May, and we had visitors!

 Happy mid-May, friends! Dry season is already a month in and the cooler temperatures have brought a sense of fall in our Southern Hemisphere home. Below are some pictures of our work and lives from April and May. We are grateful that we can walk and see God's goodness around us in "the land of the living" (Psalm 116:9).

Priscila and I gave lectures and simulations to nurses from the municipality's public hospital and clinics on OB and neonatal care. It was a delight and an opportunity to build relationships with other health workers in the area. Maternal and infant mortality remain a severe problem in our area: we average 100 neonatal deaths yearly at our hospital. The national estimate is 57.2 deaths per 1000 births (global average 28/1000; US average 5.6)

Digital x-ray has arrived at Kalukembe! No viewing stations yet, aside from the technician's monitor; but still, it is a big upgrade to get digital images. Most patients do not have smart phones (or even brick phones!), so nurses usually oblige to take pictures and show them to me or whatsapp them. The system is still far from perfect--many patients have x-rays taken and then lost. The technology is fresh, and I hope to see improvement in our diagnosis and management of patient conditions. This image is of a little boy with sickle cell and osteomyelitis in his arm. Sickle cell complications remain common and hydroxyurea remains expensive and scarce.

Dr Lena Gamble visit! Dr. Gamble, who worked at Kalukembe with us and now lives in the States, was back in Angola for a Freedom course conference her friends in Lubango have taken over organizing. She kindly took time out of her schedule to visit us and our staff friends at the hospital. The kids got to play chess, sing, remember and make new memories with her during her weekend visit. Thank you, Dr. Lena!

Rare (for Kalukembe) large bird sighting! This southern ground hornbill has been sighted several times in the last month around the hospital campus. 

May is our busiest malaria month, which means pediatrics ward overflows to the corridors and other wards. Please pray for our patients. Please pray for our patience in caring for so many patients, too. The daily census on the ward has been over 90 recently, but our beds only accommodate for 60.

Kalukembe sunset in dry season

Maternity also is managing a census flux that is seeing higher numbers on the ward. 

Neonatal resuscitation practice with mannequins during the OB/neonatal care day. Fun to see so many get their hands involved in practicing chest compressions, positive pressure ventilation and grooving with the 3:1 rhythm!

Fistula women at the newly constructed waiting home! This space is envisioned to be for maternal waiting as well as fistula patient community. Visiting nurses from a project in Bié province have already stayed and helped with post-operative care and provided group counseling. Really great to see!

Samaritans Purse World Medical Mission visited with a team of 4: Electrician Dan Noel is pictured above with a translator and our electricians. The hospital got upgraded with more LED installations and OR equipment getting fixed. We also had an electrolyte machine installed in the lab with training sessions for the technicians there. Incredible how much was installed in the last week! Thank you for all your hard work!

The joy of living in Kalukembe