Heart for Ethiopia

Able is an 18 year old living in Addis Ababa. Several years ago he noticed that he was no longer able to run with the other boys. He had to stop playing football (soccer). Now he gets short of breath with very little exertion. One of the valves in his heart has been progressively damaged by repeated exposure to Strep bacteria. All the blood that his body needs to function must pass through an extremely small opening. His family brought him to the Black Lion hospital in hopes that he would be one of the few patient selected for the balloon valvuloplasty procedure to open his valve.

We screened 24 patients our first day to identify the 12 we would be able to help. It's a difficult and potentially dangerous procedure so we make our selections with much caution and prayer. At the same time, for most of these people, it's their only hope.

Abel made the cut because of the severity of his disease and the lack of alternatives

Just before discharge, all smiles.

The next day he was discharged from the hospital doing well. We will see him again this week to mark his progress.

Aziza is another patient we were able to help.

Aziza and her mother after her procedure

We are in Ethiopia with a team sponsored by Children's Surgery International and Lifestream Foundation. Along with Woubashet Ayenew a cardiologist at Hennepin County Medical Center, Ben Johnson a cardiology fellow from HCMC  and Brinder Kanda a fellow of cardiac structural intervention at Abbot. We are working along side the staff at the  Cardiac Center of Ethiopia, a part of the Black Lion Hospital.

Nursing staff

We will be in Ethiopia for 5 more days.

With the Browns in Jamiaca

On a resent medical mission to Jamaica we were able to visit with Tony and Angela Brown. We have been involved with their ministry for a number of years.

They work in a small fishing village near Montego Bay. In addition to   ministering to the Spiritual needs of the village , they have started a preschool for the children in the village. This "head start" program is giving children a love of learning and a hope for their future. You can sponsor a child for $20.00 a month.

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Tedi

Pediatric ward at Kigoma Baptist Hospital in far western Tanzania.

Tedi with her father

Tedi’s young father was considered to be a pest by some of the ward staff but those of us aware to the details of his daughter’s case knew better. No matter how early we arrived to round, he was always at the entrance of the ward awaiting any update and to make sure that we saw his daughter. Tedi is a 6 year old girl who fell out of a tree 3 months ago while playing and broke her left upper arm in two places.

Coming from a poor rural Tanzanian farming family earning $2 per day, they bound the arm hoping for the best

. 6 weeks ago two sites on the arm opened up draining pus. Since then, the family has traveled to a number of rural hospitals, using every shilling they had to find a cure for their daughter who now had a shortened left arm from the non-reduced fracture and is chronically ill from her osteomyelitis (infection of the bone—see X-ray). All of the treatments were poorly chosen and inadequate without surgical management. Her parent’s persistence brought her to this mission hospital but we have no orthopedic surgeons in this part of Tanzania. On the coast of Tanzania, 3 days travel by bus, there is a US trained pediatric infectious disease specialist and a Tanzanian orthopedic surgeon at the Arusha Lutheran Medical Center who would work together to try to save the arm of this intelligent little girl. The surgeries and very prolonged stay (estimated at 30 days) for antibiotics and rehab will be very expensive and not a possibility for this family. Tedi’s complex treatment and long hospitalization will cost $1500. If you would like to contribute toward this girl’s medical care please let us know. We will keep you updated. 

Temi with her mother