Merry Christmas 2017 from the Galats!

As we finish another highly eventful year, we wish to acknowledge the grace of God that has carried us, the prayers of many which have sustained us, and the friendships which have enriched us.  This Christmas, may we all "have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." (Eph. 3:18).  This is the essence of Christmas: the love of God expressed in the gift of His Son, Jesus.  Nothing else with change us like this Truth!  Merry Christmas from our crazy, chaotic, colorful household to yours!  

Here's a brief update on each one of us:

The newest addition to our home, Ethan Benjamin Galat, born October 11, 2017. This is his serious, "old-man" face.  Certainly a blessing to our family!

Jane Kathryn Galat, age 2. 

She brings constant laughter to our home with everything she is!  

Josie Grace Galat, age 4.

On the extrovert scale, she ranks an 11! 

Levi Stephen Galat, age 13.

Currently in 8th grade, and becoming quite accomplished on the tenor sax. 

  Claire Elizabeth Galat, age 16. 

In her junior year at RVA and enjoying school, friends, sports, music!

Emma Rose Galat, age 18. 

In her senior year at RVA, accepted to all five colleges to which she's applied!  Praying for wisdom for the next step. 

Jeremiah Daniel Galat, age 20. 

Currently a sophomore at Arizona State University, studying Biophysics for premed. 

Dan and Heather, married 22 years, and feeling too old to be parents of 7 kids spanning 20 years, but thankful for the family which God chose to bless us with.  

We continue to serve in missions at Kijabe Hospital in Kenya, where Dan works as the head of orthopaedic surgery, and as an educator for the orthopaedic residency training program here.  Heather has become increasingly involved with a growing prayer movement that God is raising up on our hospital and school campuses.  We continue to trust God for our next steps as well, as we plan (God willing) to stay in Kenya until our next furlough scheduled for 2019-2020. Thanks for all your prayers and support over the years!!

Strong, Firm, Enduring

The Kijabe Dream Team (minus Elector who hadn't arrived yet), pre-birth.  Everyone happy, except Heather.

How can someone look so good just a few minutes after delivery!

Getting to know baby Ethan. 

Claire and Ethan.

Emma and Ethan. 

Levi and Ethan. 

J&J love him too!

Almost smiling?

On October 11, 2017 at 2:51pm, Heather gave birth our seventh child, a son, whom we named Ethan Benjamin Galat.  Surrounded by what I call the “Kijabe Dream Team” (Dr. Catherine – OB/GYN, Allyson – Family Nurse Practitioner, Elector – Kenyan Nurse Midwife, and Joan – Doula extraordinaire), Heather amazed us all with her determination, courage, and grit, delivering a healthy baby boy in a newly remodeled private birthing room at Kijabe Hospital.  It was a surreal experience on multiple levels that we couldn’t have duplicated anywhere in the world, except for the fact that God was orchestrating it all.  And right as the baby’s head started to crown, and Heather began the final push, it started to pour long-awaited rains on the overly dry land in which we live.  We all had the sense that God was present, giving his blessing and affirmation to His sovereign plans.  

In truth, the past few years for our family have felt more fragile, shaky, and transient, than strong, firm and enduring.  We never imagined that we would leave our home at Tenwek and settle in a new place of ministry, nor in the midst of it all, add another child to our family (yes, by now, we should know what causes that), nor collect cases for board certification.  But God has faithfully done all this, and much more than we could have imaged (or knew we needed).  Hence, we gave our son the name Ethan, which in Hebrew means “Strong, Firm, Enduring” to honor our God who has remained our Fortress, our Strong Tower, our Ever-present Help in times of trouble.  We remain continually humbled by the fact that our weakness is His strength; our uncertainty is His opportunity to shine!  Oh, and the name Benjamin? It means “son of my right hand” or perhaps more appropriately “son born in my old age.”  Come on now…I’m not THAT old!

Thanks for all your prayers, love and support of our family over the years! 

A SIGN for a New Generation

 Orthopaedic residents and consultants from Tenwek and Kijabe.  Dr. John is on the far left.  We are demonstrating the "squat and smile" photo, which Dr. Lew Zirkle, the founder of SIGN, likes to see SIGN patients perform to show they are healed!

Dr. John and I.

AP view of Dr. John's tibial SIGN nail.  The nail goes in through the knee, and travels down the intramedullary canal of the bone, across the fracture to just shy of the ankle joint.  The two screws go through holes in the nail to stabilize and hold the fracture.   

Lateral view.

Teaching ex-fix principles using PCV pipes simulating bones.

The entire group at the PAACS Basic Science Course, Brackenhurst Conference Center, Limuru Kenya.

During one call night in December, two weeks into the national doctors’ strike in Kenya, and with cases stacking up for surgery, I received a phone call from one of the 3^rd year orthopaedic residents.   “Dr. Galat,” he said, “you won’t believe this, but your resident, Dr. John Mandela, just injured his leg playing soccer.” “Really,” I said, somewhat concerned, as Dr. John was the only resident on my service at the time.   “He’s in casualty,” he said, “and it looks like he has an open (compound) tibia fracture.”  While heading to the hospital to see Dr. John, I chucked, musing at the irony of personally operating on my only resident.  “You just can’t make this stuff up,” I thought to myself, at the same time thankful for the opportunity to help.

I found John in casualty with a bloody splint on his leg, and, trying to lighten the mood, promptly informed him he was going to have to write all patient notes from his hospital bed.  Thankfully, we were able to take him to the operating room that same night to wash the open wound, and stabilize the fracture using a SIGN nail.  SIGN Fracture Care International is a not-for-profit company with a vision of “creating equality of fracture care throughout the world.”  They do this by providing nails to a network of SIGN surgeons in more than 300 SIGN programs in 53 developing nations.  To date, more than 180,000 patients have been healed using the SIGN intramedullary nail, and between Tenwek and Kijabe hospitals, we have treated more than 3,000 patients using this innovative nail.  Now, one of our own trainees has received the very nail he is learning to use to heal others. 

Recently, I saw Dr. John at the PAACS (Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons) Basic Science Conference, a two-week intensive course for 1^st and 2^nd year surgical residents from all over Africa.   I was amazed to see him walking without a limp, just 6 weeks from his date of surgery.   Without the SIGN nail, he would have still been in a heavy plaster cast, walking with crutches, and struggling to get around.  As I watched him interacting and learning with the other 50 residents, I thanked God for this new generation of surgical trainees who are dedicating their lives to helping others in need.  And the PAACS orthopaedic family is growing, as the Kijabe/CURE program will soon join Tenwek to make a total of 16 PAACS orthopaedic residents-in-training.  It is a privilege to be involved in the education of these young, bright, committed African trainees who will be part of the solution to the lack of surgical care in some of the most needy parts of the world. 

Dr. John will return to his training post at Kijabe next week, just two months from his injury.  I told him he failed his rotation on the Galat service, and will have to remediate!   Just kidding…we’ll all be glad to have him back.

Thanks for all your love and support over the years!