Covid, Health, Container Arrived!

- June 23, 2020

Life continues under lockdown here in Zimbabwe. Still no transport in rural areas, making it hard for patients to get to us.

Covid-19 continues to increase. As of today (23-June) we are up to 512 cases and 6 deaths. Returning residents from South Africa have been the main number of cases. Now we have several cases who are not returning residents and so we expect the spread at any time.

Last week on Thursday all nurses at Government hospitals went on strike (for better Pay and sufficient PPE) which has driven people to mission hospitals for care as they cannot get care at other hospitals. Our Out-patients has increased a lot this week, even without transport readily available. People are hiring vehicles to bring them long distances to here. Continue to pray for the hospital and all our staff to be kept safe and well.

I did have my stent removed from my right ureter. Tried in the doctor’s office on May 26^th and failed so had to go into the hospital for the in and out procedure on the 27^th. I was home by 11am and went home to Chidamoyo the next day.

Instead of getting better I continued to get worse and had another UTI. After 2 weeks I finally figured out that I was getting worse when I ate which then made me sick all day. So, on the 16^th of June I went in to see my GP who diagnosed ulcers. I went for an endoscopy the same day (not that fast in US, huh?) and sure enough an ulcer and 2 areas of erosion was seen. They figured out it was NSAIDs I take for arthritis, so I had to stop those and start ulcer meds for 2 months.

I also went to see my Urologist (who was happy they found something else that was NOT his problem) and was sent for a CT Scan which shows I need the stent back in. So, must return to Harare for that procedure in a few weeks when the ulcers have healed, and I am feeling better.

I am feeling better if I watch what I eat and do not eat too much. I feel I am gaining some of my strength back! However, I am hobbling around since I cannot use NSAIDs. Always something!

On Sunday, a new container from Sebastopol Christian Church arrived. Monday, we opened it and it was just like Christmas! There were bicycles for our evangelism program, medical supplies, and some personal items we bought when home this last furlough.

The big item was a golf cart so I can run back and forth to the hospital and to get to our boreholes! We got it out and pushed it to Major’s house to charge it, only to remember the batteries had been disconnected for shipment and we hooked them up and started driving it yesterday!

Everyone here is so shocked to see it. They have never seen anything like it. We have been giving staff some rides in it! This morning I drove it up to work with boxes I had unpacked of hospital items at home. It is so great and no fuel—perfect for a country like ours that has no fuel!

We are so thankful to Sebastopol Christian Church who paid for this cart and presented it to me in January when I was home! It is so great and will be helpful for years to come. Thank you for all you do for Chidamoyo!

Thank you to Sue and Gene Beckstead who have been packing and sending our containers for years. This is our last one for awhile and we are so thankful for all they did for years! They might get their garage back after all these years!