The orthopedic team on my final day of work, prior to leaving for our next scheduled furlough.
Encouraging a patient about to be discharged from the hospital.
Praying with a patient during morning rounds.
Dr. Kiprono and I performing a total hip replacement in a 50 year old male with bad arthritis.
Tomorrow night, the Galat family (minus Jeremiah) will be
flying back to the U.S. for our scheduled furlough. As such, the last few weeks at home have been
a flurry of packing, organizing, planning, and saying goodbyes to our many
good friends, both American and Kenyan.
Naturally, this time of transition brings with it also a wide variety of
paradoxical emotions, and while a few tears have been shed by our kids, we are
also encouraged by the sense that this pain of transition is not as sharp as it
has been in the past.
Times of transition also bring reflection. The changes that have occurred in the
orthopedic department since our first arrival to Tenwek in November 2008, are
amazing. Back then, the “team” consisted
of me, and a clinical officer intern who had absolutely no interest in
orthopedics. In contrast, on my final
working day last Thursday, the team consisted of 12 people (consultants,
residents, interns, and essential visitors), all committed to compassionate
orthopedic care of our patients. However,
this number is continually in flux (six left the following day), and we
struggle to adequately cover a service that is relentlessly growing, averaging
40-50 inpatients at any given time (47 on my last day), mostly from trauma
related to road traffic accidents. During
the last year, over 2000 major orthopedic surgeries have been done (including
32 total hip and knee replacements), in operating rooms that are open 24/7.
The commitment to education and training via Tenwek
Orthopedics remains essential to our purpose.
Dr. Kiprono Koech joined the team in 2012 as the second
orthopedic consultant (and my partner).
His calm demeanor, excellent surgical ability and leadership skills
belie the fact that he just recently finished his residency, being years ahead
of his peers. In August 2013, Dr. Will
Moore, a post-resident from Samaritan’s Purse, will round out the team as our
third consultant. We continue to train orthopedic
residents from Moi University, and just recently added a second rotation for
orthopedic residents from Kijabe hospital.
And we continue training the general surgery residents and interns based
at Tenwek. Plans are in the works to start our
own Tenwek-based orthopedic residency, God-willing in January 2015.
But most importantly,
and the reason that we continue at Tenwek, is the ongoing emphasis on spiritual
ministry. In the past year, more than 30
patients have committed their lives to Jesus Christ as a direct result of the
orthopedic ministry at Tenwek. On
morning rounds, while hectic, we try to daily take time to pray with patients
and share with them the good news of Jesus Christ. A short word of encouragement, a small
prayer, or giving of a bible can make a life-changing difference, and we have
seen God do significant miracles of His Grace.
In short, while there are many challenges that that we will inevitably
face, the future is bright and many good things are on the horizon. We have no other choice but to trust God to
continue this work that He started.
Tenwek’s vision statement of “compassionate healthcare, spiritual
ministry and training for service” continues and only through teamwork is this
possible. Thank you for all the support
of our family in so many ways: prayer, words of encouragement, financial
support, short-term visits, etc. We, as
a family, are honored to serve at Tenwek and God-willing, will continue for
many years to come!
Please keep us in prayer as we travel back to the U.S. for this HMA (homeland ministry assignment) of 6-7 months (we hope to return shortly after the birth of our new baby, due August 10th!). Jeremiah will join us in the U.S. the end of March, after finishing this current term at RVA. Please also keep Dr. Kiprono and team in prayer as they continue the busy orthopedic work at the hospital.
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