacation in November to West New Britain, one of the smaller islands that makes up Papua New Guinea. It was a nice break and wonderful to see new parts of Papua New Guinea. Some of the pictures from our trip are included here.

 

-Our garden is growing. We have gotten lots of cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes and radishes. I harvested our first broccoli and green beans yesterday. Hopefully we will soon have pumpkins, butternut squash, watermelon, carrots and strawberries coming in.

 

-After short partial closures due to funding deficits and Covid-related staff shortages, we are now fully reopen. We have been seeing lots of patients the last few weeks in clinic and the ER. Some of them have come from long distances (due to closures of other hospitals) and many have not received care for months. We are now working to make up for a lot of lost time in treating some of these conditions. Last week I saw a 10-year-old boy with right hemiplegia that had been present for 8 months. He had signs of a problem with his central nervous system (hyperreflexia, positive Babinski, clonus, and weakness). Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine what is causing this condition and whether it might be treatable or not with the resources that we have here. I am trying steroid medication and hoping he can come review with me in clinic in a week. While CT scan and MRI are available in the country, they are only available in a couple of locations and frequently the cost is very high, both to travel to these locations and to pay for the imaging. Even when patients can get these tests, frequently they are nonspecific or show diseases that we are not able to treat.

 

-Christmas is in full swing here. There have been lots of activities and celebrations. I have enjoyed getting to interact more with the many children on station. Taylor and I put together a campfire and s’mores event one night for the kids. S’mores are a rare treat as everything but the chocolate is very difficult to get here.

 

 

 

 

Prayer Requests:

-Strength for December as many staff are taking end-of-year/Christmas vacation so there will be some busier days before the end of the year

-Our patients across the highlands who have been without consistent medical care for large time periods during the pandemic. Please pray that they would be able to find care and that we would have wisdom in treating them. Please pray that God would provide peace to family, comfort for those who are dying and healing to those who are sick.

-Comfort for me and for family as the holidays emphasize the distance between PNG and the US. It is closing in on a year since I have been here, which is a long time to not see family.

I am praying for you and hope this time of year brings healing and peace as we reflect on the incredible mystery of God becoming a baby to show His love in the midst of such a crazy world.