Hospitals are so sad Pray for cooperation from US EMbassy on Visa information

Tuesday, april 30, 2013

Today was exhausting but when we look back, we did not do a whole lot.  We started off going into the public hospital here in Mombasa, Coast General.  I hate hospitals even at home so this was outside my comfort zone totally. Judy was kind enough to get us into the Children's Ward and the Children's Cancer ward. She works with an organization called PACK that goes into the community to find kids that need the cancer treatments they focus on and brings them to the hospitals and pays for all the drugs.  The parents only need to pay for the bed in the hospitals and they work with them to try to reduce the rate for that. There was one little boy in there and he had a tumor in his right checks so bad that his eye was turned inside and you could only see white. It was 10X the size of the other check when he started treatment and he was through a few weeks of treatment already and it was reduced to maybe 4X the other check now. The ward beds were very dirty. They have one option for treating this and if that does not work, there are no other options. Every person gets the same regiment, no matter the case. It is very much of a checklist situation and if you don't fit into the checklist you are just left or asked to leave.

Like all other buildings in Kenya, the hospital is an open air facility. The flies were around and you could see dust flying in from construction work. It was also very noisy from the street traffic as well as construction or something going on above us. The ward was full of kids with their moms mostly and a few dads sitting with them. Not much was going on to help anyone while we were there. They did, just before we came, return form the morning lecture to the parents. Each morning they take all the parents and talk to them about a topic, maybe personal hygiene, phenomena, or whatever the topic may be and the parents sit and listen to the lecture on that topic.  While we were there, the nurse briefed is a little bit, but I did not see the nurses doing anything except standing at nurses stand talking and cleaning a little bit.  Early in our visit I saw one small group of doctors talking with one mom and looking at one baby there but that was all.  

We handed out Burger King crowns to all the kids and some of the parents. That brightened their day a little bit. One boy was so skinny and couldn't even lie down on the bed it hurt to be touched so bad. They think he has a heart condition. He looked very malnourished.  There were some very, very little babies there too.

The hospital gets very over-crowded. When that happens, they sleep people 2 patients in one bed.  Can you imagine, you are so sick that you take yourself to the hospital, and then they are so crowed they put in a bed with another person.

Also Judy indicated that people have to bring a relative or friend with them to stay in the hospital because they are short nurses and they cannot handle all requests so people must have a person with them to help them - get to the bathroom, or other things like that.  I have also heard that from others that you need to bring your own food into the facility as well.  


That was hard to see and takes a lot out of you.  Especially seeing childhood cancer. I know I could never be a nurse at any level.  So grateful for those who are and people like Judy who is not a nurse but is treated by the hospital staff as though she is doctor and has all the answers for cases they don't have answers for.  One of the biggest problems that someone could probably easily could solve in a year is this. There are a ton of NGO (non-governmental organizations) what we in the states could consider a non-profit - but know one knows about them. So one someone comes to the hospital they just sit there or are sent home even though there is an organization out there that is willing and set up to help. If someone could come make a listing of all the NGO's and what they are doing and get that document circulated, that would be so helpful and save probably thousands and thousands of lives.  Anyone up for the challenge?

For example, we are working on a pregnancy crises center. I have meet with governmental officials, lawyers, social works, and other professionals and everyone says no such thing exists except in Nairobi. Now since I've been here, I have found 2 such centers up and running already, another wonderful woman who is attempting to start one.  There is still a great need, and there is not one current in Mombasa proper, but there is one on South Coast and one in Mtwapa.  Luckily God brought the right people to us to show us those examples to help us get started, but again a listing of these NGO's would be amazingly helpful. Come to think of it, if they are truly an NGO, they have to register with the government and it "should" be easy to get that information together in Nairobi - Again, any takers on that challenge?  Where are all my organizers/office assistants?

Then we went to visit a lawyer to talk about international adoption issues. She was very helpful and very knowledgeable.  She was one of the two people that bought my book in the Nairobi airport. That is where we meet her. She is a member of the Christian Lawyers Association.  She is also a law school professor and she does all family law!  We had no idea what area of law she practiced in. She was very helpful in talking through guardianship vs. child custody vs. international adoption and what would work best in the specific situation we were looking into. It looks like we may be able to get this taken care of in a few weeks, which if going another way, would have taking 9-18 months.  PLEASE PRAY FOR MY DISCUSSION LATER THIS WEEK WITH THE US EMBASSY.  That will be the key to this whole process.  We need the US to issue the child a Visa with a child custody order, and an adoption order. I don't want to go into all the details, as this has nothing to do with me specifically except for the legal work, but just pray with us.

After our great meeting with Mercy, we went shopping downtown in the streets. Looking for more scarves to sell at the craft fairs in November and December next year as well as beaded flip flops for me and Brooklyn. It is always a bit stressful shopping down there as cars and trucks pull through alleys that they don't really fit down and they have very little regard for people and there are thousands of people everywhere and we stand out like a sore thumb with our white skin and they all assume we are rich.  We had good luck with the prices this time. Got a good deal on the scarves and the flip-flops and they were a little different than other ones I had seen on previous trips.  I paid almost half price of that last time I got flip flops and they were the same quality.  So wish I could bring flip-flops back to sell, but they are a little too expensive and so hard to buy right sizes and colors.

Then we went to the wood carver shop which is way out of the way but a great deal and a great weight loss regiment as the shop is literally like a greenhouse sauna as you are checking out and the process is long as they hand write everything and rarely have correct change.  But found a few really cute things for sale and for the house.  Got an awesome table for Sue so I could grab a table she bought at a previous store for my living room.

Then we headed back over to the outskirts or town near where we are staying for a mocha!  One in our group loves Mocha and they usually have wi-fi at those places.  So Sue and Laura get their mochas and Jayne and I make phone calls and search on Wi-fi to get everything together for the pregnancy crises center. So we made a ton of calls and research on the training programs.  Worked for about 2 hours on getting things together and ready for our kick off meeting on Wed. at Crossroads.

Then back to the house to swim, shower and get ready for dinner at Paul and Rose's house tonight.  Their house is just like a West Allis home with great modelings and archway architecture.  They live just down the road from Crossroads towards the NAkkumatt (the store similar to Walmart here). It is very warm and inviting. Paul and Rose got married on November 17 last year.  It was great to see their photos from the day. It was beautiful. It was at a hotel right on the ocean.

Paul made Kenyan beef stew and Rose made American apple pie.  The food was delicious and it was great to talk with them.  Haven't seen much of Paul this trip as Rose and Paul were gone for a week and a half before we came in Western Kenya, visiting his parents so their is a lot of catching up to do and Paul called all the Vipingo kids into school for us to see them so he has been very busy.  Rose had come along on a few visits with us and we ran into her at Dorman's with free air-conditioning and WIFI and she had a lot of work to do to get her licensing squared away in the states.

Another great night!