Medical Happenings

Joy mentioned I would be updating regarding a patient with likely acute appendicitis. She had been having pain for three days when I first saw her. The local nurse/medical assistant was also there and they really wanted a second opinion. She had all the symptoms--Nausea/vomiting, fever, right lower quadrant pain with rebound tenderness, a positive Psoas sign and it was hoped she could travel the next morning to Tarawa to see a surgeon. The next morning we were advised the plane was not flying. I went to see her again and she felt better. The "local medicine" had been applied--tree leaf extract and special massage to the abdomen. The nurse had called the Doctor on Tarawa and he had advised "an injection" with a waiting period of 24 hours to see how she was doing. The patient declined to do that, wanting to keeep using "local medicine." Two days later I discovered that she had been flown to Tarawa and admitted to the hospital. As of yesterday she was still in the hospital and had not needed surgery yet. I was so concerned she may do very poorly if she had ruptured her appendix. Maybe she just had mesentaric adenitis or maybe the local medicine is more beneficial than western medicine!

Yesterday morning I was asked to come and see a man who had been stabbed in the neck. So Joy and I put on our rain-gear and drove our motor bike the 20 minutes to where he was through driving rain and wind. The injury had occurred 9 hours before and he had been attended to by the local nurse/medical assistant. He had had IV fluids and the laceration sutured. Thankfully he was stable, but he was paralyzed in the right arm completely and had only weak movement of the the right leg. He could feel his extremities just fine. The nurse had ridden her motor-bike (about 45 minute in driving rain!) to "Government Station" where there is a CB radio, to try to get a medical transport out for the man. The doctor in  Tarawa decided to send a plane and a medical team! The problem was the weather. It was so bad we could not tell when the plane may arrive. I was concerned about infection setting in with such a deep wound inflicted with a dirty kitchen knife! We had some soon to expire IM/IV potent antibiotics at the school clinic and so we were able to get that administered into his shoulder muscle and that may make a big difference in his outcome if a deep infection can be averted. The man kept asking me if the injury was serious and if he would get the use of his arm and leg back again! I told him I hoped he would but I could not know at this time. Joy had a prayer with him that he appreciated. I hope we can stop and see him in the hospital when we are there next week. I will give you an update on both of these patients if we can see them.

Going with the Flow!

We were to have been in the Marshall Islands by now. Air Kiribati rescinded our tickets to Tarawa yesterday, so we were unable to make the flight to Majuro; and flights to/from there occur only once every two weeks.

There are two airlines here: Air Kiribati, and Coral Sun (see photo) Coral Sun ran out of aviation fuel last week and has been grounded until the boat with their fuel arrives. Air Kiribati (who must use a different type of fuel?) has two planes, a 17 seater, and a 22 seater. Their larger one has been having mechanical difficulties for quite awhile, so the smaller one is their workhorse. They fly to our outer atoll three times a week: Sundays, Wednesdays, Fridays.

Well, it just so happens that there was a very large celebration here on Abemama last weekend, with scores of people visiting from Tarawa, for the special ordination of a Catholic priest. They have all been trying to get back to Tarawa, and what with the one airline not flying, this has made it very difficult to find a seat on Air Kiribati. Plus, the weather has been poor with torrential rains lately.

We were confirmed passengers #21 and #22 on the larger plane to have flown out yesterday. They had to switch to the smaller airplane, and that is why we didn't make it to Tarawa in time for out Majuro flight. Thankfully, though we had reservations on the Marshall Island flight, we were to pay for the tickets just prior to leaving (no credit cards or e tickets used!), and so we were not out any money.

Plan B: we're going to Fiji on the 22nd, next Tuesday. That is if we can get off Abemama! The back-up of people trying to get off Abemama is still long, and the flight Sunday is full from people waiting all week to leave. There may be a 'special' (extra?) flight tomorrow. Emphasis on the word 'may'........just frequently ride the motorbike out to the airport to keep checking (no phones here at the school, or at the airport). That would put us in Tarawa four days before the Fiji flight, but at least we'd be there for sure! So, we will see what happens. Going with the flow! Will keep you posted on our holiday whereabouts!

By the way, the US Peace Corp had workers here for decades, but pulled out September of 2008. We were told the reason why is they could not guarantee the safety of their workers in case a health (or other) crisis should arise during their work in the outer islands. And that is because the air transportation is so erratic, and frequently the planes are not functioning. In addition, Coral Sun Airline had not yet been birthed, so Air Kiribati was the only option at that time.

It is sobering to realize that you may not be able to get to help in time......Just this week, a lady came to see Drue, who was in great pain. Her history sounded quite a bit like an acute appendicitis. We were fearful that she might die out here if she couldn't get off the island for surgery. I'll let him report on the particulars. Suffice it to say, that she 'turned the corner' and did not have to try to get to Tarawa. Thank God!

We know that we are in His care and keeping. He knows our needs and will provide, come what may!

Good Week, All in All

The best news of the week was that our Honda 110 bike arrived from Tarawa! My "world" now feels a lot bigger! We also were able to get completely moved into the new Kitchen hut at base camp. Joy really appreciates having everything in one place now! The roof and walls are not complete yet, but it is so spacious and dry. There is even room to park the motorbike inside out of the weather. We have had so much rain lately making it very hard to get laundry to dry! I put my down pillow out in the sun to air it out and went to the school to check the internet and a big rainstorm hit and did not let up for about 6 hours. My pillow was soaked and I don't know if I can get dried out before it mildews!

We have not yet obtained a work permit an so much leave Kiribati before four months go by. We have looked at so many options. Fiji, New Zealand,  Australia, Solomon Islands, Hawaii, mainland USA--all VERY expensive to get to from Kiribati. So we have decided to go to the Marshall Islands, only 90 min flight (and $650/person round trip!) away from Tarawa. There is one flight every two weeks. So we will be officially on vacation for the holidays from December 17th to the 31st. If we miss our flight back to Kiribati then we have the option of flying to Honolulu, then Fiji and back to Tarawa or extend our time away by two weeks. It is more cost effective to stay two more weeks. We are hoping to get to Tarawa on the Sugar Blues--our first voyage.

UPDATE

We are alive and well, though it has been a tough couple of weeks. The school year is over, and the generator is not used to save fuel costs, and we are often 'in the dark'. The rainy season is in full swing, with six long days recently of drenching rain. We are making small gains in resurrecting SFO's base camp functionality. I bought a motorbike in Tarawa which will give us the ability to get around. We await its arrival via boat: but who know when?! I find 'joy' in gardening and am reading quite a bit. When the school's solar inverter is on, we can make skype calls to our family and friends, which is always heartwarming. We had a lovely 25th wedding celebration hosted by the school. I'll post a few photos. Thinking of those of you who are shoveling snow!!