Return to PNG

Familiar scenes flooded my senses as the car rolled down the Highlands highway. I had finally arrived in Papua New Guinea after close to three days of traveling, a missed connection in Manila extending the trip. Taking in the deep greens, the backdrop of the mountains and the people walking along the roadside, I felt in my heart that it was good to be back, maybe even that it was good to be home.

 

 

I have now been back in PNG for two weeks. I am here for another two-year term, although I think God may be calling me here for a longer time. My program through Samaritan’s Purse is over so I have come back through the Nazarene Church, which runs Kudjip Hospital, my place of work for the last two years. It wasn’t long after my arrival that I was back in the hospital seeing patients again. It is such a joy to be able to live and serve here.

 

A huge blessing to me was being able to work with Dr Kirk, a pediatric cardiologist from the US who has worked in PNG with our congenital heart disease patients for years, but who has not been able to come recently due to Covid. Last Friday, I spent the whole day doing echocardiograms with him, learning how to better identify and treat our patients suffering from congenital and rheumatic heart diseases. We identified 6-7 patients that would benefit from surgical intervention, some of which will take place in November in Port Moresby, the capital of PNG. Pictured is a patient who had a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) repaired with Dr Kirk a few years ago.

 

 

 

My second call shift was a good opportunity to remember some of the breadth of my work here. The morning was busy in the ER with a variety of illnesses from pneumonia to meningitis to heart failure. In the afternoon I was called to see a young boy who had been hit in the eye with a stick. He had a large tear in his cornea. I communicated with a Papua New Guinean colleague in the nearby town of Hagen who is an Ophthalmologist and we arranged transport for emergency surgery. Later in the evening, I took a woman for a C-section after the baby was taking too long to come down. Both baby and mom did well. Around 1 in the morning, I got called in for a car accident involving 5 individuals, several of whom needed suturing and one who’s hip had been dislocated and required a reduction. As I finished rounds the next day, I was exhausted but glad that I could use my skills to help the people here.

 

 

 

Stella was excited to see me when I got back. It has been fun to see her and all of the friends I had left here.

 

 

Prayer requests:

-For all of July and a good chunk of August I will be the most experienced full-time general doctor at the hospital. We will also be short our normal number of doctors. Please pray for wisdom and endurance as we do our best to take care of our patients.

-Deeper relationships with local PNGers

-A greater hunger for God among our community

-Protection and health (I have already been a little sick and many in our community have been struggling with health. Additionally, I have a stress injury in my right hip which prevents me from being able to walk far or do any running. This has been difficult for me as I really enjoy getting outside into the community and into nature)