Thursday 21 January 2010

Brutus has a new toy

Yesterday my roommate Becky walked out the door and over to her car, prepared to go back to work for the afternoon.  To her surprise, she found a a stray kitten hiding under Herbie (a.k.a. "The Love Bug").  Wow, what a sorry piece of fur... malnourished, filthy, and covered with fleas.  The kitty was so weak; it wobbled as it walked and could barely hold up its head.  Both of our hearts melted (I am so my father's daughter), and we decided to try and nurse the poor thing back to health.  Meti gave [what we think is a] her a bath and sprinkled her with flea powder.  Though I must say she didn't come out looking much better than she started!  This cat is gunna need some serious rehab.








Pete the Chicken Cat was of course traumatized by this new addition to our family.  He has been pouting ever since she arrived.  Brutus, on the other hand, really loves his new toy.  We are doing our best to keep him from nosing and drooling her to death.  And she tolerates him amazingly well.

As far as a name for this little one, "Sorry Piece of Fur" just won't due.  Too bad Camela isn't to help me come up with something really interesting.  (We had one cat named "That" and another named "Dog" thanks to her creativity.)  Perhaps I will follow the PNG tradition of not naming a child for a couple of weeks while I think on it.  Any suggestions from cyberspace?

Wednesday 20 January 2010

One year

One year ago today I arrive in Papua New Guinea.  Wow... has it really been a year?  This week I am reading back through my blog entries and remembering the things I have experienced, the patients I have cared for, the people who have touched my life.  Time sure flies when you are having fun.  And boy am I having fun!  Thank you, Lord, for the blessings of serving at Kudjip.

Celebrating this anniversary also has me looking to the future.  2009 was all about getting settled in Papua New Guinea and learning the medical part of my job.  What are my goals and dreams for this upcoming year?  

First of all, I want to share Jesus with the patients, my co-workders, the people I meet on the road or in the market, friends and family back home.  Papa, how can I do that better?  Help my every action and word to radiate your love.  Use me to mend broken lives as well as broken bodies.  

Second, I want to build deeper friendships with the Papua New Guineans.  This week, Dr. Erin and I organized a Bible study with some of the single gals who work at the hospital or live on station.  I am really excited about getting to know these ladies, to study the Word and grow together.

So these are my resolutions for 2010.  A short but sweet list.  


"This is love:  not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."
~ 1 John 4:10-12


SDG

Monday 18 January 2010

Babies babies everywhere

I took a brief vacation from blogging over the holidays, but I'm back and ready to share with you what is happening in 2010!

As I mentioned in my previous entry, the hospital was closed for almost a two week period just prior to Christmas.  This was due to a conflict with one of the local tribes.  Thankfully that has all been resolved and we re-opened for business on Christmas Eve.  It took a few days for word to spread, but we have definitely made up for the time off in the first weeks of this new year!  Last week every ward was full to overflowing.

I am currently the D-ward doc.  "D" is now the designated letter for maternity ward.  It has been quite a busy week... we have babies babies everywhere!  Almost every bed was filled with a laboring or new mama.  The nursery is quite full with the little ones, mostly premature and low birth weight babies that need extra special care.  I think we had four sets of twins at one point.  Thankfully they are all doing well and growing slowly but surely.  

We have celebrated two "2000 Gram Parties" in recent days.  Mandela had her baby early December.  She had a placenta previa and began bleeding, so she had an emergency c-section at about 7 months of pregnancy.  Baby of Mandela was only 1600 grams when she was first born, and was the first to reach the 2000 gram milestone in 2010.  Despite her now good growth, she is having difficulty learning to breast feed and will need to stay at the hospital until she is able to feed on her own.  







Our second party of the year was held today in honor of Rose and her two babies.  The twins had a rough start but are now growing like two little weeds!






I so enjoy my days on D-ward, for the most part anyways :).  I especially love taking care of the mamas and their little babies in the nursery.  They often stay for several weeks or even months while waiting for the babies to grow big enough to go home.  What a privilege it is to look out for these precious ones!

Wednesday 13 January 2010