Saturday in Kudjip

What do we do on a Saturday on a tropical island?

Some of us sleep.

Some of us long to eat small children.

Some of us work on refinishing the tennis/basketball court.

And some of us watch.

Some of us make dog and cat food.

 

Some of us keep working and working.

And some work in different ways.

Newly engaged couples take romantic walks - not holding hands of course.

And we knit!

JB

Optimism on A-Ward

There are two kids on A-Ward (pediatrics, my current ward assignment, along with Dr. Becky Wallace) who have had me a bit worried.

Tom was originally admitted sometime before I got back from furlough. He obviously has had an infection of some kind in his brain. Whether this is caused by a virus, a bacteria, or even TB is something that we can't prove. Virus and TB are prime suspects. He's getting TB medicines. There is nothing except supportive care and time for the viral infections.

He was treated in A-Ward, and then when he improved a lot, he was transferred to the TB ward. I first met him when he took a turn for the worse, started having seizures, and was transferred back to the A-Ward. Since then he has gotten first better than worse again. He has times of vomiting and severe headaches. Until a few days ago, his legs have been so weak that he hasn't been able to walk or stand.

Last week he started bearing weight on his legs, and then taking a few hesitant steps, mostly holding on to the side of the bed or to someone's hand. In the last few days he has taken a few steps at a time unsupported.

Imagine my shock when I walked into the ward this morning to see him walking around near his bed! My shock and loud praising of God startled and embarrassed him, so after that it was hard to get him to come out for a photo, but I got the last one here. The other two have been taken over the past couple of weeks.

Please pray for Tom. He's not out of the woods yet, but it's fun to see this progress.

I'll tell you about the other kid in the next day or two.

Tom

Tom has tuberculosis in his central nervous system. At least we think he does--we have no way to prove or disprove it. He was admitted several weeks ago (before we got back from furlough), was treated with TB meds, and got a lot better. He was transferred to the TB.

A couple of weeks ago he had a setback, and developed seizures. He was still very weak, especially in his legs, and couldn't bear weight at all. This week he has improved a lot, first shakily standing for a few seconds while held both his hands, and then by Friday walking a few steps without holding on at all.

As he has gotten to know me, he has gotten a lot more comfortable with me, and interacts a lot more. He smiles and seems happy to see me when I come on rounds in the morning (unlike many who cry, hide or ever scream when they see me coming).

I'll probably transfer him back to the TB ward tomorrow. He'll need to stay on TB treatment and the seizure meds for several more months.

He's not a kid who likes to wear clothes, and at his age that is quite acceptable here. He's dressed a little more formally for the second photo.

Birthdays at Kudjip

When someone experiences a birthday on Kudjip Station they are subjected to various celebratory indignities. They are often made to wear the Dooley's birthday-cake hat. But they are always made to listen to a medley of 5 songs. I don't know how the medley started. Maybe someone knew a song that got added to the super-traditional one. Eventually others contributed their favorites, and they were all sung in sequence. The fourth one in the group comes from us; it's what we sang to our kids every birthday since they were small. The last one was written by some of the MKs here in the past. It always catches newcomers off guard, because it ends without resolving to the tonic chord.

The medley is dear to our (Judy's and my) hearts, because it's how we first met most of the missionary family here. The day we arrived, we had lunch with the Radcliffes, served on their veranda. It was 5 days after my birthday, and 7 days before Judy's. After lunch the Radcliffes left us waiting on the veranda while they went in to prepare desert. A few minutes later the whole missionary family came filing out of the house singing the medley (although in those days it consisted of only 4 songs), and bringing us a birthday cake.

Today it was Dr. Steph's turn. Scott Dooley brought the hat to our weekly Friday morning teaching conference. At the end of our meeting we sang the medley for her. In the meantime, Gail Dooley took balloons to the Maternity ward (Steph's ward), and prepared the patients. After the meeting, several of us hustled to the ward to catch photos (and the above video) of the event. The ladies jumped right in to "Happy Birthday to You", but knew several verses that we weren't expecting, so none of us sang them. It was awesome to hear 20 or 30 ladies singing in English but with their PNG accents, in near-perfect unison. As they got to the name in each verse, it was a carefully articulated "Doke-Tah Stef-Ah-Neee".

The look on Steph's face said a ton about why she is here. The looks on the faces of all those patients spoke a world about how well she has shown the love of Jesus here. No question. Steph has now assumed the place of most loved missionary in Kudjip.

This is the medley. Maybe later I can grab an audio recording.

A happy birthday to you, a happy birthday to you,
Every day of the year may you find Jesus near,
A happy birthday to you, a happy birthday to you,
The best one you've ever had.

So today is your birthday, that's what I've been told.
What a wonderful birthday, you're one more year old.
On the cake there'll be candles all lighted for you,
And the whole world is singing, "happy birthday to you."

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Stephanie,
Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday, happy birthday, we love you.
Happy birthday, and may all your dreams come true.
When you blow out the candles, One light stays aglow,
It's the love-light in your eyes where-ere you go.

This is your birthday song!
It isn't very long.

Generations

I met a unique family this morning. The lady in the first photo is the mother of the lady in the second photo as well as the baby on her own lap. The lady in the second photo is holding her daughter, the granddaughter of the lady in the first photo, and niece of the baby in the first photo, who is younger than she is. Confused?

The little girl in the second photo has craniosynostosis, a premature fusion of the sutures in her skull, which doesn't allow proper growth of the brain. As a result she is mentally retarded, and developmentally delayed. She doesn't babble, make eye contact, sit up or crawl.

The older mom doesn't look old enough to be a grandma. That's at least partly because she adopted her older daughter (the younger mom) early in her marriage when the girl was several years old. So that narrows the age difference a bit!

After discussing the options for helping the baby, I prayed with them, for healing, for peace of mind, for wisdom in caring for a severely disabled child for however many months or years God gives her.

Having Fun

Young people need to have fun. It's an important part of their development and emotional well-being. Well, old people need to have fun for the same reasons, but this story is about young ones. Left to their own devices, they will have fun somehow. The students at our Nazarene College of Nursing have fun visiting with each other, playing sports, and .... Well, those are the only things I know about. Oh. Occasionally some of them will do something that gets them into some degree of trouble.

Mike and Diane Chapman have been concerned that there aren't opportunities for wholesome fun for the students, so they organized a movie night a few weeks ago, and then a game night this past Saturday. Diane organized the games, Mike was in charge of pop corn. They invited Judy and me to come and just be involved. Judy made a cake, not realizing how many students would come, and how far the cake would have to go. She ultimately cut it into pieces that were about bite-sized, so most of the students got a taste.

Each student made and decorated a name tag for him or her self. Games included Musical Chairs (depicted in the photo), Rhythm, and an old "mind-reading" parlor game that I don't know the name of. The students really got involved, and had fun. Which was, of course, the object. And the older people had some too, which was a bonus.

Click here to see more photos.