The Magic of Medicine

Since contrcting malaria, I've had the dubious honor of experiencing its many additional features. If I thought the first night of fever, aches, and shakes was all there was, I was sadly mistaken. Most mornings I've felt pretty good, only to have some different new symptom arrive by the afternoon - diarrhea one day, upset stomach the next, and so on.
Yesterday afternoon I suddenly found it increasingly painful to breathe, a form of pleurisy I suppose. By early evening, I was very uncomfortable indeed. Fortunately for me, I'm living amongst a team of nurses armed with medical journals, the internet, and lots of medications. Plus, they all seem to want to help me get better, which is a good thing.

But as I lay in bed last night, heavily drugged up, I began to think about all the people living here in Africa who don't have access to these same things. They suffer too, and many of them with no hope of relief.

It was humbling.

Today I accompanied Lynn Lagore as she visited the home of Bero, a young man who was badly burned as a child during the civil war.

Large flaps of skin had joined Bero's lower left arm to his upper arm, making it impossible for him to extend it. But after coming to the attention of SAM Ministries, travel funds were raised by donors, and a plasitc surgeon in South Africa donated his time to try and correct Bero's conditon as best he could.

Lynn's job today was to change the dressings and assess the healing process.

The whole family turns out to watch.

The medical work out of the way, it's now time for a quick math lesson to help Bero with his studies...

Bero is very active in his local church, and also very industrious, even with his disablilties. He makes and then plays these musical shakers in his church choir.

Pray for people like Bero and his family. And find a way to give to good causes like this if you can.

Even from our side of the world, we can make a difference.