Tuesday, June 30, 2015

My Work as a Missionary Doctor

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.