Always room for one more

Two trips this month, each maximizing the opportunity of transport

A full vehicle +1! And others hanging around hopeful to be fitted in...


The state of the roads - the worst patch, now with diversions around it


Shopping while in town (although the bulk of my town shopping was done at the supermarket, which isn't too different looking to home, hence no photos were taken!)


Mum and Dad have arrived and got busy at to work. Mum likes to visit the boys on my ward. Here we are having a picnic dinner at the Zambezi rapids with James and Ruth Atikinson

The linknet container internet cafe... introducing Kalene to the www.

A newly arrived internet cafe donated by a group that provides internet to rural African communities, a great development for the community


Football fever! Everyone is excited about world cup soccer. Here's some girls I organised a match with last Sunday afternoon. Hilariously entertaining!


Doug and Heidi with son Caleb, great friends who've been here for 3 months, Heidi as a midwife


Singleton - sustained burns to approximately 40% of his body after mistakenly using petrol in a kerosene lamp. This is 4 weeks on.


Cataract surgery - these men all had cataract surgery by a visiting eye surgeon and were issued with sunglasses to wear home.

The orthopod has landed

A huge number of people flock to the hospital for orthopedic consultation and hope of surgery by Professor Jellis, who visits at least twice each year.


It was lovely to see some patients return for review. Bartholemew came back for his prosthesis fitting, but unfortunately is now sick with TB.


This boy had a deep wound to his shin, exposing half his tibia. In an effort to save the leg, the dead bone will be removed and given time to heal before further surgery.



Another case of epilepsy and consequent falling in a fire.


My latest group of student nurses to be placed on my ward numbered 14... Needless to say, it's been a little congested at times!



A whirlwind trip to Solwezi to get my license, for which I had to reverse through some cones and do a hill start. Every trip to the nearest town with a supermarket (5 and a half hours each way) warrants some shopping, so we were fully laden for the journey back... but there's always room for one more!



Two of my drug resistant TB patients, one with his wife and child, who came to visit me at home after church last Sunday.

Back to work at Kalene

Straight back into work after my holiday, I met a ward full of new patients...


This man had a strange fungal skin condition in which he shed a complete layer of skin head to toe. Quite bizarre!



This man had a large tumour and part of his mandible removed. The second photo is a few days after surgery with the swelling. We sent him home before the swelling completely subsided, the third photo is him with his family just before discharge.


Moses is an epileptic patient who fell into a fire while having a seizure. Often patients like this don't survive, but he's done well, and his skin grafts have mostly taken.

Sports Outreach


I've recently got involved with a local sports outreach program being pioneered in the area to reach the local youth with the Christian gospel. We've started with a small group of about 25 young people from a range of different churches who we meet with on Saturdays.


We have a time of games, team building activities, and then a time of prayer and teaching.


This Saturday we had a lovely time singing together. I love the way they use their voices!

Our roads...


Here's a classic example of the state of the roads in the stretch between us and the closest government town. In good conditions it can take about 2 and a half hours to drive. Obviously not this day though! And ironically our government paid staff don't qualify for a rural hardship allowance because our roads are "all weather worthy". Ha!

Holiday

I was never really one for taking holidays, but this one taught me it's important to take them from time to time! I had a lovely time with friends in Livingstone and South Africa.


The Victoria Falls are amazing, these photos don't do it justice. Amazing how close you are allowed to the top of them, even to swim! What an experience!!


Friendly baboons at the Vic Falls... well I don't know if friendly is the right word, tame perhaps... obviously used to having people around anyway.


I spent over a week with good friends Mariska, Craig and their new baby Angus. They live in Natal, close to the Drakensburg mountains. Beautiful!


Stellenbosch is a beautiful part of South Africa, I went mountain bike riding and hiking there with Chris and Anna.


In Cape Town, I swam in the sea for the first time in over a year, woohoo! We are spoilt in NZ!! This is my friend Amelia's boy Zach.


Anna and Justin Phiri with their son Khondwani, a day old. Anna did a fantastic job of covering my ward while I was away and delivered her baby the day I started back! Gods timing is perfect!