Referral Patient Update

Blogging has sunk low on my list as life continues at breakneck speed here in Bundibugyo. But then again, I know my primary purpose here is not blogging and I’m thankful to be busy in ministry :)

Over a month ago, I wrote here about Friday—a 3 year old referral patient with suspected Burkitt’s lymphoma. I am so happy to report that he was admitted at Mulago’s Cancer Institute and has been receiving care for several weeks now. He has responded well to the treatments and I was so happy to see a photo of him sent by email last week.

As you can see, he is still clearly sick and has a way to go but he is the first success story from Mulago—the country’s biggest referral hospital in Kampala. You may also remember his sister, Zawadi, who has sickle cell and went to Kampala with an exposed leg bone due to a serious infection. Another success! She had surgery at an orthopedic hospital, recovered, and is back in Bundibugyo with her mother as of yesterday. God is so good in his timing too—the mom of the family is about to produce their third child so I’m happy she will be back home for the birth!

Please continue to pray for this family as well as the eleven other patients currently in my file! Pray for Wycliffe, a 6 year old with glaucoma, in need of eye surgery. Pray for Biira, a severely malnourished baby that had a cleft palate surgery that didn’t heal properly. Pray for Godfrey, a 1 year old, who is having surgery on Monday to remove a fatty tumor from his chest. Pray for Lillian, a 13 year old, who needs to see a kidney specialist. Pray for Filimoni who just had surgery yesterday for hydrocephaly. Pray for little Ismail who has tuberculosis and is waiting on a biopsy for a possible lymphoma diagnosis.

I am so thankful that God knows the number of hairs on each of these patient's’ heads. A strange thought, perhaps. But, reassuring nonetheless as I struggle to make connections with hospitals and social workers, sending these people off into the unknown, praying that they will receive the care they need. I regularly feel my compassion stretched thin as I get phone calls at 7:30 AM, a family of five shows up at my door before I’ve had my coffee or the phone network is down and my hands are tied. But, the rewards are great as I see the above photo in my inbox, when parents say “thank you”, and when I make a new connection at a hospital I’ve never set eyes on.

My desk may be cluttered (see exhibit A below). But I’m thankful for the opportunity to help those who are hopeless. And I’m thankful that God can speak to their hearts in any language, pointing them to the one true Hope.