Two days after arrival, I dropped Jeremiah off for his
junior year (!) at the Rift Valley Academy, said goodbye (yet again) and then
headed to Tenwek with Dr. Will Moore, newly graduated orthopedic resident (who traveled with us to Kenya) and
our new partner at Tenwek for at least the next two years (joining Dr. Kiprono
and I, who, I am convinced, had a tear in his eye when he saw the two of us on
early morning rounds the following day).
Dr. Will Moore with one of his first patients at Tenwek. I can't tell you how glad I am to have him with us! Karibu sana Will!!
Not operating much over the past months, it also felt
good to “be back in the saddle.” After a long day of surgery, I was greeted
with another hearty “Karibu sana” after which I was told about a young man in
Casualty who was walking along the side of the road, just a few kilometers from
Tenwek, when we was struck by a lori (semi-truck). I ran into emergency room, and saw a large
group of clinicians around this poor man, who was truly a horrific mess. The impact had caused an “open book” pelvic
fracture, accompanied by a large open wound in his groin, a left anterior hip dislocation, a mangled right leg,
an open right knee dislocation, a humerus fracture, and a large avulsion of the
entire right side of his face. After
several hours of surgery well into the evening (including an emergency
amputation and external fixator to hold his pelvis closed), unfortunately, the
man succumbed to his injuries. I couldn’t
help but think this man was someone’s son, brother, father, husband. I certainly don’t miss the senseless myriad
of road trauma at Tenwek.
The following day, Dr. Kiprono and I traveled to Nairobi (with a team of PAACS general surgery residents) to
take our written exams for Fellowship in the College of Surgeons of East,
Central and South Africa (COSECSA), in preparation for the start of our new
COSECSA-accredited, PAACS-affiliated (pan-African Academy of Christians
Surgeons) orthopedic residency program. The morning of this exam, ironically, I
received, via email, my results from the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery exam
(passed…again!), which gave me a boost to take this African exam (in some ways
more difficult with a large essay section, and interestingly worded multiple
choice questions). On the way back to
Tenwek, Kiprono and I stopped to view the wreckage of a bus crash which made
international headlines just a few days before our arrival in Kenya. The bus, sorely overloaded with people and
cargo, traveling after midnight to avoid the law, lost control on a steep
curve, careened over a “guardrail” and rolled several times, ripping off the
entire top half of the bus. 42 people lost
their lives. Again, hard to process the senselessness…
The other Tenwek-PAACS General Surgery residents who traveled with us to take their separate COSECSA exams. Fun times all stuffed into the Landrover!
Dr. Kiprono and I just after our COSECSA fellowship exam in orthopedics. Glad it's done!
Hair-pin turn on steep slope where bus lost control and rolled several times.
Another few busy days at Tenwek were met with multiple
meetings with various persons and staff.
Plans for a new Galat guest apartment/ministry area were drawn after
midnight, and entered into the approval pipeline for hopeful soon commencement.
Most significantly, the day before I
left to return to the states, the Tenwek Medical Education Committee met and officially
approved the start of our new orthopedic residency, the culmination of years of
vision and planning.
“Karibu sana” became “kwa heri” (goodbye) as my two week
trip came to a close, and I traveled back to the U.S., greatly excited to see
my family again, especially baby Josie (who, by the way, put on a significant
amount of “chub” while I was away). The
greetings will return again, however, as exactly two weeks from today, we all
return home, as a family, for our third term at Tenwek Hospital.
Overall, I am amazed at the sheer volume of incredible
things God has accomplished over the past several years since heading to Tenwek
in 2008, and these things stand as a testimony of His goodness and grace in the
lives people who are so far from deserving.
And per God’s design of “partnership,” all this has been possible only
through the prayers, financial support, and encouragement of many people who have
joined us in this work to serve the underserved in Kenya. Thank you!
If you would like information on how to partner with us in this next
term, as there are many areas of opportunity (i.e. sponsorship of new Tenwek
PAACS/COSECSA orthopedic residents, the Orthopedic Compassionate Care Fund for
financially needy patients, a new housing complex for Kenyan interns and
medical students, and/or support of our family) shoot me an email at dgalat@gmail.com! Thanks for
all your love and support!
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