A Nurse's Notes

Back at Kibogora

It was so good to get back to Kibogora with a warm shower, electricity, and the internet.  But then it’s always great to get home.  I’m glad we went to Nundu and am more thankful for what I have at Kibogora!

Working at Nundu

Nundu Mission Station is quite a large area with the hospital, the church, the mission houses, an orphanage, two schools, a work shop, landing strip for airplanes (no longer usable), and still land to spare.  We toured everything, except for the landing strip.  Compared to Kibogora, Nundu’s hospital facilities are very basic with not many supplies and equipment and no electricity except for a generator for surgeries.  One building had no curtains, so they sewed together long strips of bandages to make curtains.  The sad, yet funny thing is that women in America spent hours tearing sheets into strips and rolling them into bandages to send to Africa!

Walking through the operating room I noticed that the surgical drapes and gowns were all pretty old, so I offered to repair any that I could.  That became my job for the next three days.  Using a treadle sewing machine, I made new surgical drapes out of pillowcases and repaired their old ones.  The problem was that most of the drapes were dated 1954, so some were beyond repair!  One gown was in such bad shape that it needed a whole new front and one sleeve replaced.  I did it, but when the patch is bigger than the rest of the old fabric, something needs to change!! J

Off to Nundu

This week my parents and I went to visit Nundu Free Methodist Hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  It was my first time to cross a new border without another missionary to help.  Glad we went this year as once we were on the Congo side, the officials spoke only French.  Last year I would have been in trouble because my French wasn’t good enough to understand and answer their questions!  We drove 1½ hours south to Uvira, a “large” town where we were to meet our friend Randy Matthewson then drive to Nundu.  All that went so smoothly, it was amazing for Africa! 

As we headed out of Uvira, the road was not paved, but quite nice.  I was surprised the road was better than the one near Kibogora because I had heard stories of how bad this road was.  The big difference was there were only a few bridges, so I had to drive through the rivers flowing across the road.  I was glad it was dry season, so the rivers were quite low.  That was...until I got to the big river!  As I watched Randy drive through, I started getting a little nervous when the water level reached higher than the tires!  But Randy made it.  So after a quick and desperate prayer, I threw the car into 4-wheel drive and took off.  As the water got deeper and deeper, I kept reminding myself, “Don’t stop, you have to keep moving.  Don’t stop, keep moving.”  I made it!  (They’re almost finished building a bridge across that river; I’ll be glad when it’s done!)  

As we kept going, the potholes got deeper.  Now the road was definitely worse than near Kibogora.  We ended up with a flat tire.  Randy said, “No problem, we’re almost there.  Only 10 kilometers to go.”  I was so glad since I was tired after ten hours of driving.  With the tire fixed and on the road again, I realized we were only traveling about 10 kilometers an hour, so we weren’t quite “almost there!”  It was wonderful to arrive at Nundu and get out of the car!

Off to Kigali

I leave today for Kigali to pick up my parents at the airport for their summer visit. The only thing wrong with the picture is that I’m leaving home before they are. I only have to travel five hours while they're traveling halfway around the world. J But I do have lots of shopping to do and other visitors to meet at the airport, so I'll have plenty to do to keep me out of trouble!

New Toys

A Church sent us some toys, here are pictures of the kids in pediatrics enjoying the toys!

Eskimo Baby

Last night the nurses came over for our pizza and movie night.  They brought Baby Grace who is now one month old.  The joke was that we needed to introduce her to pizza.  When Grace arrived, she was dressed in a pretty white knit sweater and hat and wrapped in a flannel receiving blanket and two crocheted afghans.  On top of all that, a polar fleece blanket covered her to keep the mosquitoes away.  All of this when it was only 60 degrees out!  All the nurses were quite excited when I took her picture.  Grace was more surprised by the flash.  J  The nurses loved watching That Darn Cat, but Grace slept through it.

All Torn Up

At Christmas my grandmother gave me money to buy floor tiles for my dining room.  So last week my dining room was all torn up.  I decided to have the workers add eighteen inches to the width of my bedroom closet which sticks out into the dining room.  When it's finished, I'll actually be able to walk into the closet!!  J  The floor is now done, but the dining room desperately needs a few coats of paint.  And a set of new curtains!  Then I can move everything in my front room back into the dining room.  J

My Newest Quilt

This was a fast and easy quilt to make, but I think it's going to be one of my favorites!!  It will go on Sheila’s guest bed when it is done.  I finished the top and am hoping to buy the batting in Kigali when I go pick up my parents.  Last time I looked for batting, I didn’t find any, so will try again. J

Happy Birthday to Me

It was nice having my birthday on a Saturday as it's kind of a day off.  J  And to make sure I really took the day off, Baby Grace came over for the morning.  (Grace is the baby found abandoned in the woods.)  The maternity nurses were all busy, so I brought her to my house.  I played with Grace and worked on sewing projects.  In the evening I had dinner with Sheila and then we had cake and watched a film with Bill and Sue.  The chocolate chip cookie cake was good, but the frosting tasted like lavender scented soap!  So we scraped the frosting off.  J  The gifts will be opened when my folks arrive and celebrate Sheila’s and my birthdays together.  J

Flip Flops

We had fun in pediatrics yesterday!  Sue and Bill, the nurse practitioners from the U.S., -- their church sent a huge box of kids' flip-flops and clothes.  We handed them out along with some hats crocheted by a friend of mine.  It was just like Christmas!  Except for the pair of monkey slippers.  Nobody wanted them.  All the kids were scared of the big monkeys on the toes!  Something we don’t think of!  J