Bennett's Fracture

It is now the evening of MAY 5th, and we've been here in PNG a full 3 days. It is funny how quickly I've settled into a routine. Stephanie and the boys, I think, are still working on theirs, but coming along. I started back in the hospital the first morning after we arrived, which was my first time seeing patients in the new hospital. It opened this past fall, and let me tell you, it is a few steps up from the old place. For starters, it's bigger with more windows and lights. Also, there's no parts of the wall falling in, no leaking ceiling in the sterile utensils room, and the doctors' bathroom is no longer a scene from an old horror movie. The best part, though, is the folks there are still as friendly and helpful as ever. I got to see my friend Nickson, who is a native guy and a nurse in the ER, and he gave me a huge hug and proceeded to hold my hand -- a little weird to guys in the US, but a pretty typical and even manly expression of affection here in PNG. Brought me back real quick to cultural differences. Anyway, Nickson is great, and we've actually emailed several times since our last trip here. It will be nice working with him again. I was actually suprised how many nurses remembered me, and also how many I remembered. You gotta love familiar faces.

Speaking of familiar, or rather, unfamiliar, I had to get back in the swing of things pretty quickly treating parasites, TB, typhoid, and malnutrition. Still haven't seen a new HIV, but I've got a while! I have also seen a good amount of orthopedic stuff, which I definitely need to improve upon. Fortunately, it's pretty dummy proof here. If something looks/feels broken, take an xray:

Look it up and find the picture that matches it the best in a super-old ortho book by a guy named DePalma

And cast it up the way it tells you. By the way, that's casting with the old school turn-your-hands-white-and-make-a-huge-mess plaster. Last time I worked with that stuff was.... you guessed it, about two years ago in PNG! This fracture is evidently called a Bennett's fracture, involving the proximal first metacarpal (connects thumb to wrist). Never seen this particular fracture before, so I learned something new. Dr Jim (our general surgeon) helped me out on this one since DePalma actually recommended a little more aggressive treatment with pinning and traction. We're trying just casting first and will see how it goes. I have since completed this process solo with an ulnar fracture. I can only hope Dr Lau (cast clinic attending back home) will be proud!

I promised myself I'd keep these blogs shorter and just blog more often, but I can't help myself from sharing another story. There's this adorable little girl in the peds ward (where I'm currently spending my mornings) named Koli. She came in about a week ago with pneumonia, but also a strange neuropathy that caused weakness in her legs and hands, along with pretty severe pain in her legs. I had seen her for two days, and she was essentially stable or worse. We were/are wondering about perhaps polio versus some other viral/post-viral syndrome, but the good news was that it wasn't really progressing. Then today, I sit down on her bed and pick up her chart, and she smiles big at me and says "Jisas helpim mi!" (that's kind of my phonetic spelling of Pidgin - sorry to any real Tok Pisin speakers/spellers out there) which, of course, means "Jesus helped me!" There she was, playing with some yarn and moving her legs! She is still weak, but definitely improved. Pretty cool. Folks around here call the Lord "Papa God" which I really like. It's nice to have a Great Physician around to help folks out when I don't know what to do or can't do much. Please pray with me that He will help me to be His hands to the sick here.

Okay, it's now 10:30PM and long since time for me to get to bed. Hopefully I'll have more stories or pictures soon!

Safe in PNG!

It is now just after noon on June 3rd here in Papua New Guinea. We made it here safely yesterday late afternoon after a marathon day and a half of travel. I am so glad to be back here! I didn't remember just how beautiful this place is. The best part, though, is the missionaries and the way they have already made us feel welcome again. Stephanie, the boys, David (Stpehanie's brother who joined us this time) and I had a few rough spots during the travel, but we all made it safe and, just as importantly, sane. I'll tell a bit more about it and about where we're staying, etc. later. Now for lunch and back to the hospital!

One week away

This time one week from now, we will be boarding a plane in LA on its way across the ocean! A little nerve wracking, yes, especially making the trip with a 4 year old and a 1 year old, but exciting none the less. If anyone still bothers to read this blog, pray for us as we make our final preparations!

Hospital or Hotel?

Here are a few pictures of patients' doors I encountered while rounding last week. I got a good laugh out of them. Before you look at these, you must understand that a majority of the leg work in an academic hospital happens between 6am and 8am, and nurses really need to be checking on patients through out the night. Also, when we're changing your long-acting insulin, it behooves you to have your blood sugar checked in the middle of the night (traditionally at 3am).

(by the way, that "shooting star" is really a "falling" star and means the patient is a fall risk... just another reason to leave them totally unattended all night!)

All in all, though, that was pretty tame and understandable. Who wouldn't like a good night's rest while trying to recover from an illness serious enough to land you in the hospital? This next one, though, is priceless.

If you're having trouble reading the signs, they are as follows:

"DO NOT ENTER BEFORE 7:45AM!!!"

"NO UNNECESSARY VISITORS! - INCLUDING CLERGY"

"DON'T KICK PT [patient] SHOES UNDER BED"

"KEEP DOOR SHUT AT ALL TIMES!!!"

That stop sign is actually there because he is on contact precautions. They must think his crabbiness is catching.

Reading for fun

Recently, I decided I should start reading for enjoyment. I used to read a lot as a kid, but kind of stopped when life got busy in high school and have only read for fun periodically since then. I think the last book I read just for the heck of it was the Chronicles of Narnia set back before the The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe came out in theaters. So, on the recommendation of my brother Joe, I picked up The Shack by William Young.

It's basically about a guy to whom God appears in a physical body - actually three physical bodies: Father, Son, Spirit. It's a pretty interesting take on God and the way He relates to us. There is a lot of theological discussion and questioning about why bad things happen. I've read some of the criticisms of it, but I have to say, I really enjoyed it. It definitely helped me see my relationship with God from a different perspective. There really wasn't a lot from a theology standpoint that I hadn't thought about before, but I loved the portrayal of God's love for each person and his desire for a loving relationship with each one of us. I'd recommend it.

On a different note, the kiddo from PNG with the Burkitt's Lymphoma is no longer doing so well. I gotta say this was pretty disappointing for me to hear. You can read about this new update on Dr Erin's blog here. I read it almost two weeks ago, but haven't really felt like posting it. It breaks my heart to see kids like Nathaniel fighting cancer. Fortunately, she also has follow-up patient stories that are happier.

My family and I will be in PNG in just over two weeks now! I recently started compiling a list of things we need to buy and things we need to bring. Let me tell you, those lists are pretty long! I am really looking forward to my time there, (hopefully) taking the skills God has given me the ability to learn and putting them to good use along side these great missionaries.

Update on a little boy in PNG

A couple years ago when I was in Papua New Guinea, I had the opportunity, with Dr Erin, to see a young boy named Nathaniel who had Burkitt's Lymphoma. Thankfully, this is very treatable, and we had the chemo there to do it. Read about his update and see pictures here on Dr Erin's blog. Only 6 and a half weeks until we're on our way back!

Back to PNG

Well, we finally bought our airline tickets to go back to PNG! This trip has been in the works a long time, but it feels so much more definite when you put a nice chunk of change into it. We will be leaving the States April 30 and spending almost 2 months with our friends in Kudjip, Papua New Guinea! Just like last time, I will be working in the hospital and Stephanie will be tending to our boys. Good stuff! In a few short months, this blog will get WAY more interesting. Until then...