Monday, September 17, 2007
One Surgery Completed, Update on the Others
Dr. Jeremiah Kiponda has been very good about keeping in touch with me as to the children's medical situations. As with many things in Kenya, nothing is easy or straightforward, and this has been particularly true of the orphans' medical issues. A good part of this complexity is due to the general lack of ongoing care that they have experienced over many years. My thanks to the donors who have helped to make medical care available to the orphans now through their gifts and purchase of the holiday cards!
Jemima, the daughter of one of the teachers, finally had her tonsils out about two weeks ago. Her surgery was sponsored by Jim's congregation and she needed to be on antibiotics and nutritional supplements prior to surgery to be strong enough to go through the surgery. I am happy to report she is recovering well.
Rose, the orphan who has sickle cell, malaria and also a strangulated bowel which needs surgery, has not been strong enough for surgery. A few weeks ago she went to specialists in Kalifi where more tests were run on her blood, and they determined that the surgery needed to wait until some of the other issues were addressed. This morning I got an email from Dr. Jeremy saying that her condition will need to be reviewed again in two weeks.
Emmanuel, the orphan who needs surgery because his testis never descended, went through ultrasound scans last week. It was determined that he has orchitis, an infection of the testis and the tubes that go to the testis. So once again, his surgery is delayed as Dr. Jeremy and the surgeons wait to see if that clears up.
Milka, the orphan with the chronic ear infections, needs surgery on her ears which can only be done by specialists. She went to an audiologist in Mombasa about three weeks ago, but her situation can't be corrected by a hearing aid; her ear drums are torn and need to be repaired. There is a Norwegian organization that comes to Nairobi a couple of times a year and they are able to do this surgery for a pretty minimal cost. But because the hospital where they do this is in Nairobi, there will be considerable expense for Milka's transport, plus both Dr. Jeremy and a relative (probably Milka's sister) will need to go with her. She would need to stay in Nairobi about a week at the hospital. All of this will cost about $900-1,000 and so far I haven't raised enough money just for her surgery.
Since my return from Kenya in July I've been able to send Dr. Jeremy about $580 for Rose's and Emmanuel's surgeries and the orphans' ongoing medical care. I have another $260 that I plan to send him soon and I am hopeful that a few more card orders will come in soon. I would really like to be able to raise enough for Milka to have her ear surgery in November, but that will take some doing. Besides individual orders, I've sold cards at the Forest Grove Farmers' Market and at my church as well. However, I start graduate school next Monday, and after that my time to make cards will be very limited. If you are interested in ordering cards made from the orphans' artwork, please look at the July 18 blog entry for images and prices, and contact me at kirstencarpentier@hotmail.com
Jemima, the daughter of one of the teachers, finally had her tonsils out about two weeks ago. Her surgery was sponsored by Jim's congregation and she needed to be on antibiotics and nutritional supplements prior to surgery to be strong enough to go through the surgery. I am happy to report she is recovering well.
Rose, the orphan who has sickle cell, malaria and also a strangulated bowel which needs surgery, has not been strong enough for surgery. A few weeks ago she went to specialists in Kalifi where more tests were run on her blood, and they determined that the surgery needed to wait until some of the other issues were addressed. This morning I got an email from Dr. Jeremy saying that her condition will need to be reviewed again in two weeks.
Emmanuel, the orphan who needs surgery because his testis never descended, went through ultrasound scans last week. It was determined that he has orchitis, an infection of the testis and the tubes that go to the testis. So once again, his surgery is delayed as Dr. Jeremy and the surgeons wait to see if that clears up.
Milka, the orphan with the chronic ear infections, needs surgery on her ears which can only be done by specialists. She went to an audiologist in Mombasa about three weeks ago, but her situation can't be corrected by a hearing aid; her ear drums are torn and need to be repaired. There is a Norwegian organization that comes to Nairobi a couple of times a year and they are able to do this surgery for a pretty minimal cost. But because the hospital where they do this is in Nairobi, there will be considerable expense for Milka's transport, plus both Dr. Jeremy and a relative (probably Milka's sister) will need to go with her. She would need to stay in Nairobi about a week at the hospital. All of this will cost about $900-1,000 and so far I haven't raised enough money just for her surgery.
Since my return from Kenya in July I've been able to send Dr. Jeremy about $580 for Rose's and Emmanuel's surgeries and the orphans' ongoing medical care. I have another $260 that I plan to send him soon and I am hopeful that a few more card orders will come in soon. I would really like to be able to raise enough for Milka to have her ear surgery in November, but that will take some doing. Besides individual orders, I've sold cards at the Forest Grove Farmers' Market and at my church as well. However, I start graduate school next Monday, and after that my time to make cards will be very limited. If you are interested in ordering cards made from the orphans' artwork, please look at the July 18 blog entry for images and prices, and contact me at kirstencarpentier@hotmail.com
# posted by Kirsten's Updates about the H.C.C. in Kenya @ 8:48 AM 
