Mercy Medical Team

On Friday, November 11^th, on a dark and stormy night, the DCM van slowly crept into the compound full of unexpected guests. . .

Megan taking weight for an orphan at the clinic

Actually, while Kisumu can have evening rain showers with a bit of lightning and thunder, it was actually before noon, and the guests weren’t unexpected. Friday, November 11^th, five  Americans arrived in Kisumu to serve as a Mercy Medical Team, organized by Lutheran World Relief and Human Care. Megan had been working with Pastor Chuchu to coordinate the logistics for this team that was set to hold two different 3-day medical clinics in a couple of villages about an hour outside of Kisumu.

Led by team leader nurse Sharon Thomas, Pastor Taglauer, Dr. Bob Jones, OT Nikki Stevens, and nurse Abbie Patik, came prepared to take vitals, dress wounds, diagnose illnesses, prescribe necessary and available medicine, and even use an ultrasound when appropriate, all demonstrating the love and mercy of Christ. Each clinic was to be free of charge and an opportunity to connect community members with the Lutheran churches in those villages. A few days into the clinic, Pharmacist Scarlett, and three pharmacy students, Ashley, Jessica, and Alicia, also arrived from the US to assist the Kenyan pharmacist filling prescriptions. We were happy to join this team also receiving the help of another Kenyan doctor, a few Kenyan medical professionals, and several translators, as Megan had been preparing for their arrival, and Tim’s students had now finished their end of term exams, and were on holiday.

The waiting room at Matongo clinic

This first three days of clinic were at the Atemo health center, on the grounds of the Lutheran compound developed by the Finnish Lutheran missionaries. This clinic operates daily, staffed by Kenyans, but for these three days over 600 patients were examined and received prescriptions at no cost. Megan quickly took on the roll of taking vitals, and determining a patient’s chief complaint during the intake process. Tim floated throughout the clinic running errands, assisting in the pharmacy, directing patients to the pharmacy, and troubleshooting when necessary.  Many Kenyans seen at this clinic complained of symptoms possibly related to malaria. Our saddest story is of a young boy brought to the clinic with a horrible infection in his eye, due to an injury obtained while playing with a stick. The injury was already a week old, and there was little Dr. Bob could do. The boy and family were directed to a special eye hospital a few hours away. Even with immediate and sophisticated care, Dr. Bob anticipated the boy losing his sight permanently in that eye. Pastor Tag prayed with the boy and his family, offering the peace and comfort found only in Jesus Christ. 

In thanksgiving to God - Nikki, as an occupational therapist, used her keen and innovated mindset for movement assistance. One patient, Joyce, suffering from polio, could not walk, and crawled her way through the clinic to see the doctor. The lady’s knees and lower legs had little feeling, so she had to use her hands and hip flexors to navigate the clinic. Through Nikki’s persistence, and Pastor Chuchu’s connections, a special wheelchair, designed for rough terrain in developing countries was brought from Nairobi, and given the Joyce at her home.

Tim and Dr. Bob dressed like twins

The last three days of the clinic were held at Montongo health clinic. After a slow first day, the number of patients on the last day exceeded any other day’s total. Dr. Bob was able to use the ultrasound he had borrowed from his hospital in the US to assist a patient with a gallbladder problem.  Another highlight for Dr. Bob was seeing a group of orphans from a nearby rescue center and providing them with a checkup. One child was even named Barak Obama. Megan again stepped in to assist with taking blood pressures and temperatures. We also both jumped right into the fire of the pharmacy, the last hour of clinic on the last day. Deciphering doctors handwriting is difficult enough, but we even began to somewhat keep straight all the different variations prescribing Tylenol. Thankfully, the real pharmacists always checked our work, assuring patients received the appropriate meds.

We felt privileged to be part of this group that seemed to gel very well, and enjoy each other’s company. Apples to Apples and Banangrams made their way into evening fellowship, and we even formed a choir for one song together, in front of the church in Atemo. The team left yesterday to return to the US, and we thank God for using the skills and willingness of trained American medical professionals to demonstrate his love and mercy to those in need.