The Lull

It has been a strange 8 weeks.  It has caught me off guard.  I am not sure how to interpret it all, nor am I sure how to write about it.  I feel like up until now we have been traveling at 100 miles an hour, and then all of a sudden we stopped.

It is strange, with this change of pace I have had to re-learn how to take time for myself – to read, to exercise, to study.  It has been a welcomed change but also concerning.  I was near my end.

Noah loved the water!

The start of the change was abrupt and planned.  Short term help was coming and we were given 10 days of vacation starting March 15.  We left the compound tired but happy.  We traveled to Ghana for the 10 days spending time hiking, sleeping, eating, and exploring Accra and the Gold coast learning about the slave trade.  We return to the compound on the 23^rd having had a good time but also a bit anxious on what was waiting for us.

What was waiting for us turned out to be more doctors.  Surprising what a few more doctors can do!  It’s like night and day.  We have been running anywhere from 8 to 11 doctors for the last 8 weeks.  This is up from 5 doctors during our first 9 months.  Oh the difference it makes!

With the extra help I was able to spend 4 weeks working solely with the surgeons.  Yes, I was on call every 3^rd night but it was different.  Prior to these 4 weeks, when I was on call, I was making the decisions.  Now I was nothing more than a resident, a lackey, working under two other doctors.  The responsibility was not mine!  It was nice for a multiple of reasons.  First, I got to see and be a part of a lot –para-cardiocentesis, inguinal hernia repair, exploratory laparotomy, bowel resection, below the elbow arm amputation, sign nail, casting, fracture reduction, biopsy, mastectomy, central line, cardiac window, supra pubic cath placement, prostectomy, anal fistula / fissure repair, myelomeningocele repair, etc.  Second, I was not responsible for all the decisions being made.  Third, I learned a lot and because of it, I have become a better doctor.  Now, if I could only get five more months like that.

Since the beginning of May, and because of the short termers, our call schedule has changed.  We are now each now doing call – OB and Medicine – only every 4^th night giving us a total of 15 on call shifts a month, in addition to regular hours, and not the 20 to 30 we were doing before.  Topping this off are Dr. B and Dr. C, two family doctors who also do OB.  There seems like nothing the 4 of us will not hesitate to tackle and/or discuss – tetanus, Potts disease, breech delivery, oligohydramnios, polymyositis, TB, etc.  It is refreshing and fun.

Reaching beyond this, we have started to reach out to the community in the first of what we hope are many projects.  We have arranged to get 5 PET – personal energized transportation – vehicles from the US to Togo.  A hospital pastor has identified 5 persons suffering from debility who require “all-terrain” wheelchairs to get around.  We are hoping the vehicles will be here by the end of June to distribute them during the months of July and August.  If the PET wheel chairs turn out to be sturdy and practical in the Togo environment, we are hoping to import more.

The timing of the lull is interesting as we are considering and praying about our future.  If it was a matter of interesting work, it would be a no brainer, we are staying.  But there are more factors than that such as sustainability.  To stay would mean a commitment of not merely two years, but a place to build a home, a base, a future.  Anyone can work hard for 6 months to a year, but what about 5 years? 10 years?  Without the lull I would call the schedule unsustainable.  With the lull I would call it sustainable.  The challenge becomes now to determine what is normal, the first 9 months or the last 8 weeks?  Looking to the future, I am afraid that it is former.  I am afraid the lull is going to end sometime near the end of June.  Please continue to pray for us for God’s very clear direction in our lives and that we would find his strength during the tough times.

God Bless

Please also see our updated prayer requests and soon-to-be updated pictures.