Here comes my long-delayed blog. I haven't been as good at keeping things updated as I hoped to. Somehow time just seems to slip away and whatever I wanted to say seems kinda outdated by the time I get around to actually writing it down.
Last week we went up to Chiang Mai (about a 7 hour drive or so from our house). We've been having mechanical difficulties with our vehicles which has really been creating some difficulties with the medical work so we had to go up and try to fix things. At the same time they were holding a media seminar up there (something I've always wanted to do) that I was able to attend. I discovered that as much as I like computers and cameras, I don't like staring at them all day.:) It was great training though!
Monday I came down by minibus together with a friend ahead of my family. Then by surprise a couple of the guys came and picked us up on motorbikes in Mae Sariang. Now that's a fun road to ride!:) It's got it all - about 3 hours of good road, bad road, and worse road, together with pincurves and many a hill.:)
So here I am back on the border. I've been keeping busy doing patient care again. Sometimes it's quite slow, but other times you're doing just to find time to brush your teeth in the morning. We've got so many pediatric patients. Just a guess, but I think I could say that probably 80+% of them are either babies or small kids. Yesterday I a took 4-month-old into the hospital that was having pretty severe breathing difficulty. He ended up having bacterial pneumonia. Today we took in 2 more. A one and two year old. One of them was just recovering from measles and really didn't look good. That's the first time I've seen skin "tenting" in real life. She was acting very lethargic and I considered her to be an urgent patient. We have to stick with the patient in the hospital to make sure that the doctor actually carefully evaluates the patient. Often they will just look at one thing and make their diagnoses just because they're so busy, rather than taking all the symptoms into consideration. For example, almost everyone that comes in complaining of stomach pain comes out diagnosed with gastritis. Just as a rather hilarious anecedote, my mom went in because she was having some trouble with her lungs and thought she might have pneumonia and the doctor diagnosed her with having an allergy to the cold. She thought better of informing him that she came from Montana.:) Anyways... On this one the doctor wouldn't believe that the patient was dehydrated or had measle complications. He diagnosed her with having just a common cold. So tomorrow we'll be taking them back to a different hospital.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Pics
Josiah and one of little boys, Poketaw, thrilled after receiveing some warm clothes!
Josiah again with one of the older students, Gechawmai.
Some patients on the front porch.
Please forgive the descriptiveness of these pictures. I don't mean to be overly graphic, but this is what it's like here.
This is the little boy (we thought he was a girl) on the far right in the above picture. He's 5 and has had this infection for 5 months. You can't even begin to imagine the pain...
....
I ran out of time to finish this, so to be continued....
"This morning dawned cloudy in the borderlands between Thailand and Burma, but as the sun breaks through, the beauty is breathtaking; high, rugged mountains; thick green jungle; rich fertile valleys surrounding freeflowing rivers. The beauty is so exhilarating it nearly makes us forget why we are here. It seems almost impossible to believe that this apparent paradise is a place more like hell for hundreds of thousands of people around us. The conflict of emotions caused by the contrast between the beauty of the land and the enormity of the tragedy of the oppressed and displaced people nearby is made even more acute by another bittersweet contrast - the brutality of the regime which inflicts immeasurable suffering on countless suffering victims: dignity in deprivation; generosity in destitution and a love that transforms brutality into miracles of grace." (Taken from the book "A Land Without Evil")
I was thinking that I'm not sure everyone that reads my blog has a very good picture of where we really are and what we're doing. In the past I felt like I couldn't speak very freely due to safety issues, but, at this point, it isn't really a problem with where I'm staying right now. So I thought I'd give a little better explanation of where we are and the situation over here for those who are interested.
We're living in Thailand at the moment, right near the Burma (Myanmar) border. This map shows Karen State (inside of Burma - the white part) which is what we border.
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At this time, we're mainly serving the Karen people, mainly the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) here along the border on the Thai side.
Kawthoolei (Karen State), which literally means a 'land without blemish', has long been a land with mines and a killing field. The Karen people living in Burma have been forced to flee a military dictatorship. And, not only that, but the Burmese Army is set on exterminating the Karen (and all other ethnic minorities) as a people group. War and killing have been a regular part of their lives for the past 60 years, but they haven't given up. This is the longest lasting civil war in history. The KNU (Karen National Union) fights mainly only in self-defense. They don't want to fight, but this is what they are forced to do to protect their homes and families.
Karen State is a beautiful place where I have lived and worked before. They'd had the threat of attack for a while in the area I was in, but just recently (after I left - in June) the Burmese finally did attack, conquered the KNU and took over the area. We had to evacuate the Karen school that was over there (approximately over a hundred kids) and move them across the border into Thailand.
In the KNU's own words, they desire Kawthoolei to be a Karen State with the right to self-determination. They want all the people to be given democratic rights, politically, economically, socially and culturally. They want to have freedom and quality of all religions. Burma is, at this point, one of the least developed countries in the world. Incidentally, about 40% of the Karen are christians, while the remaining number are either Buddhist or Animist.
My family's living in a house right along the border (about 500 yds) right now. They're specifically doing medical work with the villagers nearby and also supporting and directing the school that was evacuated from Burma and is now located right next door.
To be continued...
"...To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free... To deal they bread to the hungry, and to bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked that thou cover him..." Isaiah 58:7,8
"This morning dawned cloudy in the borderlands between Thailand and Burma, but as the sun breaks through, the beauty is breathtaking; high, rugged mountains; thick green jungle; rich fertile valleys surrounding freeflowing rivers. The beauty is so exhilarating it nearly makes us forget why we are here. It seems almost impossible to believe that this apparent paradise is a place more like hell for hundreds of thousands of people around us. The conflict of emotions caused by the contrast between the beauty of the land and the enormity of the tragedy of the oppressed and displaced people nearby is made even more acute by another bittersweet contrast - the brutality of the regime which inflicts immeasurable suffering on countless suffering victims: dignity in deprivation; generosity in destitution and a love that transforms brutality into miracles of grace." (Taken from the book "A Land Without Evil")
I was thinking that I'm not sure everyone that reads my blog has a very good picture of where we really are and what we're doing. In the past I felt like I couldn't speak very freely due to safety issues, but, at this point, it isn't really a problem with where I'm staying right now. So I thought I'd give a little better explanation of where we are and the situation over here for those who are interested.
We're living in Thailand at the moment, right near the Burma (Myanmar) border. This map shows Karen State (inside of Burma - the white part) which is what we border.
.jpg)
At this time, we're mainly serving the Karen people, mainly the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) here along the border on the Thai side.
Kawthoolei (Karen State), which literally means a 'land without blemish', has long been a land with mines and a killing field. The Karen people living in Burma have been forced to flee a military dictatorship. And, not only that, but the Burmese Army is set on exterminating the Karen (and all other ethnic minorities) as a people group. War and killing have been a regular part of their lives for the past 60 years, but they haven't given up. This is the longest lasting civil war in history. The KNU (Karen National Union) fights mainly only in self-defense. They don't want to fight, but this is what they are forced to do to protect their homes and families.
Karen State is a beautiful place where I have lived and worked before. They'd had the threat of attack for a while in the area I was in, but just recently (after I left - in June) the Burmese finally did attack, conquered the KNU and took over the area. We had to evacuate the Karen school that was over there (approximately over a hundred kids) and move them across the border into Thailand.
In the KNU's own words, they desire Kawthoolei to be a Karen State with the right to self-determination. They want all the people to be given democratic rights, politically, economically, socially and culturally. They want to have freedom and quality of all religions. Burma is, at this point, one of the least developed countries in the world. Incidentally, about 40% of the Karen are christians, while the remaining number are either Buddhist or Animist.
My family's living in a house right along the border (about 500 yds) right now. They're specifically doing medical work with the villagers nearby and also supporting and directing the school that was evacuated from Burma and is now located right next door.
To be continued...
"...To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free... To deal they bread to the hungry, and to bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked that thou cover him..." Isaiah 58:7,8
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
Last few days have been busy. Yesterday I stayed home to care for the villagers while most of the others went to the hospital in Maesot with several patients (generally a whole day project.) I did have a translator most of the time, thankfully! Looked in a sore mouth (quickly decided I was inept!), little girls with scabies, baby with diarrhea, a few women wanted there blood pressures taken, and did several malaria tests, among other things. Two little girls ended up with pf malaria so I got to give my first pills! That scares me. I don't take lightly to giving medications I don't know very well - especially to kids. But with the help of a few phone calls we got it figured out and it was good experience.
I've just recently learned of the possibilty of taking a 6 month medic course here. It's created for medics on the front lines, I believe, so it should be really great. I just have to have a little better grasp on the language first as it's taught in Karen. There's also a doctor here who I may be able to shadow to learn more.
Right now one of my biggest goals is to speak the language - Karen (pronounced as kurin) - fluently. I'm working on learning to read and write it. I forgot a lot of what I did know while I was back in the States and it was very discouraging to begin with, but most of it's finally starting to come back! It's such a huge handicap to not be able to speak. It's especially hard in Thailand as I speak next to no Thai. My total vocabulary basically consists of the words hello, thank-you, and vegetarian (truly vital!:) But I don't see myself learning a considerable amount of Thai anytime in the near future. Over here I'm not only illiterate, but, for all intents and purposes, most of the time might as well be deaf and dumb as well.:) It can truly be humbling at times, trust me...:)
But the possibilities are really exciting!
I'm in Maesot right now as we had to take a little boy from a nearby village to the hospital. I didn't even realize it was Thanksgiving 'til I got on the internet. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!:) I hope you guys are all having a great one and keeping in mind how blessed we really are!
I've just recently learned of the possibilty of taking a 6 month medic course here. It's created for medics on the front lines, I believe, so it should be really great. I just have to have a little better grasp on the language first as it's taught in Karen. There's also a doctor here who I may be able to shadow to learn more.
Right now one of my biggest goals is to speak the language - Karen (pronounced as kurin) - fluently. I'm working on learning to read and write it. I forgot a lot of what I did know while I was back in the States and it was very discouraging to begin with, but most of it's finally starting to come back! It's such a huge handicap to not be able to speak. It's especially hard in Thailand as I speak next to no Thai. My total vocabulary basically consists of the words hello, thank-you, and vegetarian (truly vital!:) But I don't see myself learning a considerable amount of Thai anytime in the near future. Over here I'm not only illiterate, but, for all intents and purposes, most of the time might as well be deaf and dumb as well.:) It can truly be humbling at times, trust me...:)
But the possibilities are really exciting!
I'm in Maesot right now as we had to take a little boy from a nearby village to the hospital. I didn't even realize it was Thanksgiving 'til I got on the internet. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!:) I hope you guys are all having a great one and keeping in mind how blessed we really are!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Update
Well I'm not quite sure just exactly what to say, but I figured I should put an update on here.:) Might be a bit dry though.
The jist of it is: Arrived in Bangkok. All is well. As I stepped out of the airport I think the first thing that really hit me was the heat. I was decked out in my jacket, of course, straight from the frigid airs of MT!:)
So we're finally back on the border. It's been rather crazy the last few days. Guess they expected me to come back as a doctor or something... Which they're slowly, but surely learning I'm not...
Sabbath was anything but restful! We ended up taking an interesting trip to the hospital with several sick kids. We had a young girl who was lying in the bed of the truck going between unresponsiveness or hyperventilating and in agony with spasms in her legs. We were driving at quite exciting speeds. Altogether there were seven of us back there. I was perched at the edge of one of the benches trying to keep my balance as another sick child was lying on the other part of the bench behind me and Thai driving always manages to add some pizzazz to anything!:) Let's just say that it was pretty exciting. She ended up having severe pf malaria.
The porch here at the house is having an almost steady stream of villagers and students especially in the mornings and evenings. This morning our nurse was gone at the hospital with patients, so it was just me and mama there. To sum it up, I spent most of it wielding wicked looking poking devices and jabbing them without mercy into innocent little fingers. No, actually we had people with all types and sorts of various maladies. But I had to do testing on several for pf malaria. I was at my wit's end. The test isn't one bit like our handy-dandy glucometers back home. Instead it has this hole you've got to somehow deposit the blood into and it's the frustration of my life. I was so tired of it and the next in line was a squirming, wailing little kid who quite obviously already had a well developed fear of needles. All I wanted to do was run and hide. Couldn't stand the idea of having to poke this one over and over. But I gave it a shot and that was the first (and last, so far!) one where the blood came out in a perfect drop and ventured into the hole in like manner. Felt like that was God's gift to me this morning when He knew I couldn't take much more.:)
The jist of it is: Arrived in Bangkok. All is well. As I stepped out of the airport I think the first thing that really hit me was the heat. I was decked out in my jacket, of course, straight from the frigid airs of MT!:)
So we're finally back on the border. It's been rather crazy the last few days. Guess they expected me to come back as a doctor or something... Which they're slowly, but surely learning I'm not...
Sabbath was anything but restful! We ended up taking an interesting trip to the hospital with several sick kids. We had a young girl who was lying in the bed of the truck going between unresponsiveness or hyperventilating and in agony with spasms in her legs. We were driving at quite exciting speeds. Altogether there were seven of us back there. I was perched at the edge of one of the benches trying to keep my balance as another sick child was lying on the other part of the bench behind me and Thai driving always manages to add some pizzazz to anything!:) Let's just say that it was pretty exciting. She ended up having severe pf malaria.
The porch here at the house is having an almost steady stream of villagers and students especially in the mornings and evenings. This morning our nurse was gone at the hospital with patients, so it was just me and mama there. To sum it up, I spent most of it wielding wicked looking poking devices and jabbing them without mercy into innocent little fingers. No, actually we had people with all types and sorts of various maladies. But I had to do testing on several for pf malaria. I was at my wit's end. The test isn't one bit like our handy-dandy glucometers back home. Instead it has this hole you've got to somehow deposit the blood into and it's the frustration of my life. I was so tired of it and the next in line was a squirming, wailing little kid who quite obviously already had a well developed fear of needles. All I wanted to do was run and hide. Couldn't stand the idea of having to poke this one over and over. But I gave it a shot and that was the first (and last, so far!) one where the blood came out in a perfect drop and ventured into the hole in like manner. Felt like that was God's gift to me this morning when He knew I couldn't take much more.:)
Friday, September 25, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
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