Dan, Heather, Jeremiah, Tory, Emma, Tye, Claire, Levi, Josie, Jane and Ethan

Friday, October 22, 2010

Knock-Knees and the Navicular Bone

C-ARM to Arrive in Kenya October 27th!

Thanks to your overwhelming response and generosity last summer when our precious C-ARM at Tenwek went down, we were able to raise the funds to purchase a second, refurbished C-ARM for the hospital. After many logistical delays (as you can imagine with air-freighting a 1700lb piece of equipment to Africa) the C-ARM is scheduled to arrive via KLM on Wednesday, October 27th. Having two C-ARMs at Tenwek will be a huge benefit with the large number of orthopedic cases and with other services increasingly using intraoperative fluoroscopy (such as ERCPs for gastroenterology). Thank you for this partnership!



Packed and crated C-ARM ready for delivery: total weight about 1700 lbs!


Intern Housing Project Building #1 Complete

In addition to the C-ARM project, again, thanks to your generosity, we were able to raise an additional $25,000 towards the intern housing project, two buildings designed to meet the increasing need for housing for the 16 Kenyan interns trained yearly at Tenwek, in addition to multiple residents from many specialties, including orthopedic surgery. The first building is complete, dedicated and occupied! God willing, the construction of the second building will begin shortly. Again, thank you.



Intern Housing Building #1 complete and occupied.


Dedication of building with Rev. Kilel.


Knock-knees and the Navicular Bone

Jeremiah, our oldest, is scheduled for orthopedic surgery next Wednesday, October 27th to help correct malalignment of his legs. Unfortunately, the “knock-knee” gene runs strongly in Heather’s side of the family, and Jeremiah was the lucky recipient. He has recently been complaining of pain in his ankles, and with his growth plates still open, the timing is optimal to stop the growth on the sides that are growing more quickly (which causes the malalignment). The hope is that, with his natural remaining growth, his legs will straighten over time.


Jeremiah's long-leg standing x-rays. Note the inwardly curved knees and ankles.

Adding to the intrigue, Emma rolled her ankle in gym class yesterday and hurt her foot. Unfortunately, I am in Minnesota for a two-week locum tenens job and was not able to examine her. Today, she had x-rays and by her report (I spoke with her on the phone after her appointment), she broke a bone in her foot, "a hard word to say,” she said, "that starts with the letter 'N' and has the letter 'k' in it." So, without seeing her x-rays, I am surmising it is the Navicular, an uncommonly fractured bone that sometimes requires surgery. Please pray for Jeremiah and Emma...and Heather, who will have two kids on crutches next week!


Support Update

We are well on our way to our monthly support goals (about 60%) and thanking God for his provision for our soon return to Kenya. We are still looking for monthly supporters to partner with us in this work at Tenwek in Kenya, so if you feel led to give in this way, please let us know, or visit http://www.wgm.org/galat. Thank you all for your ongoing love, prayers and support of our family!

3 comments:

afreakforjc said...

Wow. For being an orthopaedic surgeons, you kids seem to have a disproportionate number of ortho issues. Glad you're not a proctologist. Are you still planning to go to Louisville?

The Galat Family Kenya Update said...

Yep, will be there with Heather. Looking forward to it.

Mansoor said...

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