Going to Mango

The internet here has been a little touch and go over the last few days making it hard for me to post.  Sorry for the delay.  The weekend call went fairly well.  I ended up being awake most of Sunday night with a pt that came in term with bad malaria.  That was a little beyond what I am used to taking care of back in the States.  She had a high fever and baby wasn’t liking that too much.  I asked several people the next day how to proceed with caring for this pt and every time I asked someone new I got a new answer.   Haha, well sometimes things just are not very cut and dry.  Thankfully, both mom and baby are doing well and mom is well on her way to recovery. 

The hospital here is currently constructing a sister hospital up in the northern part of Togo in a city called Mango (pronounced Mongo).  This is a city that has no medical care at all.  The closest hospital to them is over 2 hours away.  If ever there is a medical emergency there is very little the people can do.  If a mother needs a c-section it often ends in death for both mom and baby.  There is not a single surgeon in the area and there is tremendous need.  An opportunity over the last couple of days has come up for me to go there and see the building of the new hospital and compound as well as the surrounding city.  I am very excited to get to do this!  We will be traveling by car which means I will get to see most of the country of Togo while I am at it.  It is going to be a quick trip, leaving early tomorrow and then getting back on Friday.  I am scheduled to fly out of Lome on Saturday.  I cannot believe it is coming up so quickly! I would love prayer for the trip up there and back that the roads would be ok and that the vehicles will not have any problems.  Rhonda will be going too which will be wonderful to get the chance to spend some time together outside of the hospital context.  I don’t believe that I will have internet access up there, but hopefully I will be able to post again when I get back here Friday night.  Thank you to everyone for your prayers, support and encouragement for my time here.  It has meant everything.  I am on call for one last night here in Togo and praying for God’s sustaining hand.  I cannot believe that my duties here at the hospital are coming to an end.  I have learned so much and been stretched in so many ways.  There have been a lot of moments filled with laughter and joy as well as those that threatened to rip my heart out, but I cannot say enough how much I have enjoyed my time here.  I am thankful for the opportunity to be here and serve alongside some incredible individuals to a people who truly are in need.  One of my medical school mentors had a saying that I think has been very true of my time here in Togo, “God loves you just the way you are, but He also loves you too much to leave you there.”  That is how I feel about much of the growth that has occurred over the last several weeks.  Many of the experiences, challenges and lessons learned will not be forgotten for a very long time.  Praise God for allowing this time to happen.