Hello friends,
I am ready to write to you about my work (Kelly). I am working at a wonderful Christian clinic
and children’s ward called Tiyamike (Chichewa for “praise”). In the ward, I tend to many sick children
with malaria, pneumonia, gastroenteritis, and sepsis. In the clinic, my daily patients range from cerebral
palsy and seizures to asthma and ear infections. There have been several challenging cases that
have helped me to grow as a physician. I
would not be able to do without my nursing staff and pharmacists. It is such a blessing to be able to meet with
the staff every morning to have devotions (including worship) and prayer for
our patients and the upcoming day. I am
so thankful that God has called everyone working here together to help these
patients in Jesus’ name. Working
alongside these servants of Christ here has helped me realize that all the
knowledge I have acquired through the years is simply a tool God has given
me to bring His love and Gospel to the people in Malawi.
I would like to share about two patients that have been
challenging and caused me to praise God for His miraculous ways.
The first is a 10yo boy who initially came in very sick with
a high fever, difficulty breathing, an enlarged liver, swollen feet, and a
concerning gallop in his heart that made me worried that he was in heart
failure. On exam, I found that he had
significant fluid in his lungs, requiring oxygen. Before being able to get an x-ray to diagnose
the cause, we treated him with antibiotics and diuretics to get the fluid out
of his lungs. The x-ray showed a normal
heart size and severe pneumonia. As the
days progressed his liver regressed and the heart gallop disappeared. Eventually he was taken off of oxygen and
sent home to complete antibiotics. I am
amazed by this story because everything that I knew told me that this patient
was not going to make it. After much prayer in hopes that he would recover, thanks
to God, he did. Now, he is completely
healthy and well.
The second patient is a 9mo little girl who was admitted for
several days before I was able to see her.
When I examined her, I found that she had stiffness in her left arm and
leg and that she was not responding appropriately. I was concerned there may be a brain
problem. After talking to the family for
a while I discovered she had been sick for many weeks and that they had been
coming to the clinic receiving different treatments, but she wasn’t improving.
One night she was at home and went into a coma; after she was not improving
they decided to bring her back to the clinic.
Thinking she may have had a stroke, we obtained a CT scan of her head
that showed a severe stroke to the right side of her brain and parts of the
brain that control vision. I dreaded
having to inform the family of these devastating results. I was floored at their response. They said to me, “We are thankful this
happened while she is so young because she will have more time to recover. We know that God will allow her to stand
before the church one day and tell her story of how God healed her.” Their faith made me pray even more for her
full recovery. She is now attending PT
twice a week and is improving slowly.
She is now able to sit up on her own and is feeding herself. She still does not have sight, but responded
to light at her last appointment. I am
so thankful that I have been able to be a part of this story and see the ways
God has healed her pong’ono pong’ono (slowly slowly). Thanks be to Him who is the Giver of all good
gifts.
Please know that I am so happy to be here at ABC and
treating children. I am grateful for the
opportunity to use what I have been taught to help people and to give God the
glory for what He has done.
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