Wednesday, January 4th

Wednesday, January 4th

Hello everyone, Olivia here! Today was a very big day for our team. We got to head over to Selians OR rooms and Dr. Sutton along with Dr. Roberts performed seven different surgeries. As a student who was experiencing the OR for the first time I was very excited to have the opportunity to scrub in and get to learn. I was a little apprehensive, but I felt very at ease when I walked in and saw a wonderful reminder written on the wall. The picture shown below was such great reminder for me and left me at peace all day. Doctors have a lot on their plate and can sometimes be in stressful situations but the reminder that Jesus is right by their side and is guiding their hands is so amazing. We saw a variety of orthopedic patients today, all that we had seen in either our outreach clinics or our clinics at Selian Hospital.

Many of these patients had previous damage from vehicle accidents. One thing that really surprised me on this trip was the amount off medical cases that are due to late presentation from either lack of funding or lack of medical care in general. This causes a lot of complex and more difficult cases. The OR’s in America are fully stocked and ready for every procedure. In Tanzania, they did not have the same tools and resources that Doctor Sutton was used to. But he found the Tanzania teams ability to adapt and come up with good alternatives very cool. Rolling with the punches and being willing to be flexible and open to change was something we all were tested on. However, God provided so well and even with some adversity he walked with us and keep our patients safe. The medical teams were able to perform all the cases and we were so grateful for God’s guiding hand and successful outcomes. One of the things Emma and I both found very helpful was being taught the use of aseptic teachings. We had to practice being sterile and ensuring our patients are as safe from infection as possible. This is something I found to be very useful and something I will use for such a long time. Our team worked together so well and I am so grateful for great teachers. I really appreciated the opportunity that Hope Ministries gave me to scrub in and get to gain so much knowledge. Michaela was able to go out with the Hospice Team today, she saw four different individuals. These cases ranged from cancer, abandonment, and HIV. The Selian hospice team is so wonderful and do such amazing and glorifying work! Michaela really enjoyed getting to be with the team and see first-hand what homes and different stories look like.

We all had a such a great day and are thankful for the experiences God is giving us.  Over the past 2 days we have seen over 200 patients in Orthopedic Clinic and so many lives have been changed. Thank you to all the donors who play such a big role in changing lives and allowing us to be the hands and feet os Jesus through medical care.