Wednesday, May 15th
As I write this the team should be getting close to boarding the plane in Amsterdam on their last flight to arrive here in Tanzania. So excited to see all of them.
The word is out that I am in Arusha. I received many phone calls about “please Mama Gayle can you help this person?” So yesterday I set up a clinic at Ahadi Lodge. As I saw the patients and heard their stories, I was saddened to hear about the pain and suffering that they have had to endure for so long. They looked at me with such intense and longing eyes and were waiting to hear words of hope and encouragement. After all these years of helping medically in TZ, I still feel the pains of these people and cry with them. I pray that God will help me and the team be able to provide these people with some HOPE.
Throughout the day I lined up days and times for patients to come see our doctors and provided them funds to assist them for transportation to come to us. Others I referred to other doctors specific to what their problems were. For some medications were given to them to help with their discomfort.
There was one particular patient that I really fell in love with. This little girl is 11 years old and just a beautiful and shy young lady. Since the age of 2 it sounds like she has been having episodes of seizures. Her father was with her and he told how he has kept bringing her to different doctors and they keep putting her on different medicine but nothing seems to help. He said she can be unconscious sometimes for two days and when she has seizures it scares him that she is dying. About a month ago her dad brought her to the hospital because she had another bad spell and it really scared them. They did an MRI (said nothing was wrong) and gave her medicine (he could not tell what kind) and it was not helping so they quit giving it to her. That is so common here…if they have high BP they are given meds and then they quit taking them when they feel better and/or they can’t afford the medication and then come see me with high BP.
I called a doctor here in TZ and presented her case to him and she is seeing him today at the hospital. The doctor will call me so we can discuss her case. I also have them sending pictures of her MRI and names and dosages of meds that she has been on so I can send for consultation with a neurologist at home. We will try and figure out what is wrong with her so we can get her on some treatments to help her.
I want you all after you have read this message to please say a prayer of thanksgiving for all your blessings. We are very lucky to live in the US and praise God for the resources he has provided for us. Also say some prayers for our brother and sisters here in Tanzania. At the end of a day of seeing patients I am so sad to see and hear what these people have to endure. They are all so grateful for what Hope Ministries does to help them. We could not do this without all the beautiful people who so kindly support our work here. God bless you all.
Mama Gayle
