Africa Part #2

Day #3 of our trip would begin our time in Korah at the Greater Hope Church starting clinic.  When we awoke it was raining which we didn't expect and the power was out.  I was excited to see what the day would hold yet a little nervous of what I would see.  Wow!!  doesn't even begin to explain what we saw.  The pavement of Addis ends and the rocky, muddy roads of Korah begin. Women had their mats set up outside their homes with their handful of veggies, fruit, etc that they had collected from the dump and are now selling.

We arrived at the church and set up our clinic.  I cannot tell you how amazingly smooth things went.  This was the first medical missions trip to come into the church and we had no idea of how we would set up and we had a wonderful clinic set up within 15 minutes!!  Awesome team work with everyone.  Totally could see God working and how he had it all laid out for us!! 

I will say that the first few days at the school and the first few hours of  our first clinic I was kind of running on auto pilot.  Like you do sometimes as a nurse you just go in treat your patient, smile and love on them some and then carry on with your day.  Always kind of keeping up a wall to some extent because to get emotionally involved each time would be exhausting.  I hope that doesn't seem cold, maybe it makes sense.  Anyway, I didn't really realize that is what I was doing until we met Eden.  She was  a 14 year old young girl who came in to be seen.  She complained of her knee hurting and she had cysts on her knees that had already been drained.  She was also complaining of  mass under her knee now and one on her collar bone.  We didn't have anything we could do for her and kept telling her she really needed to be seen at the hospital by local doctors....she needed x-rays.  She kept being persistent and did finally walk away.  I noticed her wipe her eye as she walked off so I asked Bizzy our translator that day what all she had said.  He told us that she didn't have any way to go to the clinic for x-rays because she couldn't pay for them.  Come to find out the x-rays she needed were $12....Covered!!!  No problem!!  This just broke me because a 14 year old shouldn't having to be fighting alone for medical care and she shouldn't have to worry about how it is going to be paid for and she shouldn't have to be worried about the growths and if it is cancer or if it will go away.  How could we turn her away.....all her hope she had put on us!!  I am happy to say that Eden has had the tests she needs and that her scans do show abnormal bone growth in her legs but from what I understand should go away by the time she is in her 20's.  Of course  nothing can be done cosmetically right now for her legs but the great news is that it isn't cancerous growth and she doesn't require surgery!!! 

So here are some of the pictures and I think this only gets us through the first day maybe two of clinic.  I will try and post more.  I hope they are in some kind of order.  I don't really feel this even sheds a light on what I actually experienced but maybe it helps!  The people of Korah are beautiful people!!  I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to meet them and let God work through me.....our God is Awesome!!