Our Little Girl's Clavicle

A little over a year ago (May 2015), sweet pea fell while getting out of the car. She managed to land on her shoulder in such a way that her (left) clavicle was fractured. We were so blessed at the time to know a visiting family (both husband and wife are doctors) who was living above the newest hospital/clinic. They personally escorted me through the whole process, including x-rays. With their help, we were able to find her fracture and sew up an adult sized sling to fit her.

The left side of the photo is normal and the right side
(G = gauche = left) shows the stress fracture.

Fast forward to October 2016 - sweet pea comes home from school crying. The driver told me that she fell at school (while playing with another child). I took one look at the way she was holding her arm and knew just what had happened. I left baby boy with my worker and drove sweet pea to the hospital/clinic I visited before with her the year prior. We got lucky. There was a nurse on call who spoke English and helped me to translate correctly to the pediatrician what I thought was wrong. He walked us down one floor to the x-ray room and helped us get set up for x-rays. As soon as the film pulled up, the doctor called me into x-ray technician room and pointed to the x-rays. Here is what I saw...

The left side of the screen shows a normal clavicle.
The right side clearly shows a clavicle that is broken.

When her arm is lifted, the two broken pieces overlap. 

Yep. Broken. The exact same side as before. After waiting 10 additional minutes, we walked around the corner and met a Middle Eastern orthopedist who also spoke English. We talked about the x-rays. Sweet pea definitely broke her clavicle and it will heal. The only concern is if it will manage to heal straight. Kids are resilient but also quite active. So we are to keep her arm immobilized in a sling while she heals. (Coincidentally, they only had an adult size small which I had to sew to fit just like the year prior). 

I was once again completely blown away by my medical experience here. I was able to walk into a hospital, speak to a pediatrician, get x-rays, speak to an orthopedist, get a sling, and be home within 2 hours all for less than $200. There are many things lacking in the health care system here, such as medication and appropriately sized slings for children. But since this is the week of Thanksgiving, I will say I'm thankful for the medical care and options that we do have!

Have You Heard?

Don’t let the name fool you, this is a blog post filled with updates and travel plans!

Medical care is possible here up to a certain point.  Some basic emergencies can be handled, there are many volunteer and missionary doctors who are quite capable of providing advice, and the hospitals here in Kinshasa have back-up generators! While all of this is great, there are some exceptions and certain situations that are not preferable when it comes to medical care here. Birthing is one of those exceptions.

MAF has a list of things a medical facility must be able to provide in order for it to be considered safe for a mother to give birth. I really appreciate the detail in this list and the time MAF took to realize what is important for a mother’s (and soon-to-be baby’s) health! Unfortunately, the local hospitals here do not meet the standards for giving birth. Our next option for giving birth would be to travel to a closer country with more modern care (South Africa, Kenya, etc.). But with the prior problems I experienced in my previous pregnancy (tachycardia and gestational diabetes), we felt it would be best to give birth with doctors who are already familiar with my situation. After discussing our concerns with MAF, they agreed it would be better to give birth in the US where the medical care would not be a concern.

All that information shared was to lead you up to the news that sister-to-be and I will be departing from Kinshasa on September 22^nd for East Tennessee. The week I am traveling is the doctor’s closest guess to my 34^th week of pregnancy (plus or minus two weeks). Kevin will remain in Kinshasa until my 38^th week and then will travel the great big ocean alone to be with us. We will give birth in TN and will remain until the baby receives his/her passport and VISA before embarking across the ocean to return home to Kinshasa.

While Kevin and I will try to make plans to visit as many of you as possible (our friends, family, ministry partners, etc.), we would like everyone to be understanding when it comes to our time constraints, our active toddler, and her soon-to-be sibling. I personally will be in East Tennessee staying with Kevin’s parents until giving birth. Afterwards, with Kevin’s assistance, we hope to travel to West Tennessee to visit family and friends and possibly visit some relatives in North Carolina. In the meantime, little girl and I are open to play dates, park visits, and tea time! We are looking forward to seeing everyone and talking about our time in Africa.