Tuesday, 13-1-09

January 13th, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized

Today we rounded like usual.  Then I got in the operating room for the first time!!!  Our first case was a 2 yr old boy who had a distended, tender belly and was taken back for an exploratory laparotomy.  I asked Dr. Faile what he thought we would find and he said an abdomen full of pus, but he wasn’t sure what the cause would be.  The little guy had been on typhoid fever treatment for almost a week.  When we opened his belly a whoosh of air came and then yellow pus, lots of it!  As we kept looking we found that he had a perforated small bowel (small hole) from typhoid fever.  It is common to for typhoid fever patients to get perforations in their small bowel and his was “average size” and he had only one.

The next case I assisted with was a hydrocele repair.  These are done in the States occasionally but not usually as severe as what we see here in Africa.  Today’s hydrocele was about the size of a potatoe, but we saw a really big one in clinic yesterday that was the size of a football!  Ouch! 

The third case I assisted with was a hernia repair.  Hernias are very common here and vary in size from the size of a fist to at least a liter if not more.  We did all of this before lunch!

After lunch I watched another hernia repair, a lipoma (benign fatty tumor) removal and a skin graft to finish up the day.  This evening we had fried chicken, mashed potatoes w/ gravy and green beans!!! :)  YUM YUM!

Also got a couple pics posted on the blog today!

Love ya all and thanks for your continued prayers!  God Bless!

  1. One Response to “Tuesday, 13-1-09”

  2. By Mendi on Jan 13, 2009

    Oh my dear Kristen…I will have to pray about sharing today’s update with MaKayla before I do. The whole “pus” thing is about more than her mind and stomach can tolerate…literally!?! I just can’t even begin to imagine the things you are seeing and taking part in. One thing about it, the experience you are gaining through your time in Africa can never be duplicated. God has designed it perfectly just for you!

    Hernia…I had no idea what caused a hernia until I went for my post-op visit last Thursday and Dr. Goeking told me that if I didn’t quit lifting I was going to end up with one. Oops! I promised I would listen better and then Monday came which is laundry day… It’s just so hard for me to let others help when I’m used to doing it all myself. I’m sure your dad can relate to that one!

    MaKayla braved the cold today and helped my dad and brother cut wood while Mal spent time with my mom. I think it’s the first day I’ve had alone in more than a year and it has been wonderful. I’ve greatly enjoyed my time with the Lord in the peace and quiet! :o)

    The pictures that you posted are beautiful! Thanks for sharing…

    We continue to pray for you each and every day and we praise God that He has kept you well, safe and usable for His glory!

    Love~
    Mendi

You must be logged in to post a comment.