tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55314843205064836422024-03-21T20:58:54.624-07:00my spot to blogAnna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-53762044670739190792012-11-14T09:59:00.004-08:002012-11-14T09:59:56.891-08:00Home!Sorry for the delay in posts. I hated that I left you with such a sad last post. We lost internet on Friday and I've just now gotten home to sit down on my computer. A short update on the last blog: we found out Dotto's body and his mom made it back to Tanzania with no problems. We were worried they would not allow him across the boarder but they did. He will be buried near his home and his 8 siblings will be able to be present. His mom said she understood that Dotto was very sick when she brought him to us. I continue to pray for his mom and his siblings who did not know they'd lost their brother until mom came back home without him. I can't imagine.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kipchirchir!</td></tr>
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Anyway, Thursday and Friday we continued with surgeries and all were successes! My days began to run together but we met several cuties. One guy, Kipchirchir, had a very very long surgery. He reminded me alittle of Hilary from week one. Kipchirchir got a tricuspic vavle replacement. The cardiologists described it as ebsteinoid-like which is pretty sick. During surgery they had trouble staying off of bypass due to severe pulmomary hyptertension. Kari, Kristen, and I spent a lot of time running around and calling people to find some flolan--no such luck! Malik put down an NG and we crushed up some sildenafil. They wait an hour for it to absorb and attempted to come off pump again. I don't know if it was the time, more surgical stuff, or the medicine but he was able to come off. I believe he went on and off pump 4 times? Either way, he came out of the OR very sick but by the next morning he was extubated and just on some milrinone. I continue to be amazed at how sick these patients are but they just keep exceeding all expectations. Post-operatively Kipchirchir required pacing wires and continuous pacing (originally his underlying rhythm was asystolic, eventually improved to an escape rhythm around 70). Aegneta (the 5th year resident at Tenwek who literally does everything) ordered a permanent pacer and when it arrives to Tenwek she will most likely place it this week. He was a quiet kiddo and I found out later he had an identical twin. Aegneta said Kipchirchir (which means "boy born during chaos") and his twin Kipkemoi (I think that means "boy born in the morning") would come into clinic and make Aegenta guess who was who without listening to their hearts first. I thought that was cute haha<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kibet!</td></tr>
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Some other little ones we saw we Mary, Chepkemoi, Chepkorir, and Kibet. They were all VSD or ASD closures and they all did so so well! Kibet had some rhythm issues that required him to stay with us for some time but by Sunday he was off his pacer and got to leave the ICU. Kibet was five and his biggest concern while with us was that his mother never ever left his side. That quickly became my biggest concern too b/c if his mom left for a second Kibet screamed and cried. I found out the best way to calm him was play some Taylor Swift on my iphone and he chilled out....we aren't so different after all. Oh and Kibet's mom told us that he thought we were all Chinese. When we asked why she said it was because he'd seen a Jackie Chan movie and assumed all white people were Chinese. He was kind of awesome.<br />
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Little Mary was 9 months old and was super tiny but supppperr cute. I believe she was just a VSD closure. She did really well! Mary spent most of her time either eating or sleeping. Any other combination threw her for a loop and resulted in screaming. She also required 24 hour mom-at-bedside orders. We made an excepetion for both her and Ian's mom to sleep in the bed with them so they coud feet and cuddle whenever necessary. I wish we could do that at Vandy...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Mary! Cutie!</td></tr>
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Our other two friends were Chepkorir (I THINK it's girl born during the rain but not positive) and Chepkemoi (girl born in the morning). They were both with us for a short period b/c they did so awesome. I actually didn't even meet Chepkemoi until I visited her in the ward b/c she did so well after surgery that she left the unit within 12 hours. All to say, I'm so thankful that they all recovered and were smiling!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Took a hike outside the entrance of the hospital. </td></tr>
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On Saturday most of the team left but Kristen, Brittany, Leah, Jenny, Mary, Michael, and myself stayed through the weekend to see the patients through. The last two patients went to the high dependency unit on Sunday so we were free to just enjoy Tenwek. We went on lots of hikes together and spent time just enjoying one anothers company. Monday morning we went for another 430am Motigo sunrise hike. Poor Aegneta wanted to go so bad but it never worked out so Kristen and I decided to go again and everyone else joined us! It was so fun. This sunrise was a little different. I liked it more for the hike itself rather than the runrise...that's not to say the sun rise was anything short of perfect. As we walked there wasn't a cloud in the sky and you could see the milky way. I've never seen so many stars...For real! I couldn't capture the stars and moon in a picture but I did manage to get a couple snaps at the top. After the hike we all showered, visited the patients one last time, and hopped on the vans to head to Nairobi. We got to the airport around 4 and the long travel began.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some Motigo sunrise action.</td></tr>
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We went from Nairobi to Amsterdam to Detroit then HOME! We were all counting down the minutes til the Detroit airport. We had already planned a Chili's lunch and starbucks stop before the next flight. We ate our weight in American food and coffee then boarded a small plan for home. I charged my computer just enough to watch one and a half episodes of The OC to pass the time. My sweet mom and dad greeted me at the airport. Later that evening my sister surprised me and showed up at my condo! I was literally walking to my bed at 630pm to crash when she knocked...it was the perfect surprise and gave me a 2nd... 3rd...4th boost of energy. She was so sweet and let me tell her all about what happened the day we lost Dotto. I think I needed the debrief. My mom picked up some dinner and my brother showed up, too. Just what I needed! I crashed around 930 and they snuck out some point later. Feeling rested now!<br />
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Again, thanks so much for your sweet words and heartfelt prayers. All in all, I think we did 25 surgeries(also includes 2 cath patients). It was a long trip but always so worth it. I made many new friends a long the way and grew deeper in my other friendships. In fact, I already miss everyone. Before the weeks were over we were already discussing next year. We will most likely go back the same time, but do two weeks of congenital cases. So, lots of little ones!! Thanks again! love to all!!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doing some teaching with these awesome Cardiac books Kristen made! </td></tr>
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<br />Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-26548607337376143562012-11-08T00:46:00.001-08:002012-11-08T00:46:06.212-08:00I blog today with a heavy heart. Most of you know what transpired yesterday evening, though some of you may not which is why I chose to blog. Yesterday was full of great joy but also great sorrow. <div>
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The day started rough as we took sweet Ian to the OR and after sedating him and putting in the breathing tube we felt his lungs were too sick to go on with surgery. We spent a lot of time praying over him and discussing our options. Ultimately, if we did not do surgery Ian could go home and pass away...he could have months or years, we can't say. If we did surgery it could go well and his heart could be fixed, or it could go poorly and he may not survive. We spoke with his mom and she said she believed God was in control and to proceed with the surgery. We proceeded and Ian is doing AWESOME! Kari his currently patting his bottom as we try to track down his mom to feed him! He's the cutest little thing laying in this giant adult bed. What is amazing about Ian is he is the most complex surgery we've done here and praise God he's doing well!! </div>
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As Ian was finishing up in surgery Dotto began getting sicker. Kari, Jenny, and I were in the OR to transfer Ian back to the unit. As we were waiting one of the Kenyan nurses came into the OR and said they needed us in the unit for Dotto. When we got in there we found Dotto had suddenly stopped breathing. Prior to this event he had developed a GI bleed on Tuesday that we'd been treating but he hadn't had any further symptoms of that yesterday afternoon. To make a long, very messy story short Dotto ended up in cardiac arrest. We put in a breathing tube, started CPR, gave a lot epi boluses, gave volume for low blood pressures, and started continuous infusions of blood pressure medicines(epi, dopa). We got him stable for about 10 minutes when all of a sudden we could not get a pulse or blood pressure again. We started CPR for a second time and increased all support. He was continuing to decompensate. During this Leah remembered that Brittany (Kristen's sister) was O-positive, which was also Dotto's blood type, so Brittany immediately ran to donate blood. She's so great!! We decided to scope his upper and lower GI and found a bleed in his colon. At this point I called Nez up to the unit for more help. Between Kari, Leah, and myself we weren't able to manage him, our cath patient (alhtough he was rockin it!), and our new post-op Ian. Kristen had worked the night before and was coming back at 7pm so we chose not to wake her. She arrived around 630pm and jumped right in to help us. Dotto stabled out enough so that we could all take turns going to eat dinner. Around 9pm things seemed to calm down though Dotto was still very sick. For my nursing friends he was on Epi 0.2 and Dopa of 10 with continuous blood and NS boluses and no longer responding neurologically. </div>
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Leah, Kari, Brittany, and I headed home for bed after a long day while Nez, Kristen and Jenny stayed to manage the unit. Needless to say, none of us could go to sleep without knowing how Dotto was doing. I called up to the unit and Kristen told me through her tears they decided to withdrawal care on him. We all walked back up to the unit to be with them and say goodbye to our little friend. His mother was at his bedside praying and chanting over him through her tears the entire time. Kristen said they had added a Vaso gtt and even increased his Epi to 0.25. He had started to decompensate again and they decided there was nothing else we could do, at which point they called his mom into the room to be with him. They said when they stopped all the medicines and took out his breathing tube there was an overwhelming sense of peace that came over his body and they could tell he was no longer in pain. </div>
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Dotto went to be with his Savior around 1030pm last night. For a 12 year old boy he was incredibly mature in his faith. As Kari says "he was an old soul". He would pray all day and ask us to pray with him. We found out later that Dotto had told his mom that morning to give his sister all his toys(we give them bags of goodies when they have surgery). It was as if he knew...which is what hurts me the most. He knew and he couldn't communicate that to us. I replay the day in my head and wonder what more we could have done or what we missed; but in my heart of hearts I know we did all we could and God has a bigger plan for Dotto. This isn't the first time I've lost a patient, not even here at Tenwek, but this time stings differently. We'd invested a lot into Dotto and even gotten to know him over the last week. We prayed with him, laughed with him, even bickered with him, and held his hand when he was scared. If I'm being completely honest, and vulnerable(KB-bravery point?), I'm feeling guilt. His mom and him praised God for "finding" us over and over. They were so gracious and it hurts to think Dotto is no longer here. It's difficult to understand for me that he came in with a "broken" heart that, surgically, was fixed, yet he died because of something different that we didn't know had been going on. All to say, I'm still so thankful for little Dotto and his mom. I will praise Him for this 12 year old life that made us laugh and showed me a true faith. I'm so thankful for these Kenyan nurses that have been so supportive and even helped us during those moments of chaos. Without them this would not be possible. They're so generous, helpful, and joyful. I'm blessed to be a part of this team that cares so much and gives every bit of their energy towards one another and these patients. I'm so grateful God placed a desire on all of our hearts to come serve these people for His purpose...it's such an awesome team!</div>
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Interesting note: Kari just opened her Jesus Calling book to read todays message. As she read it I thought "that sounds strikingly similar to the passage Mary found last year after Roger passed"... I looked back in my blog and found Roger passed away this same day a year ago and it was the same passage on November 8th. Just weird. </div>
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Anyway, the first surgery for today will come out shortly. It sounds like little Mary is doing super awesome! Our other kiddos Zebidi, Karen, Parmaut, Malvin, and Joyce are healing!! Parmout and Joyce were the first cath patients ever at Tenwek! Tom Doyle is cranking them out...it's so so cool to watch! All the cath kids come out super happy and fun! Despite the sadness of yesterday all of our patient's are rockin it! Such a blessing!! Pictures to come. Oh, also, I hope you all survived election day...not going to lie, I'm glad I wasn't there :) love to all!!!</div>
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Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-10489667855808945362012-11-04T11:09:00.001-08:002012-11-04T11:09:48.285-08:00Ready for round twoJust a short note before we head to bed and start a new week. The second wave of people arrived today around 1:00 and we got to spend some sweet time together before we get to work. We unpacked all the extra bags full of more supplies and re-stocked the ICU. The ICU and OR are ready for round two but we needed to meet as a team to discuss the patients. I'm not sure the exact number but I'd say we had a stack of papers on 50-60 kids, 28 of which we discussed doing surgery on...and that's not even including the ones that will show up this week in clinic in need of surgery. Sadly, the truth of it is that we can only do 2-3 cases a day, meaning around 12 patients total. So, of the potentially 100 children screened, 12 will get surgery and about 4 will be cathed. All to say, that's a HARD decision to make and one we have to remind ourselves that, ultimately, is not our decision. Tonight during our bible study we spent some time talking about how we felt like we were "playing God". It's tough to go down this list of names and cross names off knowing we (Mary, Mike, Ron, and Tom the cardiologists) have to tell them they are not a candidate for surgery and they may not live a long life. I don't mean for this blog to be depressing but this is the reality and although there is SO much goodness here, I think it's important people understand that there is SO much more that needs to be done. We prayed for wisdom and discernment as we make tough decisions and trust these are the patients God has brought to us to treat. Tomorrow we are doing surgery on Dotto, the boy I mentioned in a previous blog. We will also do surgery on Chepkoech Songok, who is a VSD repair, and Malvin Mwangi, who has severe subaortic stenosis. I'll let you know how they do!<br />
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Tomorrow will come early as Kari, Kristen, Nez, Leah, Brittany, and myself are going to hike up to Montego at 430am to catch the sunrise. We have to get back by 8am to take Lilian, Agnus, and Julia to get their follow up echos before the go home. We have checked on all our patients each day and they're all doing great! They send their love to you all! Hope you have a blessed sunday and say a prayer that my fantasy team whoops up on Shelby's team ;) love to all!Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-3366413785667293802012-11-03T04:19:00.002-07:002012-11-03T04:19:47.710-07:00Thirteen patients later!It's been a couple of days since I updated but everythings well here! We have had a total of 13 patients, not including a few pacemaker placement patients, one of which was one of the first nurses here at Tenwek! There have been six more patients since I last updated. Charles, Chepkoech, Irene and Joyce were all mitral valve replacements and did well! Miss Chepkoech had a rough day due to some bleeding post operatively. She earned a trip back to the OR after dumping a liter, but after repairing the stitch she has done well! Our two other patients are little different. For my non-medical friends this may not make sense BUT it's interesting so I added it. Hillary came to us with severe aortic regurgitation and sinus of valsalva aneurysm. The plan was to do an aortic root replacement but it was complicated by coronary ischemia which then required a CABG. He had an eight hour by-pass time during which the team contemplated calling it b/c his ejection fraction was 5. After his repair and a TEE we gave him an "optimistic" EF of 19 and he seperated from bypass easier than anticipated. Within 12 hours of this operation he was extubated and sitting up. I can't help but believe that in the states this just would not happen. There's something about these people. They're resilient, they have such a strong faith, and they are more than willing to do anything they need to get better. It's so clear to me God has his hand over this place.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Ron teach during Hilary's TEE in the OR! An optimistic EF of 19. Today we measured 28!<br /></td></tr>
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Another interesting patient was Dotto. He was a 12 year old (looked 5, Amy actually thought he was 4) from Tanzania. He showed up at our clinic on Wednesday and they pretty much immediately knew he was not well just by looking at him. His mom said someone from home heard about the Americans at Tenwek and they offered to pay their way here. You could tell by his appearance Dotto had severe ascites and his abdomen was HUGE; he could hardly breathe. They did an echo and found he had a huge pericardial effusion and large bilateral pleural effusions as well as severe ascites. The admitted him to our unit and tapped 3L off his belly. We discussed what to do about his effusions but were nervous he would decompansate. The following day we decided to evacuated fluid around his heart and lungs. Jenny put in a pericardial drain as Mary Taylor guided her with an echo. We got about 300mLs and he got pretty hypotensive and dropped his heart rate with it. Fortunately, we were able to volume resuscitate him pretty quickly. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous during all of this! After that we drained his left pleural effusion and got about 800mLs...lets just say he could breath a lot better after that! He was such a sweet boy. He would call us "dada" over and over meaning "sisters". One of the Kenya nurses said he was praising God for "finding" us for him and was asking me to pray for him. That was a cool moment. He loved playing music on my iPhone and playing games on Sarah's iPad. Sadly, w don't know why he is accumulating all this fluid. It's kind of a mystery. We've sent several labs and test to try to find out so I'll keep you posted on Dotto!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBY4OtgKRICAezzR9HRDJj_lfnv4B0jGbLuIxPAEQnTD4_v6lcT2fq5sGXkxjkUJPC__5GmuWV8tVe0ju1_zsuWoaq__4Ms1X8kdRGVHs16PqYEFJ2z-KFAg2IQxn2ruRxTqrDm__7LAs/s1600/IMG_9687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBY4OtgKRICAezzR9HRDJj_lfnv4B0jGbLuIxPAEQnTD4_v6lcT2fq5sGXkxjkUJPC__5GmuWV8tVe0ju1_zsuWoaq__4Ms1X8kdRGVHs16PqYEFJ2z-KFAg2IQxn2ruRxTqrDm__7LAs/s320/IMG_9687.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah playing games with Dotto! </td></tr>
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Jenny and I have been manning the ICU this morning. We started with five patients and are down to two! Charles and Chepkoech are moving along. Both sweet souls, very soft spoken, but getting better! They should go to the floor today. As we were rounding we found Julia, Agnus, Lilian, and my girl Peris basking in the sun with their incentive spirometers and gifts! It was AWESOME to see them laughing and smiling together. They've bonded this week. They each asked how long their surgery was and said they feel so happy. Peris said "I can even walk up the stairs now!" love it!! She has SUCH a beautiful smile, I wish you could all meet her!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our sweet girls!! Julia, Agnus, Lilian(fist pumpin), Peris!</td></tr>
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Sarah, Amy, Dr. Galat, and Luke are all headed back to the states today. I can honestly say I'm really sad to see them go! I spent a lot of time with Sarah and Amy this week so it's already weird without them. Luke is such an awesome guy. He genuinely cares for these patients and this whole mission. And Dr. Galat is an incredible surgeon and so willing to teach! Though I'm sad to say bye I'm super pumped Kristen, Brittany, Leah, Dave Bichell, and Lewis are en route to us! I think their smiling faces will be the perfect boost for round two!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nez talking to Charles about his family back home over some lunch. </td></tr>
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Round two is pediatric congenital heart defect week!...aka what I actually do at home! I can't wait to see these sweet kiddos! I think our youngest is 3 months but we will discuss in conference tomorrow once the rest of the team arrives. Anyway, happy weekend to those of you at home and as a Kenyan just reminded me, tomorrows election day! She asked if I voted and I told her I've been here but my states red no matter what :) LOVE TO ALL!<br />
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"For it is God who is working in you, both to desire and to work out His good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing." Philippians 2:13-14<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My HotBox friend Rachel donated lots of soccer jerseys...Charles was eyeing this one!</td></tr>
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"But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them shout for joy forever. May You shelter them, and may those who love Your name boast about You. For You, Lord, bless the righteous one; You surround him with favor like a shield" Psalm 5:11, 12Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-27988721387468085162012-10-31T15:15:00.001-07:002012-10-31T15:15:12.583-07:00Day three-ish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It is now Thursday morning (12am) and I'm on my third night shift so far. We've seen two more patients come and go on to the wards. Yesterday's patients were Lilian and Agnus. They, like Dorothy and Peris, were mitral valve replacements. That seems to be the trend right now. 20-30year old females with On-X valves placed...and they have all done so well! Agnus and Lilian were already to the ward when I got back to work tonight at 7pm. I went to see them, and my main girl Peris, in the HDU (high dependency unit) a couple hours ago. They were all awake and smiling. Agnus was concerned mostly with taking a shower. Today we had three cases. Chepkorir, Julia, and Diam Tolosa. Just like the other Chepkorir and Julia had MV replacements and are doing well. Everytime Julia wakes up she asks what time it is. She always thinks that it should be the next day when she wakes up from dozing off so I'm excited for her to wake up again b/c I can tell her IT'S TOMORROW! There are three things the patients say when they wake up. 1) thank you 2) wata (water) 3) how is my heart? Several of them are very curious about it and everytime something beeps, or even when sweet Chepkorir threw up, they ask "is my heart ok?" I thank God I can say "yes! it's better than ever!" Yesterday Peris could start to hear the click of her new valve. She was concerned something was wrong but I reassured her it was ok and it just meant it was working well! </div>
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Our third patient today is Diam aka Obo Tolosa, a refugee (since 1989) from Ethiopia. He's a bit of a special case. He's a 40 yo male who was diagnosed with TB in 2000. Over the last 8 years he began developing a cough, shortness of breath, orthopnea, fatigue, abdominal and facial swelling, and he was recently admitted to a hospital with pleural effusions. They found he had Tb pericarditis with constrictive pericarditis. Dr. Galat and Dr. White did a pericardiectomy where they remove part or most of the pericardium (the sac around the heart). They said it was extremely thick, and calcified, like a rock. Since his surgery he's doing great and says he can already breathe better! I think he's the sweetest man! Every time I go to check on him I say "Huko sawa?" meaning "are you ok?" and he holds my hands, smiles, and responds "Niko sawa!" meaning "I am ok!" It seems like a simple conversation but it means a lot to me. </div>
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Today, while I was sleeping, there was a big storm that came through. I woke up to find out the power and oxygen had gone out at the hospital. It wasn't for very long but the nurses had to manually bag the patients and the perfusionists in the OR had to hand crank the bypass machines. That's always a little scary! Fortunately, everything was okay and no patients were harmed! Just another reminder of how little control we really have. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The storm clouds from today.</td></tr>
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Tomorrow I'll sleep until around 1:00 then wake up to come back to the hospital and work from 3-10pm. I feel like I haven't seen Kari and Nez very much because we've been on opposite shifts so I'm looking forward to seeing them tomorrow! </div>
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Everyday we do a small bible study between shifts and our Kenyan nurses join us. Over the last couple days they've heard us discussing Hurricane Sandy and reading about all the devastation online. Today when we asked Cynthia, one of our Kenyan nurses, if she had any prayer requests she said "the storm at your home. Do you know if everyone is ok?" I thought that was sweet and worth sharing. Know that we are all praying for you as you pray for us! MUCH LOVE!!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The OR!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peris playing on facebook!</td></tr>
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<br />Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-47216210219238211222012-10-29T15:59:00.000-07:002012-10-29T15:59:13.929-07:00Tenwek Day One-ishJambo! It's been such a long few days I'm not sure where to begin. A group of us left the US on Friday and arrived here at Tenwek on Sunday 1600 local time. Kari and I went from Nashville to Minneapolis where we saw Luke one of the anesthesiologists we know from last year. From there we flew to Amsterdam where we reconnected with Amy and Sarah, and also met up with Mike (peds cardiologisy), John Galat (Adult CT surgeon), Malik (peds anesthetist), and Jenny Boyd (peds intensivist from UNC). We had an eight hour lay-over in Amsterdam so Sarah, Amy, Kari, and myself set out to find the Anne Frank Museum. After about 2.5 hrs of looking and asking several different people for directions, all of which consisted of "just go straight down that way." We eventually saw a huge line of people and went that direction. It's pretty fascinating. I was surprised how big the "house" actually was at first. Then I saw where Anne and the other 8 people actually stayed. There were tiny, narrow, steep staircases hidden behind a book case that led up to two tiny bed rooms and a living room/kitchen/bed room. Anyway, kind of hard to picture without going. I'd recommend a trip there for sure. After that we booked it back to the airport via train and hopped on our plane to Nairobi. Once we landed we packed 3 big rovers full of our bags and ourselves and set out for Tenwek. It was a super long drive, and it's still unclear to me why we stopped so many times, but we arrived safely!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My family came to see me off! Just missing Graham (Already got to facetime her tho :)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Jenny, Nez and I found some time to go for a little walk!</span></td></tr>
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Our first mission was to set up and organize the ICU. Nez and Tom had set up a lot beforehand b/c they came earlier so we didn't have a ton to do; I was thankful for that! After that we showered, ate dinner, and had a meeting to discuss the week. Sarah, Amy, Kari and I were pretty pooped from the lack of sleep so we all (Nez included) went back to our living area. We spent some time together in the living room and talked. Amy and I started on a 1,000 piece puzzle. We are determined to finish it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Taking a second to chit chat while setting up!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Our first patient, Dorothy, getting back from the ICU.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As I was walking to lunch I heard a little voice singing....I found him!</span></td></tr>
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Today we had two surgeries. Dorothy is a 24 year old mother from Kapsowar who needed a mitral valve replacement. She is already awake and talking and doing awesome! Our second patient is Peris, she's 24 years old. Peris is my new bestie and I already know her life story...which is certainly touching. She got a mitral valve replacement today. She told me she has been feeling sick for several years and had been to several doctors. They did many X-rays and would not tell her anything; they'd send her home with different medicines. Finally, after worsening symptoms like coughing, edema, chest pain, shortness of breath, and the inability to work she went back to the doctor. The Xray showed and enlarged heart and a "spot" on her lungs so for 6 months she was treated for TB. It also showed something wrong with the electral acitivty in her heart (which I'm thinking was a-fib). She did not get better and used all her money on medicine. Her husband began drinking alcohol and became "violent" with her. After 6months she took her son and left and found a family willing to house them. She began prostituting herself to have the money for her medicine but eventually ran out. It was then that she met a man who was in charge of an organization that helped children pay for their medicine and medical bills so he began paying for hers. It's unclear to me when but after that she got another Xray and this doctor said it was her heart and she needed an echo done. The man who had been supporting her knew about our mission at Tenwek so he brought her, as well as some others, here. We have seen several patients in clinic but Peris was one of the ones sick enough to require surgery now. She said she had the surgery for her son so that she can save money from buying all the medicines to buy him a bicycle! How badly I wanted to say "We brought one!!" but I couldn't, so I'll send her with a soccer ball(way more fun in my opinion). Five hours after surgery Peris wanted to sit up in a chair so she's currently sitting up asleep in her chair but I don't have the heart to wake her up. She's a sweet girl with a sweet smile.<br />
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Tomorrow will bring two, possibly three, more cases. We are focusing on valves this week; mostly just Mitral and Aortic valves. We have a few patients this week that are very very sick. One we will do on Wed morning and another one on Thursday. I'll keep you posted on them but I know the team is anticipating some more difficult cases coming up. The goal is to do more complex repairs now so that when we are away the Tenwek team can do the simple repairs.<br />
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Anyway, that's alot! But it's been a long few days. Between our shifts we have started doing short devotionals and including the Tenwek nurses. We have some specific prayer requests that I'd love to pass along! Our ventilators, though we now have many, still are not working. With much sicker patients coming up in the week we NEED working ventilators. As always, pray for oxygen and a lot of it! So far, no shortage of oxygen alarms have sounded tonight. Pray for Amy as she is having an RA flair up, especially in her hips. I can't imagine doing all this while in pain. Pray for our patients obviously; as Russ says, don't just pay for their heart, but their soul. Also, pray for our Tenwek nurses as they learn something totally new! Tonight we have Aaron and Cynthia. They're AWESOME!<br />
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Thanks for the love and prayers, I hope you're not having a bad case of the mondays. good news for you is...monday night football!! Hoping Andre Roberts has a big game so I can defeat Emelyn(don't think for a minute I'm not following my team). Love yall!!Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-44537917276324555862011-11-20T23:17:00.000-08:002011-11-20T23:17:11.191-08:00I ramble...I was starting to wonder if I could ever blog again and it not be about Africa and I'm beginning to realize I may never blog the same. It may not always be about that experience but things seem sweeter now. More meaning, less clutter; it's like God magnified my life and now I only want to see what really matters. There were two experiences I haven't yet shared with you. I wanted the last post to be an over view of the safari weekend, but there are two moments in my mind that I can't shake.<br />
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On our first night on the safari we had our surprise bush dinner. Afterwards our group was headed back to the lodge, except we didn't go directly there. We were driving down some bumpy path and I shined my flash light out on the land and saw eyes light up! I'm not so sure if I freaked out as much as I excitedly shouted to Steven(our driver) "I SEE EYES TO THE RIGHT!" and before I knew what I'd said we had peeled that direction towards the EYES! We drove all through the bush as I shined my light and kept shouting "eyes! eyes! eyes!" Eventually we ended up in a wide open plain...just us and the eyes. Steven turned off the rover, we turned off all lights, and we sat. We sat in silence amongst the wildlife. Even though we could no longer see them we knew they were there and we knew they weren't a threat. We were existing peacefully together. I popped my head out the "window" and despite a full moon I could still see every star in the vast sky. So much silence and awe in that moment between all of us. I've never felt more in touch with God's creation as I had in that moment. It made me think of Habakkuk 2:20 "The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him." I can say with confidence that no one who experience that kind of tranquility can forget it. I find myself wanting a place like that of my very own that I can just go sit. We talked about that night for awhile; I couldn't thank Steven enough for allowing us to experience that.<br />
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The second experience was when Kari and I went to play with all the kids. One thing you have to know about these kids is they're fascinated with our technology. I had cameras, watches, phones, ipods all up on me and they were loving it! They want you to take "snaps" of them constantly so I did! Amidst the chaos of the photo taking one of the boys (Brian aka Obama) said he liked American worship. It kind of stopped us in our tracks. Ok, Obama, where are you going with this?...he then started singing me some songs asking if I knew them. Some I did, some I didn't. Then I pulled out my handy dandy iPhone (they were like the little aliens on Toy Story "oohh aahh!"). I said, "Who knows 'Amazing Grace?'"...of course they did. I started to play Sufjan Stevens version of it and they started humming along. Within a few seconds we were all singing it together. We all knew the words, we all knew the meaning. I couldn't help but think God had brought two nations together in that second to praise Him. ("He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalms 46:10) As I towered over the little kids while we sang I could see all the old houses, clothes lines, green hills, muddy trails, and pillars of smoke as families made dinner. That doesn't happen here. Or maybe and does and I just haven't looked for it. All they wanted to do was sing more "American Christian songs" ha. I loved that afternoon.<br />
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Tonight Kara and I went to church at Crosspoint. Seeing as how it is the week of Thanksgiving we talked about being thankful. This seems pretty normal, that's usually what we talk about in November; however, this time it took on different meaning. There is certainly poverty in America and I realize I'm a minority in the grand scheme of things when it comes to possessions. I know that a mile from my condo there are children living "below the poverty line" so trust that that's not lost on me. But somehow, when you're in a different culture and you meet people who live in huts made of cow dung, and still praise God for his provision, you're taken back. When you meet people whose earthly purpose is to pick tea leaves but they can't because of an illness that was brought on by lack of health care...when you meet people who thank you for your service because they don't feel ENTITLED to it...when you eat rice and beans for every meal....when you lose a life of a patient over something you take <i>so</i> for granted back home.....you're humbled. You're thankful. You're convicted. We do not deserve one single possession of ours. It's not even ours. God has allowed us this; He has given us this life and we are unworthy of it so the least we can do is give Him thanks. Praise him for is mercy on us.<br />
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Just before I went to church tonight I was on the phone with my mom and I was so rude to her. She's doing something so selfless by giving gifts to kids who won't get any for Christmas and she asked me what she should get. I got frustrated with her because I was in a hurry to get to <i>church....</i>hypocrite much? I ended the conversation abruptly and immediately knew I was being a brat. We all kinda suck sometimes but we have to recognize where we fall short and fix it. So, that's me being the first to tell you I'm all kinds of whacked out and human! This soap box is only to remind me (and you I suppose?) of how God calls us to live. He never said it would be easy to be a Christian but He did say it would be eternally worth it!! Loves yaaallllll. holla.Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-88521490579281942622011-11-16T18:38:00.000-08:002011-11-16T19:07:42.111-08:00Experience of a Lifetime!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It's been a while since I updated! That's mostly due to lack of internet access, sleep, time, and american outlets to charge my computer! Saturday morning eleven of us from our group got up early and headed about 2 hours south-ish(they never knew what direction, they just knew which direction to point to) to the Massai Mara reserve! We arrived at Ngerende lodge by noon and were greeted by their staff and the Massai tribe men! That was quite the surprise. They welcomed us with an interesting dance and chant and made us join in.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjlaYBWdXptsWLfQkjU3OIuAVdC1FyRPBp79UVpLjsMZqbJ3fN64fw0vNtus1u3XGhUfs_ewMgEuRzjf2kD-YcSH2yjs4L26PnQ9qmgDKUjV4t9o3YAzsilzok7kW3nAMEw5r8u3MLFo/s1600/IMG_9965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjlaYBWdXptsWLfQkjU3OIuAVdC1FyRPBp79UVpLjsMZqbJ3fN64fw0vNtus1u3XGhUfs_ewMgEuRzjf2kD-YcSH2yjs4L26PnQ9qmgDKUjV4t9o3YAzsilzok7kW3nAMEw5r8u3MLFo/s320/IMG_9965.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglyu6Yk-pFfoUs5QwsgBtqggvxVtjF3-VxIlCYq1354UiX8R3a2G_CrCQvLglB7UQh_G3C6obo0DvrVPYKqZ9Zf1HrilEz87zWGOTG2k7_w8NdDTdM2mutdGcN1D2qPHKAojjMiHS920/s1600/IMG_9940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglyu6Yk-pFfoUs5QwsgBtqggvxVtjF3-VxIlCYq1354UiX8R3a2G_CrCQvLglB7UQh_G3C6obo0DvrVPYKqZ9Zf1HrilEz87zWGOTG2k7_w8NdDTdM2mutdGcN1D2qPHKAojjMiHS920/s320/IMG_9940.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After some chanting and dancing we went to our "tents". They. were. awesome! There was 7 tents and each one overlooked the Mara River which was FULL of hippos! They would hang out in the river all day then when it got dark they traveled out of the river to the plains to eat. We would wake up in the morning to hear the hippos splashing and grunting in the water. After we settled in we ate an amazing lunch outside and headed out on our first safari. </div>The first game-drive did not disappoint! We saw zebras, impalas, water buffalos, gazelles, and giraffes! The giraffes were by far the coolest and we were even lucky enough to catch some roaming across a field at sunset.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first wildlife we saw up close!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVC5EfcZCPpYf3hwIPMXct7mrIP-SqtyXuxF5DGVSelFwc3OLjBbyOhOklb5dvYoRVRxVDph7ZCX17p4x0IAQrGhB72KhelzJM4gYJKqM5SfayZBTDmtfzSGF9GDYcjWueCJ_OE3S3aDo/s1600/IMG_0251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGwxUSX8RrdG9Lwv3R3CE9xriO_qRkZlLXk2-O_TmtyGOquW-edKi2fUc7Rr0w2qVJ1o8PMCnPjaFVXI8DFyrPl7KIvalnD3mX36GNKcRG2a6byrRbVdg3j_HL_Aytojcmz9XXY6q5Ak/s1600/IMG_0116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGwxUSX8RrdG9Lwv3R3CE9xriO_qRkZlLXk2-O_TmtyGOquW-edKi2fUc7Rr0w2qVJ1o8PMCnPjaFVXI8DFyrPl7KIvalnD3mX36GNKcRG2a6byrRbVdg3j_HL_Aytojcmz9XXY6q5Ak/s320/IMG_0116.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As we were driving up we spotted some more giraffes walking across the plains.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHEnb8xlepqlY8EruUfPpBPH667hRPQob_7t8feX9tM-60OXB8nVUZolqA9IaKBcbMfz3wP2U9Rp-Nta8XMvAEHcEK-hgHafP_zXm_iHDjEu1V7tbNngl_2ZT3-lumJcZERkvAsO-D0iE/s1600/IMG_0130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHEnb8xlepqlY8EruUfPpBPH667hRPQob_7t8feX9tM-60OXB8nVUZolqA9IaKBcbMfz3wP2U9Rp-Nta8XMvAEHcEK-hgHafP_zXm_iHDjEu1V7tbNngl_2ZT3-lumJcZERkvAsO-D0iE/s320/IMG_0130.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sunset shot. We actually got really close up to them but I loved this shot!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After we got back to the lodge they took us to a surprise "bush dinner" where the chef, Isaac, made us a traditional Massai barbeque dinner which consisted of a lot of lamb! I discovered some of the meat lacks some taste b/c I'm so used to marinating everything but it was still pretty awesome!</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The following morning Kari, Mary and Michael Taylor, and I got up at 330am (we'd only finally gotten in bed at midnight) to catch a ride to our sunrise balloon ride! We drove another 2 hours through plains, over a river, and down rocky mountains through the pitch black morning until we came up on a large field being lit up by our hot air balloon! We quickly hopped in the basket and our pilot, Peter, took us about 20 miles through the Massai Mara park and into the Serengeti plains! I can't even tell you how unbelievably beautiful the sunrise over the vast land was!<br />
As our 1 hour long ride came to an end it was time to land. Due to winds and lots of termite hills it made for a difficult landed so we crashed...I think Peter was embarrassed but we all decided we wouldn't have had it any other way; it was pretty funny. Once we landed we walked about 5 yards to where they had set up breakfast for us. A chef served us pancakes, waffles, sausage, potatoes, fruits, bread, and even mimosas! The four of us plus Matthew (our driver got a free ride; he loved it) sat there and ate our breakfast with the elephants behind us and took it all in. I'm not sure I've yet to comprehend how beautiful this was. Certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An African sunrise.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast in the Serengeti? Don't mind if we do.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After breakfast our drivers Lazarus and Matthew took us on an impromptu safari. We came within 10 yards of elephants and even saw about a 4 day old elephant. This was one of the highlights of this trip. We saw baboons and our one and only rhino sighting. After this we came upon a Massai village and Lazarus felt we had to visit so we did! I'm so so glad we did. It is absolutely CRAZY the way these people live. The women of the tribe welcomed us with another tribal dance and chant. We met the chief and two of his nephews(they consider themselves brothers but I informed them they were his nephews; they didn't understand ha) showed us around the village. We went inside on of the huts which were made of cow dung and mud. The woman make the huts, slaughter the meat, take care of the children, and make all the crafts they sell. The men just protect...Basically, being a Massai woman does not sound fun. These people eat only meat (not wildlife; just the animals they raise) and even drink the cow blood. Nasstyyy. They live as polygamists and each man has so many cows that he uses to "buy" their wives. Cattle is their means of food and a symbol of their wealth. The chief bought his first wife for 15 cows (typically it starts at 5) and then bought 5 more wives. Their village is made in a circle and each wife has their own hut that houses themselves and their children. The man of the family rotates each night which wife he sleeps with. Every night they fill the front part of he hut with small lamb and goats and in the center of the village they fill it with 200-400 cows! They use them as protection. If a lion came in the night the animals would not only be alarmed and wake the family but they would eat the animals first and not be hungry once they got to the family. Crazy but smart! After we toured around their village they took us to where they sell all the crafts the women make. I bought a few things. This was a super eye opening experience. I would never and could never live this lifestyle but I was so impressed with how they live and survive.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Got so close to this guy! We drove off quickly once he turned and looked like he may head right for our car...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elephant crossing. This little guy was only a few days old!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the village and in front of their view! That's a pretty nice front yard.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Chief of the village. </td></tr>
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Our welcome from the Massai women. All were married and all had lots of kids!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the chief's wives huts! We got to go inside. Very small, smelly, and full of flies.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little girl in front of her hut. I said "Jambo!" and she smile big and waved.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We eventually got back to the lodge, took a short nap, showered, and met the rest of the group to eat and go on another safari. This was game drive when we finished seeing the "Big 5". The big 5 consists of lions, elephants, rhinos, buffalos, and leopards! At this point we'd seen elephants, a rhino, buffalos, and one female lion. I was ready to see some big male lions and leopards! Honestly, I was most excited about the leopard...just ask Mary. I freaked out when we finally saw one and she pretty much made fun of me all night. We actually got to see a pride of lions and the later we found two male lions just snoozing in the bush. Our game drive had come to an end and we were heading back to the lodge in the dark. We were driving through some bushes and turned a corner and a leopard popped right out in front of us! He was just as startled by us as we were by him! I'd pretty much told myself I wasn't going to get to see one and then there he was! Unfortunately, it was so dark I could't get a picture, but I promise I'm not lying! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lion pride. There were two moms and 6 little ones! They didn't mind us at all!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two males we came across later in the day. We were stoked to find them!<br />
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</tbody></table>We saw lots of other fun animals too like jackals, hyenas, dikdiks, warthogs (pumba!), meerkat looking things, and many many others. The following morning I elected to sleep and pack before we left rather than going on the morning safari. A lot of other people did, too. After a long week at the hospital and constantly going at the safari I need rest. I slept about 7.5 hrs which was the most I'd slept the whole time. It was much needed b/c Kari and I had a long two days of travel ahead of us.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were in two land rover things. This is the second group going through some crazy terrains!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qUW7kEhd4UNfrt3BiPa2DaSLUD0j0WaW886CE4FZklO4FH_boxjKnM0B3S-LMvUUKvUIVj4RUo3SZHIRvNlpGIRkigXE8X_KaFBdYhinHCSw0bvCTXkQio5EsLuopJEHCauZNsaPwS8/s1600/IMG_9924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qUW7kEhd4UNfrt3BiPa2DaSLUD0j0WaW886CE4FZklO4FH_boxjKnM0B3S-LMvUUKvUIVj4RUo3SZHIRvNlpGIRkigXE8X_KaFBdYhinHCSw0bvCTXkQio5EsLuopJEHCauZNsaPwS8/s320/IMG_9924.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was our drive the Ngerende. We saw these kids running through the field in the distance just to wave to us as we passed. The love "white people" haha</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQO8hce_4VmrJUUKRxI6vHKgLzKlUJWc4MU3cvzmgzvJGlloxtb2_ScyOyC9tqpoNJtw2lYRF-f_JJ_srWgzsaQtEhz4j7YhhC83OSqJVAiRW0GRGgsNo6XQ4LSUXLHE6u_LZvYHbG5uQ/s1600/IMG_9908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQO8hce_4VmrJUUKRxI6vHKgLzKlUJWc4MU3cvzmgzvJGlloxtb2_ScyOyC9tqpoNJtw2lYRF-f_JJ_srWgzsaQtEhz4j7YhhC83OSqJVAiRW0GRGgsNo6XQ4LSUXLHE6u_LZvYHbG5uQ/s320/IMG_9908.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view on our drive to Negerende. This is Bomet, right next to Tenwek. It's beautiful. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div>On Monday we drove back to Tenwek and surprised Whitney, Lisa, and Leah (three of our nurse friends who came for the second week of surgeries). We got to hang out and eat some lunch with them before driving back to Nairobi to catch our flight. We drove a total of 6 hours, then had 3 flights. The first one to Amsterdam was 8 hrs. We had a 5 hours layover then got on a 10 hr plane ride to Atlanta. There we had a 3 hour layover and had to go back through customs and recheck our bags. Then about an hour flight to Nashville. We arrived home at 550pm which was 250am tenwek time. All that travel and only cat naps on the plane made us sleepy and jet lagged! I was greeted by my wonderful parents at the airport and came home to a clean condo and two of my best friends, Kara and Mary Hunter, surprised me with balloons, a sweet card, ice cream and BELLA!! I really miss everyone at Tenwek and wish I was there to care for this little ones they are operating on this week but I really loved my shower and my 15hr slumber! Please continue to pray for those still in Kenya doing surgeries. The nurses leave on Sunday I think and will be exhausted. Kristen B and Rebekah especially have worked like crazy. Pray for them as they've worked 12 hour shifts every day since last monday. Pray for Leah, Whitney, and Lisa also as they work long hours and wrap up the last few days of surgery. So proud and happy to be a part of this team. Thanks everyone for loving on us!!!<br />
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</div></div>Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-79435791431212997632011-11-11T13:36:00.000-08:002011-11-11T13:36:28.798-08:00All work, now play!This week in the unit has come to an end for me. I worked my last day today. I loved it so much I didn't want to leave! This week has been full of contrasts and it has ended on such a happy note. We are seeing the brightest personalities out of our patients. Unfortunately, they do not love the camera as much as we do so it may not come across in pictures! They're so grateful but I don't think they realize how grateful we are of them. Each one of them taught us something. Some are more reserved than others but even the slightest head nod or thumbs up just makes me smile b/c I know they are ok! It's so amazing to hear these families tell us how changed their loved one is. Kip, in particular, was a whole new boy! His parents couldn't stop telling us that! His father kept repeating "strong boy. strong boy!" to me. It's amazing what God is able to do through these surgeons and these doctors to treat them, and each one of them is incredibly compassionate towards each patient. Before each surgery they pray over them and afterwards they are right there in the unit checking on them. Dr. Fingleton(the surgeon) is an awesome man and surgeon. He was very encouraging and supportive of the nursing staff all weekend. It really does make a difference when you know you have the support of your surgeons/doctors.<br />
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Today little Kip and Caroline peaced out to the floors b/c they were doing super awesome. I didn't get a chance to visit Caroline again and when I got to go check on Kip I couldn't find him! Word on the street is he's been soaking up some rays as much as possible. Hopefully, I can go see Caroline before I leave tomorrow. I'd love to give her one last hug and pray with her. And I can only hope she's got that turban on while jammin on her flute! I bet the ladies in the ward next to her love it.<br />
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The Beaute had a rough day. She seemed more alert this morning and even clapped as if to applaud herself for eating her lunch; however, afterwards, she seemed down. Kristen B and I sat with her for a while. I asked her some questions and didn't get many responses but when I asked if she was sad she responded "yes" and looked down. This hurt my heart. I asked if she wanted to go home and she said "yes" again. She is a long way from home and her family. Please pray for Beauty's spirits to be lifted. Later in the day we sent her to a "step down" type floor b/c we still considered her to be high maintenance though she didn't require ICU treatment. She didn't last very long there. She came back tonight about 9 b/c she was dropping her sats (o2 levels). Turns out her nasal cannula just wasn't hooked up, but it was a blessing in disguise. Mary felt that despite the mishap she just seemed too lethargic and brought her back to be with us. After some discussion we decided to get some labs(we have to get labs very scarcely here) and turns out her pcv was 15 and her hgb was 5. For those of you none medical folk, that's LOW!! She needed about 3 units of blood(a lot). I pray she gets to feeling better very soon! She needs to get home to her son and husband in Zimbabwe!<br />
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The other two ladies rounding out our fun unit are Eunice and Teresia. Eunice kind of has a special place in my heart after tonight. She is the one who was in the OR from 8-4 yesterday and had 3 of her valves jacked up! She's a sleepy girl but when she's up she makes me laugh. She loves to sing and play her flute. Tonight she hollered at me b/c she had to "make water" aka pee. So, like I always do, I stood her up then sat her back down on the bed pan...problem was, I did not have time to remove my left hand from under her rump. Yea...that was fun for everyone! Fortunately I used my brute strength to force my hand out from under her behind without getting watered on. After she made water she stood up, I removed the pan, and she sat back on the ledge of the bed. I squatted down in front of her and looked up at her and said "Eunice. Are you ok?" She wrapped her skinny arms around my neck and laid her head on my shoulder. I took that as either 1) I'm exhausted 2) I'm going to strangle you if you don't stop talking to me woman or 3) I'm not ok. I let her rest on me for a little while and put my arm around her. We sat in silence for a second then I asked if she was ok again. She looked up and she had started to cry. Now, if you know one thing about these people know they are STRONG. They do not complain, they do not cry, they are raised to persevere. I knew she was in pain. She pointed to her chest as to say it was hurting. I gave her some medicine and told her to "lala" aka sleep in swalihi. When I left she was sound asleep. I think she felt better!<br />
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Teresia, on the other hand, is a silent comedian. She mostly uses facial expressions to communicate and is more concerned with the other patients than herself...especially Eunice. Someone told me their families waited in line at the clinic together so they became friends. If Eunice did something then Teresia had to do it, too! The Kenyan nurses said that she was always asking how her friend was. What a sweet soul!<br />
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Jahosephet(not sure how to spell it, I just call him JoJo) was our first surgery today. He is a stud! The boy was extubated in the OR and laughing! We were about to transfer him from the OR bed to the ICU bed and he turned his head and looked at me so I waved and he started laughing. I was so confused I thought he might be crying but now he was a little dopey. Forty-five minutes post up he was sitting up in bed using his party blower! He got a little less giddy later on a started snoozing. When he woke I took the chance to get him a new hat and futbol! When he saw the futbol his eyes lit up and he reached out for it! These people love the sport! They know what's up! JoJo will be up and out in no time. So cool!<br />
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They will be doing one more case tomorrow but I'll be headed out on an adventure! Pray all goes well as we will be a little short staffed. Kristen B and Rebekah (our veteran rock star nurses) will be manning the fort solo. While they stay to welcome in another group of doctors and nurses (what up Whitney and Lisa!) the rest of us will be headed to a weekend safari. I'm pretty sure it's illegal to come to Africa and NOT go on a safari. I'm excited to go explore and see somethings I only see once a year when the new Earth series movies come out in theaters on April 22. Yea, I'm a dork. I'll take more than enough pictures and make you all look at them!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94YDrmtZIBMPtcXsV2PJfDFCjpOyEXXc-p3kPW-5O5Emhexy40ZtCHSyC5vzAvLMRFNmQmDX1UENUo2xAcAh4iWfzmsxbbGktjIWM7erbz9h1ljYEfI52MR6y47HbpSr1hKAoqxxmo9I/s1600/IMG_9864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94YDrmtZIBMPtcXsV2PJfDFCjpOyEXXc-p3kPW-5O5Emhexy40ZtCHSyC5vzAvLMRFNmQmDX1UENUo2xAcAh4iWfzmsxbbGktjIWM7erbz9h1ljYEfI52MR6y47HbpSr1hKAoqxxmo9I/s320/IMG_9864.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new valve!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6MAYZYfIU3WWeXD_67WRqHiA1vezicEYp3IrcKiOw_aM8X0iXQ81RhJZGS15J4qdznYMB5U8ln8XrdeyNQ-Ls3m9mJ_FysiRRSyj-wmZ7chPR4sB4iaAwyBfbn4eJD9AAh9Sz338bNCI/s1600/IMG_9887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6MAYZYfIU3WWeXD_67WRqHiA1vezicEYp3IrcKiOw_aM8X0iXQ81RhJZGS15J4qdznYMB5U8ln8XrdeyNQ-Ls3m9mJ_FysiRRSyj-wmZ7chPR4sB4iaAwyBfbn4eJD9AAh9Sz338bNCI/s320/IMG_9887.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Russ putting the valve in!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUYxAX50NitKNoI1cAAb5LCcymfR2W8Ai-jfOllazx3t9NQGXU9ZxYjSbiGBqHpkHTbFM30jHgy1rSBbbSJKtk1xdj1qOhOsjjE7HUcExF7UNB4-NNMsS_oo70YMa1V4b9Bn6hzvwzk0/s1600/IMG_9849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUYxAX50NitKNoI1cAAb5LCcymfR2W8Ai-jfOllazx3t9NQGXU9ZxYjSbiGBqHpkHTbFM30jHgy1rSBbbSJKtk1xdj1qOhOsjjE7HUcExF7UNB4-NNMsS_oo70YMa1V4b9Bn6hzvwzk0/s320/IMG_9849.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Kari!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfgrUurp-YRrqFQ1XPzNXPHNScfYexanknluhQ63E07GBvfzwp15FoMOO6fKOHjzkjJnWhG9Wmxo4QG6Lyqb14NtguZIqA7LyTwSAwwGc3fqNqZey8jM7cWCa59bqbnLRzz-LvpRXoA8/s1600/IMG_9892.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfgrUurp-YRrqFQ1XPzNXPHNScfYexanknluhQ63E07GBvfzwp15FoMOO6fKOHjzkjJnWhG9Wmxo4QG6Lyqb14NtguZIqA7LyTwSAwwGc3fqNqZey8jM7cWCa59bqbnLRzz-LvpRXoA8/s320/IMG_9892.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JoJo fell asleep with his soccer ball in hand, suck in mouth, and hat on head!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>As excited a I am to see some Zebras I am sad to leave these people and this place. Tenwek's statement is "We treat, Jesus heals" and how true that is. Without Him none of this is possible. He brought each of these patients to us at this time for a reason. We may not understand why some things turned out the way they did but we trust Him and we find comfort in Him. I'll never forget these patients and look forward to making new friends here next year! This place will change you if you let it and I think it's safe to say we have all let it. :)Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-44421066575195337262011-11-10T10:52:00.000-08:002011-11-10T11:18:03.865-08:00Holy Blog Batman!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxo9YB82RIHj7Lk0-jMg1KSo6Zd9W6JmNfSzOnGRzefN99Ak2baERiTf1N91LvLODXmCUs26Pt3xP5ReHlLbQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>I got to visit the school today! The kids wanted to send all my friends back in the states (especially you southerners) a message!!<br />
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Things are going AWESOME today! Praise God for that! I've been working the dayshift with Kristen B and Nez showed up around 12pm to relieve us to eat and lend a hand. The unit has 4 patients right now. Duncan went to the "floor". Before he left we asked him how he felt and he said "not good". Later, Agneta (one of the Tenwek surgical residents) said when she went to visit him on the floor she found out he only said that b/c he didn't want to leave us b/c we take good care of him. He was a funny dude. We took him his "hope for hearts" tshirt and he said "I will look very good in this" in his broken english. He's a great success story and I'm so happy he's doing well. Right now we have Caroline, Kip aka Smiles, Beauty aka The Beaut and Eunise chilling with us.<br />
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Kip is a 15 year old who weighs about 70 lbs. He came into our clinic on Sunday in terrible shape. He was weak, out of breath, and couldn't even lay down to get his echo. They had to do it sitting up. He desperately needed a mitral valve replacement. Just before he went to surgery he arrested and the team contemplated not going on with the surgery b/c the risk was too high. They decided he would not survive without surgery so they had to at least try. He not only made it through surgery but he's been our quickest recovery! He's not even 24hrs post op and he's up in a chair, off his oxygen, smiling while listening to NeedToBreathe on Kristen's iPod, and ready to go play futbol! He's our miracle boy :)<br />
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Caroline is 28yrs old. She had surgery yesterday and I believe she only had a mitral valve repair. She was extubated quickly and was immediately asking for "maji" or "water"! She coughed like a champ and guzzled water. Today, she is up in a chair. She asked us for a turban so Kristen gave her a surgical hat. I'm not sure if it's a cultural thing or she just wanted to look like all of us with our surgical hats on. She definitely says some funny things. She told us she can't wait to work on her family's tea farm; she was too tired to do it before. Made my heart happy. She is currently blowing on her flute (good for her lungs) and singing "God Bless You" to us. We love her!!<br />
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Beauty is quite the beast. She is from Zimbabwe! She's a funny character. Very flat affect but occasionally cracks a smile...usually when Kristen asks her if she thinks we're crazy. She nods her head and smiles at us. Beauty wins the award for must dedicated to her party blower to get those lungs working. She fell asleep sitting up with it in her mouth. She is still a bit weak and is taking some time to come around, but it is to be expected. She had a complicated surgery and a ton of bleeding post op so considering that she looks beautiful ;)<br />
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Eunice is a surgery from today. She was in the OR from 8am to 4pm. Long day for her! She had a mitral valve replacement, aortic valve repair, and tricuspid valve repair and is doing pretty well. Some small hiccups but considering how sick she was pre-op she looks good. I'm excited for her to get well so we can hear her story!<br />
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It's about 8pm here and they started another case a little bit ago. Kari and Kristen D will be on the night shift so pray all goes well!<br />
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Last night I got to hang out with the team some and do a small devotional. It was much needed and God knew exactly what we all needed to hear. I haven't shared this with you all yet but the morning after we lost Roger, Kristen and I were walking out of breakfast and ran into Mary Taylo. She had run up to shower and read a small devo after our nightshift before she had to head to the clinic(she pulls like 48hr shifts, no joke. She's unbelievable!). This was a small piece of her devotional after our bad night:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0Bt1Nk8rxGASELL4qipKtqblaQ7-Xn-wgIS6i9VVS3272rIXSTY_fOpVCdCAdiM3YDriAOPAOHeTrr46krUPD2_rQQgMhIBLOzArRG405HN_aznjYUrB-eEcZFOID-5z5AsnG8juQsk/s1600/IMG_0106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0Bt1Nk8rxGASELL4qipKtqblaQ7-Xn-wgIS6i9VVS3272rIXSTY_fOpVCdCAdiM3YDriAOPAOHeTrr46krUPD2_rQQgMhIBLOzArRG405HN_aznjYUrB-eEcZFOID-5z5AsnG8juQsk/s320/IMG_0106.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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This morning I was reading my bible and opened to Ephesians 3 and 4. A couple verses really stood out to me in relation to this entire trip.<br />
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"To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." Ephesians 3:8<br />
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"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Eph 3:20,21<br />
One of our surgeons said this scripture came to his mind when he saw how well our miracle boy Kip was doing!!<br />
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"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." eph 4:4 We all serve the same God!<br />
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I mentioned earlier that I got to visit some kids at the school today...it was so great to see such young smiling faces. They certainly loved my camera...and my hair! My favorite part of today was singing "Amazing Grace" with the kids in the field. I loved every second of it. They love to sing. They wanted to hear our national anthem so I sucked it up and stood on the steps in front of all of them and sang my heart out. Then I made them sing me their national anthem! Fun times!<br />
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I'll leave you with some pictures! Thank you for loving on all of us. Things definitely are looking up from the start b/c of your prayers! Woo hoo!!!!<br />
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<div>This is Caroline singing to us with her "turban" on. Not much emotion on the face but she was so sweet.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz8GQr3mpF9ZYTtUqWcxR9CRK1I0MngH5i_8Mqrf1-SATS17fwohj7tupb8BH9GrEkoxQyCWaovuacyrlwH2NPdKssUfOlKTwIxChniGw5A1vSLFSukkscfmy4iR1WdH2QpVIthzgtZSU/s1600/IMG_0112.MOV" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fv10.nonxt4.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3Ddd803f963ec1a741%26itag%3D18%26source%3Dpicasa%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1320973540%26sparams%3Did%2Citag%2Csource%2Cip%2Cipbits%2Cexpire%26signature%3DA9C84BDE5B4BA69A9CA41B76A92A555B4D0DAF89.B634F0026AAB5ED19B2F02224117A207375870D1%26key%3Dlh1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fv10.nonxt4.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3Ddd803f963ec1a741%26itag%3D18%26source%3Dpicasa%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1320973540%26sparams%3Did%2Citag%2Csource%2Cip%2Cipbits%2Cexpire%26signature%3DA9C84BDE5B4BA69A9CA41B76A92A555B4D0DAF89.B634F0026AAB5ED19B2F02224117A207375870D1%26key%3Dlh1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0Mqgq2bOfiXRiAVKJOoZno5kZiy-wSoguTxkI5FPfIFMr6LrUnnhlJQVNUdPh8wcxi840PJbhgd_GUn8S9bZB3fb-Jf2MidbnWS6wpBMDIPTs2aB5gLfIFHcyGJ0t23MSodHBjmVgUE/s1600/IMG_9730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0Mqgq2bOfiXRiAVKJOoZno5kZiy-wSoguTxkI5FPfIFMr6LrUnnhlJQVNUdPh8wcxi840PJbhgd_GUn8S9bZB3fb-Jf2MidbnWS6wpBMDIPTs2aB5gLfIFHcyGJ0t23MSodHBjmVgUE/s320/IMG_9730.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our surgeons working away!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kip! 12hrs post op and look at that smile!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kristen and I with The Beaut. She's always sleepy...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTkTch-HOER3gtaNVDykOCVwh221zxlj7iAhKP4K4tlAEwMIiRvtaw7SyyYZvN13cTHAPWv-XbCA1_A2X4KNVcUtapBjNb338b4hqqpSTqXVwhWax24Y5p-eDxvcs8fF88qb3hQRYtKo/s1600/IMG_9766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTkTch-HOER3gtaNVDykOCVwh221zxlj7iAhKP4K4tlAEwMIiRvtaw7SyyYZvN13cTHAPWv-XbCA1_A2X4KNVcUtapBjNb338b4hqqpSTqXVwhWax24Y5p-eDxvcs8fF88qb3hQRYtKo/s320/IMG_9766.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutie from the school!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIP3nkjaOY9pQH7PzzZVPC-B_ouBPxiHp9O94xEYuvfMLqIt1TxuLYlB0Mw36j3m45QVwdO48OEpXood1w7WhLX2bHgCN_7P4HkIsXin4f_eznmD0Kv1cOpywoXUlUtII6dppL-uHc1k/s1600/IMG_9801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIP3nkjaOY9pQH7PzzZVPC-B_ouBPxiHp9O94xEYuvfMLqIt1TxuLYlB0Mw36j3m45QVwdO48OEpXood1w7WhLX2bHgCN_7P4HkIsXin4f_eznmD0Kv1cOpywoXUlUtII6dppL-uHc1k/s320/IMG_9801.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Attack of the children!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAIP9tI77xqrXeGGbOmhuFQab-5Vmmoo6yxPaM2_S28CdOjpr2iCX8icJNhlMmIn-O6U5xNQBzbdo-QKTIfdkYLaKtVq2ZRQhafzLo3mKRFmpugbjlHN2fUQW4PoSX77hyphenhyphengvmYJP_6XYU/s1600/IMG_9822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAIP9tI77xqrXeGGbOmhuFQab-5Vmmoo6yxPaM2_S28CdOjpr2iCX8icJNhlMmIn-O6U5xNQBzbdo-QKTIfdkYLaKtVq2ZRQhafzLo3mKRFmpugbjlHN2fUQW4PoSX77hyphenhyphengvmYJP_6XYU/s320/IMG_9822.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Brian aka Obama. The first thing he said to me "so, how bad was hurricane Irene?" and then he asked Kari "How is the economy affecting you in Tennessee?" Yup, Obama sounds right.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Couldn't get enough of this kid!</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Love yall!</div></div>Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-18689288898121813102011-11-09T09:35:00.000-08:002011-11-09T09:35:57.682-08:00UpdateSo after a much needed rest yesterday I woke to see all of your sweet messages that reminded me why I am here. I can't tell you how much it means to me to sign on facebook and see everyone praying for us and asking their friends who don't even know us to pray. After a very hard night/day you've lifted our spirits and we are trusting God more than ever. So, thanks!<div><br />
</div><div>An update on the other days events: Yesterday the surgeons and chief people had a meeting early on to discuss what happened. Turns out the entire hospital ran out of oxygen and then even out of our back up supply. They put all of the surgeries(not just ours) on hold until the problem was resolved. It saddens me to think Roger's passing could've been prevented but I was so comforted to know of his faith in Lord. His friends and family said they were at peace b/c he was a believer. After getting permission from the Kenyan gov't Roger was able to be buried in Bomet (right next to Tenwek). Unfortunately, despite their efforts to track down Kristen, Mary, and myself they couldn't find us to go to his funeral; I think we were still sleeping. Beth White (the head surgeons wife) said his burial was beautiful and he had two friends there which makes me happy. </div><div><br />
</div><div>This last night was a long night with a lot of scares. They ended up doing a case around 2pm yest. SHe came up around midnight and bled and bled and bled. They only have PRBCs here so we just kept giving volume and she kept bleeding. We had to call the surgeon in around 3am and we discussed going back to the OR. Initially we were worried about giving any clotting meds b/c she has a mechanical valve now but after much discussion we decided to give her an amicar bolus and start an infusion. Two liters of chest tube output later it finally slowed down. I left around 830am and she was having more pressure issues but Kristen B and Kristen D took over and made me leave. I went home and slept a few hours and then came back to the unit around 4. Thank God, she was doing so much better! Still on epi and requiring boluses but we extubated successfully! They did two cases today. The first one, Caroline did AWESOME. She was extubated quickly and already coughing, talking, drinking! The second case will be coming out any minute. They forced me to go eat some dinner so I'll head back up soon to help. Oh, and Duncan's about to go to the floor. He's such a quiet and sweet old man! We call him Big D!</div><div><br />
</div><div>I really really thank you all for your support. The team really feels the love! And the people here are so generous. They cook all our meals and clean all our clothes. I don't really feel comfortable with them doing it all but they want to. They are a very different breed of people. In the hospital there is not always a lot of urgency and then we are running around like crazy people when we could really slow down so I think we balance each other out. Alice and Joyce are two tenwek nurses that are AWESOME! Alice was there the night Roger passed and she just jumped right in and helped us with some things. Joyce was with me last night and within 5 minutes of requesting something(like a pump cord, blood, pulse ox, etc) she was right there with it! They are so helpful b/c we are very out of our element!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Hopefully, I will get to go visit the orphanage soon. We've been so crazy it's been hard to get away but some time with those smiling faces will be much needed! I hope you are all having a good week back home. While we are here know that I continue to pray for you all and especially my work peeps at vandy. I know we left at a time when a lot of things were happening in the unit so know that I am always thinking of our little babies and my amaazzing coworkers!!! I miss your faces! Thanks for reading..love you all!</div><div><br />
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</div>Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-18319087490153316172011-11-07T21:25:00.000-08:002011-11-07T21:25:00.867-08:00Caution reading this post!...We need prayersThis blog is a hard one to write and please note this is NOT normal for these patients. Last night was easily the worst night of my entire nursing career. Granted the circumstances are entirely different then what I normally work under. It was long, it was hard, it was sad, it was dirty, it was filled with complications, and it was exhausting. Our 62yo patient Duncan had an awesome night. He's a sweet, sweet man. Unfortunately, our second patient Roger (pronounced Rajay) did not make it through the night. He came back from the OR to our unit at 2am with a breathing tube(expected). His surgery was rather long but ended up relatively well and the surgeons felt he would have an ok night with your "normal" complications. Early on we had some pump malfunctions and had to give a lot of volume due to lack of ability to give blood pressure medicine through his pump. We quickly trouble shooted the pumps and got the Epi going. We celebrated a good blood pressure around 345; Mary even took a picture of us and Roger with his stellar BP. Around 4am he woke up and we asked if he was in pain. He noded his head no then fell back asleep. <div><br />
</div><div>At 415 Kristen and I noticed his sats (oxygen levels) would not show up on the monitor and soon after his blood pressure stopped reading. The oxygen was gone...we couldn't find any in the entire hospital and he had severe pulmonary edema. We never got oxygen back. He was cold, his pulses were hardly palpable. Mary decided to give some epi to increase his BP. At this point his heart rate was always stable. After the epi bolus his heart began to trend down(that doesn't usually happen. His heart wanted O2). We had been bagging him continuously and he had massive pulmonary edema. His heart rate continued to drop and had no BP or sats. We started CPR. I, honestly, cannot tell you how much epi, calcium, bicarb, dopamine, magnesium, etc we gave. We even ran out of some of it. At this point we were calling every number we could find and we couldn't get a hold of anyone. No surgeons, no more doctors, no more nurses. We ended up shocking him twice with no resolve. <div><br />
</div><div>While Mary was doing CPR and Kristen was pushing epi I ran out of the hospital to one of the surgeons houses to get him. He followed me to the pt and after an hour of CPR we opened his chest up. We began to give "internal cpr" and shot epi directly into his heart a couple times. An hour and a half passed and we had literally done everything possible; his heart was just too tired to come back. We called it around 530am. We were in shock and sad b/c Roger himself was a nurse in the Congo. He was part of our nursing family. Mary said pre-op he was very very happy and always smiling. She said he was so sweet and patient while waiting in the clinic. Because he is from the Congo they are unsure what to do with his body. They may bury it here on the hospital grounds. At this point I'm not sure how to feel. I'm humbled, I'm sad, I'm in shock, and I'm frustrated. So many things went wrong that would never ever happen back home. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I'm so incredibly thankful for Kristen B. and Mary for being there and encouraging and instructing me. The team here is amazing and I couldn't ask for a better crew but sometimes it doesn't matter who the care givers are if you lack the resources. Today all surgeries are on hold. The team is shaken and as long as we are unsure of our oxygen situation we cannot risk another patients life. I'm sorry to bring you bad news but the team needs prayers and rest. Both our surgeons were up working for almost 24hrs yesterday and needing sleep. So just remember this, even though our health care systems is whacked out at least we have it! Be grateful for one another today! I love you all and miss you! </div></div>Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-16466910276347104532011-11-07T12:08:00.000-08:002011-11-07T12:08:09.602-08:00Tenwek!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUtn8PeEwekHl3WkMK7zuShINGhCiK_Kxydb6WSMgRRgLPUtfRM_JSdcaC2eHhK4qnsbvCMDe7G-MTP0SYiJcQRwFUPZ-IBaDOV73N7Kvo4D_Gt3p7oKNpvcGotrkM52Jvr6Pyad8KYng/s1600/IMG_9617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUtn8PeEwekHl3WkMK7zuShINGhCiK_Kxydb6WSMgRRgLPUtfRM_JSdcaC2eHhK4qnsbvCMDe7G-MTP0SYiJcQRwFUPZ-IBaDOV73N7Kvo4D_Gt3p7oKNpvcGotrkM52Jvr6Pyad8KYng/s320/IMG_9617.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the nurses with SOME of our bags. Each team member had 2 checked bags full of supplies/equiptment weighing about 50lbs! Then we each had 1-2 carry-ons for personal belongings. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBjv6rgJPyQPbUD9SM3gDcZRO3TIOQN6TecAnqhmf-sKBuccMwYoNCqVT02QzojE-CUO0DSy1jvy5V2ll4pQcoQPSv-MfTpya1iaiTat_Iv3YXbyfwjQ3QhECZ82M2izeOheB_eVO1Ro/s1600/IMG_9643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBjv6rgJPyQPbUD9SM3gDcZRO3TIOQN6TecAnqhmf-sKBuccMwYoNCqVT02QzojE-CUO0DSy1jvy5V2ll4pQcoQPSv-MfTpya1iaiTat_Iv3YXbyfwjQ3QhECZ82M2izeOheB_eVO1Ro/s320/IMG_9643.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the red light distract. I chose not to put any pics of nudity :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpM02o89CYUdOCggYmZg0nmTDdZgw8r2jSmwbmM5efG1aA4hPyb1aSAn5ExwATfUhI3rJSXE9DA4_QDKv3Qziv3f5f2-gGzjF2O3gkLOeXcldWAM4hNWDIGlYoq6L1TDTYcN-E3uJdElo/s1600/IMG_9630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpM02o89CYUdOCggYmZg0nmTDdZgw8r2jSmwbmM5efG1aA4hPyb1aSAn5ExwATfUhI3rJSXE9DA4_QDKv3Qziv3f5f2-gGzjF2O3gkLOeXcldWAM4hNWDIGlYoq6L1TDTYcN-E3uJdElo/s320/IMG_9630.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amsterdam Central train station or something like that..</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYiWzIXrC5eql32naeIl-X5iVvrIyVx8Zg8Lg2WQ6_uSBIIuEHjrTG0IF67VXCtArEnxYUBZalCx1a4djw3SVhZ1gzYeqwGD90W4alN8ISegz_gnvfkxHVFNimy5P_OJ_OVAio8_fuOw/s1600/IMG_9667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYiWzIXrC5eql32naeIl-X5iVvrIyVx8Zg8Lg2WQ6_uSBIIuEHjrTG0IF67VXCtArEnxYUBZalCx1a4djw3SVhZ1gzYeqwGD90W4alN8ISegz_gnvfkxHVFNimy5P_OJ_OVAio8_fuOw/s320/IMG_9667.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Rift</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQ590-Tt1R4d_ktVitJ2ergEGzEy_Kc_9UK1-MtvJRZpsYJgTxgayrkvmNbXIYH1eO0F-pRCmBLGchXL2IK7SlbBFI9JOe5mLWC3pjt07e3n_qc5L-KTOsmeSTICcDoG_k7PegP5E_xg/s1600/IMG_9665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQ590-Tt1R4d_ktVitJ2ergEGzEy_Kc_9UK1-MtvJRZpsYJgTxgayrkvmNbXIYH1eO0F-pRCmBLGchXL2IK7SlbBFI9JOe5mLWC3pjt07e3n_qc5L-KTOsmeSTICcDoG_k7PegP5E_xg/s320/IMG_9665.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The great rift! We drove right through it!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5ZXnqOa1ILD34sVZ9s837IAez4BLfhz0ctGlbjYvp7bTBpjU-VjAbQZ9D0j8ZO9f-YoEObZUYIgXaNoShxsnv9Cjpg3RQBoIRWJFUHVPeEWejl-9bZH53-9ccyoJ2q1GmFq1erBmBP8/s1600/IMG_9671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5ZXnqOa1ILD34sVZ9s837IAez4BLfhz0ctGlbjYvp7bTBpjU-VjAbQZ9D0j8ZO9f-YoEObZUYIgXaNoShxsnv9Cjpg3RQBoIRWJFUHVPeEWejl-9bZH53-9ccyoJ2q1GmFq1erBmBP8/s320/IMG_9671.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some boys playing soccer. love it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DhwK4_4NenLqZ77EycFZapmiKXiKMhPpz_dSnNR59VeWlbCy3WPVPOl_FoFDyK0Ns0OPusOaFIEqLwu-8cC0hPEtjnIqrdnehZMho_CBAXrcmJE29PPiTGffjtXLnq70SdmvjR8eS90/s1600/IMG_9674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DhwK4_4NenLqZ77EycFZapmiKXiKMhPpz_dSnNR59VeWlbCy3WPVPOl_FoFDyK0Ns0OPusOaFIEqLwu-8cC0hPEtjnIqrdnehZMho_CBAXrcmJE29PPiTGffjtXLnq70SdmvjR8eS90/s320/IMG_9674.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some "shops" along the way to tenwek. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9f3NqhkC7UeNe56Z4BzgSeeMd2KGzdzsYe0tAt7NfVA5nZ42s_T0n5dzJtxJVXQgkLticOpoMIqEmD9fumF6KVrjb-b6GZn3Wk4R3t-LYf-2cYKzJ7m21GBm6KPowg8RdD1AHITqVIY/s1600/IMG_9683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9f3NqhkC7UeNe56Z4BzgSeeMd2KGzdzsYe0tAt7NfVA5nZ42s_T0n5dzJtxJVXQgkLticOpoMIqEmD9fumF6KVrjb-b6GZn3Wk4R3t-LYf-2cYKzJ7m21GBm6KPowg8RdD1AHITqVIY/s320/IMG_9683.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Setting up our ICU</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSCFjoor5PTSIe63HLANGGS6AnTXICZd3r7lsBnW4pSQSDgLJWxuPdKuy1LnzDrWm3e05PTPrzjXQ4UVd6coqTUoMucYN1gQ01-4oehmqKPDthXLKy2OjuMwdg5itETzd1gUWacTABVE/s1600/IMG_9685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSCFjoor5PTSIe63HLANGGS6AnTXICZd3r7lsBnW4pSQSDgLJWxuPdKuy1LnzDrWm3e05PTPrzjXQ4UVd6coqTUoMucYN1gQ01-4oehmqKPDthXLKy2OjuMwdg5itETzd1gUWacTABVE/s320/IMG_9685.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kari stocking up our "nurse servers" with supplies.</td></tr>
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</div>After 18 hours on a plane, a quick day trip through Amsterdam, 2 plane dinners, 2 plane breakfast, a couple benadryls for sleep, and a 4+ hr bus ride we have arrived safely to Tenwek hospital. We arrived here at 330pm (630am Nashville time) and lunch was ready and waiting. Then we unloaded our stuff and set up the Cardiac ICU. We had to bring all of our own supplies, monitors, echo machines, etc. So, we had a lot of work to do! While the nurses and BioMed(they fix or janky machines) guys set up the ICU the surgeons, perfusionists, and anesthesiologist set up the OR. Our Intensivist (Mary Taylor) worked up some patients for surgery in the clinic. After that we had a meeting to review our patients echocardiograms and presenting symptoms. Today we are doing 2 unexpected surgeries: a CABG and an aortic valve replacement and maybe some other stuff. Most of these surgeries will be valve related due to the large number of people who suffer from Rheumatic Heart Disease b/c they don't have accesss to penicillin.<br />
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I'll recap the last couple days for you up until our arrival to the hospital!<br />
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I mentioned the visit to Amsterdam...that was interesting. That is one place you do not want to take a wrong turn in. We had about an eight hour layover there so the nursing crew and one of our ICU docs hit the town. I make it sound easy but figuring out how to get out of the airport and purchase tickets proved to be the hard part of our day. Eventually, we jumped on a train and made it to Amsterdam Central within 20 minutes. That's when we accidentally took a right instead of a left. Apparently a right leads you to the red light district. I started to suspect it when I saw a red light in an alley...and then I was pretty certain when we passed an adult store...then I was positive when I saw women lacking clothing and men peeing in the streets. If you remove all the nudity and the many aromas it really was a gorgeous city. We later found out some people in our group visited the Anne Frank house and I was a little jealous. Anyway, we got to ride a double decker train back to the airport. We waited around a bit and played some games in the airport until we boarded around 9pm (3pm nash time).<br />
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I know many people, including everyone on our team, were concerned about our safety in Nairobi due to the recent events b/t Kenya and Somalia. We landed in Nairobi on Sunday by 830am (1130 nash time). While we were in Nairobi the military and police were very present and I never once felt threatened. The streets were covered with people and, fortunately, the traffic wasn't too terrible in the city. Nairobi was filled with big buildings next to small shacks and dump yards. People wandered through trash for basic necessities the way we wander through flea markets for antiques. I guess the saying "one man's trash is another mans treasure" is truly applicable here. As we headed out of the city we made a brief stop to take pictures of the great rift...then we drove through it! The African plains were endless and all we could think of were Lion King quotes and when Simba's father tells him that as far is he could see was his land...lots of land! No matter how far from the city we went we still saw people littering the streets. There were several small communities along the way with homes made of sticks, boards, aluminum, etc. I loved getting to see some young boys playing soccer in a dirt field! The ride eventually took us up through more hills to a more populated area and we had arrived at Tenwek Hospital.<br />
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Currently it is 1030pm and I'm sitting in the ICU. Kristen and I are covering tonight and we only have 1 patient. The other patient is still in the OR. The cool thing about this place is there's no HIPPAA! So, this guy is a 62 year old CABG (google it b/c I couldn't tell ya! We don't see this in babies!) He traveled about 150miles to get here for this surgery. The guy in the OR is getting an aortic replacement and mitral and tricuspid valvuloplasty...a big word for fixing it w/o replacing it. It sounds like there's been some minor complications but hopefully it's fixed before he rolls up into the ICU. We've got two Tenwek nurses working with us tonight so it has been fun teaching them. There baseline knowledge varies greatly. Some are more comfortable assessing patients and other are scared to even put a stethoscope in their ears. We shall teach them!! Someday they can do it all on their own...or at least that's the long term goal. We lack a lot of equitment here. We have 3 guys designated to trouble shooting and fixing machines, monitors, vents, etc. We are having to mix our own drips, meds, and even shot some liquid valium up a guys butt....and that is why I do babies :) We were scheduled to do surgery on a 19yo on thursday. His aortic valve was so severely damaged we were going to spend a couple days giving him diuretics to hopefully get him to the OR. Mary Taylor said he was severely symptomatic and wouldn't make it to 20yo and his operation would've been very risky. Today, he passed away. He had been admitted to get better treatment leading up to his surgery and he coded. It's hard to think there may have been something we could've done even just a week ago. Please keep his family in your prayers as him and his brothers were orphans and very close. Sorry to end on a sad note!<br />
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Sorry if this is scattered. I'm on and off the internet so I'm updating at all different times. I'm going to tend to my dude now; our other guy may be coming in soon. I'll hopefully be able to update each time I work! Thanks for your continued support and prayers!!! love you all!Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-89821549169243132822011-11-04T12:22:00.000-07:002011-11-04T12:22:52.482-07:00God-incidence?About 5 years ago I was at a crossroad. I was in college and so wrapped up in playing soccer I had forgotten I had to actually choose a major. It was the end of my sophomore year and I was confused, stressed, and asking anyone and everyone <i>else</i> what I should do with <i>my</i> life. One thing I knew for certain was I wanted my profession to be my ministry; I wanted to do missions, somehow. My mom kept telling me to do nursing and my good friend Emily was in school for it at UT. I saw how hard it was for someone as smart as her and pretty much counted myself out. Before I said no totally I decided to talk to God about it. Next thing I knew I found myself in the academic advisors office declaring "I want to be a nurse!...kind of. Really, just by default...God's making me." She went on to tell me I'd missed the deadline and all the classes/clinical schedules were already set...BUT if I had an essay into her office by 8am the following day she would meet with the admissions committee and consider accepting me late. Why? Who knows. I guess I looked desperate enough that day. So, I had my essay in at 7:55 am and later received a call I was ACCEPTED! There was no turning back now. She had gone out on a limb for me and this committee must've been in a good mood that day so that was it...I was starting school. First up: A&P I and II that summer at MTSU from 8-5 every.single.day. then I'd go to brentwood for soccer fitness/training. It was exhausting and I was not enthused about the situation, but God wouldn't let me stop. He'd gotten me that far. The next 2.5 years were full of studying, tests, clinicals, injuries, papers, illnesses, practices, surgeries, rehab, games, applications, interviews, etc...everyday I wanted to quit and everyday God reminded me He was my strength and He wouldn't have started me on this path if it wasn't His will for my life. I listened and I trusted, reluctantly.<br />
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Now, 5ish years later I'm a nurse, more specifically, I'm a Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Nurse. Whaaat? I've got my dream job even though I didn't know it was my dream job until I got it....I suppose God had an idea I'd enjoy it. As I went through school and then into my job the idea of mission work was always on my mind. My friend Jamie had gone to work at an orphange in Capetown, Africa while we were in school and after hearing about her experience I was set on Africa.<br />
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In June I got a facebook message from a couple co-workers asking myself and several others if we were interested in going on a medical mission trip to Kenya, Africa to do cardiac surgeries. My first thought? <i>That sounds great, I've always wanted to buuuut I just can't. It'll be too hard, I'm not smart enough, I don't have enough money, and even though I've always wanted to I don't know if I can actually go through with it. </i>So, I didn't apply. The deadline for the application passed. Then, late one night at work I was talking to my friend Kari who had applied. She worked me over. She showed me pictures of the previous trips and I immediately texted Kristen (NP in charge of going) if it was too late. Again, God extended the deadline for my indecisiveness. I turned in my application the following day thinking I'd officially decide if I'd go later once I was accepted or not. Then I got an email saying I was on the team and were leaving November 4th. I freaked out a little...then I got excited! Again, God knew if I had the opportunity to back out I would've peaced out asap. Touche, God, touche.<br />
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Now, after 4 months of preparation I'm about to jump on an 18hour plan ride and head to Kenya. We have packed anything from soccer balls to toothbrushes to syringes to perfusion equipment into several large 50lbs bags to check. The airline is going to have their hands full with this group! I've packed up some personal items into two carry-ons...lets hope they like doing laundry over there! After 3 flights and one 4 hour ride we will arrive in Tenwek (near Bomat) on Sunday. Monday we will prepare for the first group of patients, teach some of the Tenwek Hospital nurses, and possibly have our first surgery. Tuesday through Friday is full of surgeries. The doctors and nurses will be pulling long shifts in the ICU with the patients and hopefully get just enough sleep in between working. Saturday some of us will be headed off on a safari and hot air balloon ride over the African planes! Trust, I'll have pics.<br />
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It's amazing to me to look back at this journey God has taken me on and has mapped out for me. Those were no coincidences; they were God-incidences! I never ever thought I would be a nurse. I never ever thought I'd actually get to go to Africa. I never ever thought God would provide me with finances. I never ever thought I'd receive the amazing amount of support that I have. Next time I say "never" I will be reminded of this time in my life when I truly realized anything is possible with the Lord as my Provider, Comforter, Father, and Motivator(among many things).<br />
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Hopefully I'm able to continue blogging while I am there. Please pray for this medical staff as we will endure long long days and remind us we are there to serve our God first and foremost. Pray for the surgeons as they operate on these little hearts, the doctors as the make critical decisions for their care, the perfusionists as they work with our most vital piece of equipment, the nurses as they care for the patients post operatively, and pray our patients have a quick recovery! <br />
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THANK YOU for loving me and supporting me. Love you!!Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-50548042727621124342011-02-23T01:00:00.000-08:002011-02-23T01:00:08.371-08:00Frenchie FeverSo I found out I don't really have as much to say as I thought. I'm not one to blog about what I did today; I more like to blog about a significant experience or something I learned but at this point who cares, eh? It's not that I haven't learned or done fun things lately I just haven't thought to blog. So, I've let you down. All 3 of you. Especially the two of you that sit at a desk all day and occassionally have a free minute to surf the 'net. ;) For that, I am sorry. <br />
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Works been awesome as of late. My favorite little patient has become our very own little PCICU miracle and may be going HOME soon. It's crazy to think that about 3 months ago we were going to have to withdrawal care on him because he'd become too sick...and now, he's lying here smiling at me and doing things we never thought we'd see again...like go on wagon rides! There's something special in store for this lil dude. At such a young age he's already made so many people fall for him. I'm pumped and blessed to be a part of his life. <br />
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So, I'm forseriously considering getting a dog. I may be taking the puppy plunge. It really happened when Kara and I went to the dog park with Bella last week and there they were....two precious, fawn colored french bulldogs...just starring at me..and I starred at them. meant.to.be. I've wanted a frenchie for years now and recently I'd convinced myself it's a bad time and I don't have the money. Both of which are true...but then I met Daisy and Cooter(yea, cooter?) and I was back havin' puppy fever(much like Bieber fever except they are actually attainable). So, I've researched. I found a lady in western ky that breeds frenchies to sell--not to show, so they won't be 2g. I emailed her about a lil male fawn on the site but he had been sold already. It actually works well b/c I'd prefer a lil lady frenchie....Kara says they don't hump things and you can rub their belly without a lil thingy down there. True mayne, true! Anyway, the lady said they are breeding a couple females within the next couple months so Ima hollaaaa at her in the near future. It's very possible I will own a female fawn french named Fran.....jk about the Fran part, it went with all the Fs. Maybe something like Josey, Riley...something with an "ee" on the end b/c they(dog expert ppl) say they respond better to that. Either way tho I'm gonna be calling her my sweeett puuppyyy babyyy!! i'm stoked!<br />
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It's official. I will be attending my 2nd TaySweezy concert in Nashville, TN come Sept 16, 2011 with the most magnificant Emelyn Davies. It wasn't easy but we did obtain tickets. For some reason, despite being apart of the TaylorNation fan club I did not receive my presale pass code--rubbish! This meant I had to purchase my tix with the non-TayNation folk. It certainly felt like Me vs non-Taynation folk that morning. I spent 30min on ticketmaster.com and calling them and I couldn't get a ticket. After 30 minutes she was officially sold out....to all the non-TayNationers..psh. Anyway, that aint gonna slow my roll. StubHubs my new bestie...but she comes at a high price. After several days of debating with myself how much money I was willing to spend I contacted Emelyn and we decide that you couldn't put a price on a Tay Swift "Speak Now" concert in NastyNashville and we lucked out with some lower level seats.....Needless to say it should be pretty fun. I probably shouldn't have told yall all that. Slightly embarrassing. Whatevs. p.s. i'll miss you Angie!<br />
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Hm what else is new... I've started this new devotional. It's a Beth Moore bible study called A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place. I'm diggin it. One night recently I stayed up til 3 (that's not unusual these days but consider that night I'd gotten in bed at 1) doing my devo and then just reading scripture. What's cool about God is that as a believer you know that you have the Spirit within you and Jesus is camping out in your heart, right? But there comes a point in your walk with Christ that you no longer just know it but you FEEL it. That night I began to feel it more and more. As I kept reading it made more sense. It's like I said, I knew it all before, but there was a point when God totally interjected and was like ok NOW you're really gonna get it. In the Old Testament God called the Isrealites to build a Tabernacle for Him so He could dwell with His people but now he dwells in my HEART. Side note: Switchfoot "Your Love Is a Song" is my repeat song right now.<br />
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Man, blogging at work can really pass the time on a slow night--not complaining, just saying!! Last night I had a ridiculous patient. One of those love/hate relationships. She was the sweetest lil thing but my goodness was she a hot mess. At one point I just sat by her bed and talked to her for 15 minutes b/c of the hilarious things she'd say. She was 4yrs old and absolutely convinced of two things: 1) I was a doctor and 2) my name was Lateesha...neither of which I denied. Her favorite things to say were "Doctor, am I well?" and I'd respond "Yes, you are well, now, but you were very sick which is why you and I are having this slumber party" &. "Miss Lateesha, are my arms broken?"(she had on arms "restraints" b/c she tried to pull her IVs out) & I guess she watched lots of TV cuz she was willing to fall out of bed to get her " 'mote" (remote) so she could watch The Little Einsteins. Thank the Lord it happened to be on at 3am. Another fav was if she woke up when I wasn't there I'd herar this soft yell "hellooo?? where is everybody?? Doctor Lateesha, where is everybody!!???" so I'd knock on her glass door/window and wave and she'd calm down. She would lay her little head down on her pillow and just watch me through the glass door in my other patients room. She must've really loved her Lateesha. Even though she was cute and sweet she was a handful and I was oh-so-glad to see her gone when I returned to work tonight.<br />
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Anyway, enough rambling. I hope erbody enjoys their day!! mucho loveo to all!!!.......i just realized my one blog could really be lots of blogs...oh well.Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-56407225403869072852011-01-25T09:51:00.000-08:002011-01-25T09:51:38.207-08:00Proceed with Caution!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Recently I experienced a "first time" at work. This, honestly, was one of those "first times" I prayed would never come to pass, but it came, and it came hard. You know how when you have not-so-ideal news to share with someone so you just kind of beat around the bush with small conversation hoping for that right opportunity to come up so you can just ease on into it? Then that opportunity never actually comes so you just have to flat out say it? Well, that's what I'm doing. So, this is me flat out saying it: I had my first patient die. It was a baby. She was so precious. I've always thought I'd be tough; whatever happens happens and you move on. It's what I signed up for, right? eh. Not so much. Yes, working in the ICU I knew that death was something I'd be faced with on a daily basis, but being a part of this situation is far different from simply imagining how I'd react to losing a patient. This is not to say I don't love my job b/c I truly do. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. However, I'm human. It's sad and it's hard no matter how many times you have experienced it. Needless to say, this left me with lots of questions. Not just medically what went wrong but on a spiritual level...on an eternal level.</span><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">My question for the longest time has been: do babies/children go to heaven? Google that. It will infuriate you one second then having you rejoicing the next, but the fact of the matter is we must turn to God's word. The Bible is the only truth--not what some random person decided to post on the dotcom one day. It's interesting though, even if I'd never opened the bible I would know, just looking at this baby, she was with Jesus...so sweet and peaceful. I was overcome with a sense of this is where she was supposed to be. I felt like baby was being held in our Father's arms that very moment. I stood there holding baby in my own arms all alone in the room and cried a little. I cried b/c I was sad she ever had to live through pain and I cried b/c she no longer had to. Instead, she was healed in heaven. After I was done with everything my charge nurse let me leave work early that night, around 345am, b/c it had been an exhausting night. On my way home I couldn't help but think of all the times when I was younger that I'd have a bad dream and run into my parents bed to snuggle between the two of them. I resisted the urge to do so and headed back to my condo.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The bible says "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" John 3:16. So, whoever believes in Jesus Christ will go to heaven. What about those who've never even heard of Jesus? Well, it also goes on to say in Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." Basically saying that if you're living in this world you're witnessing His creation so you have no excuse but to believe in Him. So what about those babies who are too young and lack the mental capacity to comprehend salvation? Too young to understand that the world they live in was created by a Higher Power? Welp, friends, our God may be a just God but He is also very merciful. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Read on to Deuteronomy 1:39 "And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> do not yet know good from bad</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">--</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">they will enter the land</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it." I realize there are several verses that say no matter what we are born sinful (Romans 5:12) but I also know that in order to be saved or condemned we will be faced with a decision the day we encounter Jesus Christ. Do we accept and believe that He died for us or do we reject this truth? God will condemn those who reject Him, right? But as a baby you are not capable of making such a decision. All in all my belief is that this sweet baby, along with the rest that we lose too soon, is resting peacefully in Heaven. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> </div><div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Lastly, I read about a sermon where the pastor said "God does not call innocent children to heaven. That comes from circumstances brought about by the earth. But He is there to welcome them with open arms." That quote is pretty comforting. I actually heard that long before this happened but it was kind of like God had it stashed in my back pocket for that night b/c he knew I'd need it. </span></div></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I know this post is kind of a lot and I probably make no sense, but if you take nothing from it I just ask that you pray for this family who lost a daughter, granddaughter, niece, cousin, loved one...Also, please pray for those involved in her care. I know that where I work this happens somewhat often but it goes unspoken on the unit and I can't help but worry about what my co-workers take away from all this. Ok, I'm donezo. Keep it reals...Thanks for readdinngg!!! love you!!</span></div><div><br />
</div>Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-55344115883191558852011-01-06T00:42:00.000-08:002011-01-06T00:42:40.793-08:00Three's CompanyIt's official. My blog is on the brink of going viral. It's coming in right behind Lady GaGa videos and Marcel the Shell!....except not really. I've finally reached three followers. That was my goal going into this. If I can just get three people with enough time on their hands to read my blog then it's worth it. Why three? Well, b/c there was a show once called Three's Company so I've always just felt like three was a good number. Anyway, Emelyn, welcome inside my mind. <br />
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What's happening in my world? To sum it up Vince Young is no longer privelaged enough to wear a Titans jersey, I hate the Miami Heat now more than ever, and I'm a fantasty football champion(good run, Emelyn). <br />
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Thoughts on VY? ABOUT TIME! Good luck on your future endeavors. <br />
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Miami Heat? Ok, anyone(team) that compares themselves to the Beatles is just arrogant. Plus, Heatles just sounds gross. Lebron ruined his reputation when he felt he was important enough to block off an hour long conference/announcement on ESPN just to tell us he was a traitor. I may be harsh. I can't relate. I've never been the 2nd best (yea, 2nd) basketball player of all time and in search of an NBA championship ring. The only reason it moves me enough to blog is b/c I've recently rekindled my love with the Bealtes and realized, all over again, their brilliance...and b/c I've got nothing else to say. But their brilliance is far more superior than a Sir James. As I write this I'm listening to some of their greatest hits. "Let It Be" just about sums up how I feel about life. <br />
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"And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me, shine until tomorrow, let it be."<br />
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What I love about their music, and Coldplay (that's a whole 'nother love affair), is although it's what we consider secular music I find it can be kind of spiritual. A lot of truth in it; a lot of simplicity. The song "Let It Be" reminds me of what one of my best friends, Kara, said in a convo recently. She said that there wasn't much in life that we can control so take take control of what we can- ie) our health, our end of relationships, and our relationship with God. Other than those things life is going to run it's course whether we want it to or not...and that's when we just have to let it be. There's always gonna be an end; there's always gonna be an answer-you just have to be willing to find. There's always some positive amidst the struggles. Life happens, we have to embrace it, trust God, and make the most of it. It's like that saying "Let Go and Let God". yeayea.<br />
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Back to sports. I have mixed feelings about the end of the Titans season. One thing I look forward to more than anything each week is Titans games. One thing I least look forward to each week is watching the Titans embarrass Tennessee with their fighting, penalties, lack of ability to overcome adversity, whiny quarterbacks, and vulger, bird-flipping owners. Nonetheless, I still love the Titans and would root for them every day of the week. I'm partially glad the seasons over now though. We needed a change and we needed it fast. The sooner the change the sooner we can move on to bigger, better, and maturer. VY is a good quarterback and I hope that he will excel elsewhere...just not on Sundays when he's playing TN. <br />
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I feel like this blog was kind of all over the place. I dig it. All in all, go titans and let it be. Peace and blessings...peace. and. blessings.Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-73452294400734165192011-01-03T17:00:00.000-08:002011-01-03T17:00:19.572-08:00Learning curve<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to Wikipedia "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The term learning curve refers to the graphical relation between the amount of learning and the time it takes to learn." So, this would mean "time elapsed" would be charted on the X axis with "knowledge gained" on the Y axis....aka my line would be really flat _______ Only joking, kind of. I've found the more self-relfection, biblical studying, and living independently I do that the rate at which I'm acquiring knowledge has increased. It's not a huge increase, it's more of a very slow, gradual incline but, nonetheless, I'm learning. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px;">What am I learning? Well, mostly about congenital cardiac defects and their corrective surgeries BUT also about relationships. For example, what it means to be loyal, faithful, selfless, respectful, honorable, generous, kind, accepting, and tolerant. I've always been the "I'd rather have 5 best friends than 100 good acquaintances" type, but now I wanna be both. The more the merrier right? People teach you things. They teach you how to love, how not to love; how to help, how not to help; how to teach, how not to teach; how to speak, how not to speak, etc. The more I know the better friend I can be. I found a verse recently that states it pretty plain and simple. The 11th book of the New Testament is a letter written to the Church of Philippi from St. Paul known as Philippians. I really love Philippians b/c I often feel like Paul is writing directly to me. He is very encouraging and uplifting. He teaches us that we have to preach the Word through everything that we do--good or bad. We are to live a life worthy of the Gospel and it can't just be with our words but through our actions. What better way to share Christ than the way we treat people? Philippians 2:3-4 says:</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br />
</h3><h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="UIStory_Message"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." </span></span></span></h3><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm finding the more I grow in the knowledge of God the more I desire to be more like Him. Now I just need to do it. I suppose, with this new year, this can be my resolution. I need to see that incline steepen(is that a word?) Along with attempting to train for the music city half marathon...but we'll just see about that one. </span></span></div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Anyway, the holidays are over and it's time to get back to the grind. Oddly enough, I'm excited to get back to work. I miss my little patient and the good people that I work with. I also just like that feeling of working real hard and deserving the couple days off. I hope that all two of you who read this have a blessed week and know that I pray for you always! </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div></span>Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-50250393571015901502010-12-29T01:53:00.001-08:002010-12-29T01:53:32.908-08:00Fashion vs. Keeping All My Fingers&Toes.It's 1:15 am Wednesday morning and I'm packing..err...<i>was</i> packing for my trip to NEEEWWW YORK concrete jungle WHERE DREAMS ARE MADE OF(who doesn't do that eveytime they say "new york" now?)...but I decided to take a break from the headache to blog. Blogging wasn't my first thought. I really just wanted my nightly chocolate ice cream but when I sat to eat it I thought maybe this was a good time to share my situation(to all two of my friends who read this--whom I've already texted about my situation).<br />
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</div><div>So, here's my delimma: I want to attempt to dress cute in NYC, I want to fit it all in one suitcase, but I want to stay WARM, ergo, I want to take all my jackets. The problem is the number of jackets I feel I need for each outfit don't want to fit in the suitcase. So, I guess it comes down to do I want to blend in with the fashiony ppl or do I want to keep all my appendages? Although, Southwest bags DO fly FREE so I could have more than one bag....but who really wants to be that girl that has to go to baggage pick up when all her friends don't? Hmm....so you see why I have a headache. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Anyway, good news: I got called off work on Christmas! yea! I got to spend the night with my family, then see my lifetime(not the tv network) girl friends, then hang with Miss Kara and MH! It was a fun, unexpected Christmas present from the PCICU. However, I was soon back to work. I spent the last two nights with my sweet little patient, "Bubba". Now, I'm off for one day and then head to the great state of New York!</div><div><br />
</div><div>While packing for NYC I couldn't help but think about the next time I'll be packing for a trip. Weird, I know. If the packing is stressing me out so much why would I even want to think about the next time I have to pack? Well, it was more like I wondered where I may be going next, for how long, how far, and if I need to get a larger suitcase. I didn't have to wonder long cuz I actually have an idea of where it will be, when it will be, who it will be with, and what size suitcase I'll need. I suppose I'll fill you in on my next adventure (although, I do hope there's more in between). </div><div><br />
</div><div>In July I hope to go to Africa. Pshyea, I know. When I was a freshman in college I started hearing about the Invisible Children. I remember some people came to host a convocation about the Invisible Children in northern Uganda and I bought the documentary to check it out. It opened my eyes to hate in this world I never knew existed. I'd heard about poverty, war, and genocide but this really brought it to me. Three guys from Cali risked their lives to document the conflict b/t the government officials and the rebel army. They spent nights with the very children that were hiding from the rebels so they wouldn't abduct them and train them to to do evil. Ever since then my desire for mission work with children has grown-- Especially missions in Africa. Is it weird to say that much hatred has inspired me? I think you know what I mean. I've always prayed for the opportunity to present itself when God felt I was most ready. James 1:27 says " Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the word". If you say so, God! I am in a place in my life that I can do this. It will take time, it will take money, it will take a giant leap of faith but I know God will provide. Like I said in my first post, this blog is meant to hold me accountable. I've been too comfortable in my bubble and I'm making strides to get out of this comfort zone. I'm pretty sure Africa falls under the umbrella of "outside my bubble". </div><div><br />
</div><div>The deets, you may ask....this all came together one night when my good friend Kara and I were discussing our faith and how we have <i>so</i> much room to grow. We talked about needing a radical change and wanting to experience something drastically different from our day-to-day life. Turns out, Kara had been praying a lot about mission work as well and she discovered a non-profit organization called Visiting Orphans through a friend of hers. So, God willing, July14-27 we are planning on going to Uganda and Ghana. I'm continuing to pray for the courage, wisdom, time from work, and the finances among many other things to make this possible. Please pray, too! and if you feel a calling to go then holler at me! The more the merrier!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Now that I've shared with you what my next big move is I should probably finish packing cuz my plane leaves in like 8 hours. Thanks for listening, praying, encouraging!</div><div><br />
</div>Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-87877813964602153182010-12-24T23:21:00.001-08:002010-12-24T23:21:55.356-08:00Merry Christmas from the PCICU!As much as I'd love to be home with my family for the holidays I can't help but be happy that I'm here, at work, too. I was super bummed and being all mopey like "pity me I have to work on xmas eve"...but then, I heard Santa coming. I knew it was him b/c I heard his sleigh bells. They weren't on his sleigh, he'd taken them off to come inside the PCICU. He claimed it was a health violation to bring the reindeer on the unit but I don't know if I buy it. There's a reason Santa is so fat and it's not just cuz he eats billions of cookies on christmas--he's lazy. Anyway, Santa lifted my spirits about 25%. There was still 75% to account for.<br />
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Santa made his rounds through the unit giving presents to all the boys and girls spending the evening here. Then, Santa made his final stop. My patients room. We'll call him Bubba for HIPPA purposes. I was so excited for Bubba to meet Santa! I couldn't help but think Man, he actually gets to SEE Saint Nick! what other kids can grow up to say that? awesomesauce! <br />
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As Santa walks up to his room a crowd of co-workers gathers behind him to catch Bubba's reaction when the two see eachother. So, I draw back the curtains and there is Bubba!....asleep. Juuust snoozzzing. Now, if you know this child, you know he NEVER sleeps!! What are the odds? So the pressure was on. I had to do something! Now, this might've been a little rude but I had Santa jingle his sleigh bells real loud and within a second Bubba's eyes SHOT OPEN and scanned the room! Then he caught a glimpse of the big red man in the door and starred at him contently as if thinking "I don't see many men with white hair on their faces and red caps on their head but IIII LIKE it!!" Bub then raised his hand up slowly and waved at Santa Claus with his chubby, warm, pink hands. Santa waved back with a grin and gave him his gifts. Then, as a thank you, sweet Bubba smacked his lips together to blow the Santy Man a big fat kiss. My heart just melted. Unfortunately, S.C. missed it. So, I said "can you blow another kiss!!??". Welp, apparently not. He shook his head no and cried. You see, Bubba only has so many kisses he can give away on certain days. Today he only had one kiss reserved and it was for Santa. Sorry, man in the sleigh, but maybe next year...<br />
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Needless to say, the other 75% was not only fufilled but exceeded. I'm so blessed to know and love this miracle child. The patients here, this one in particular, are a reminder to us all to keep fighting, keep smiling, keep playing, keep loving. It's almost a new year so we can all strive to be as awesome as these little babes for 2011!<br />
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It's time to watch Frosty the Snowman. Catch you on the flipside. Merry Christmas and don't forget: Jesus is the Reason for the Season! God Bless!Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5531484320506483642.post-54574110027999196872010-12-24T01:20:00.000-08:002010-12-24T01:20:05.968-08:00The Virgin BloggerI'm not gonna lie to you, b/c that's a terrible first impression, but I've never been a fan of blogging....until I started working night shift and am up at unhuman-like hours and get real bored. First, I gave in to Twitter. I was probably the first person to ever say "I refuse to get that tweeter thang it's the dumbest idea I've ever heard of"....and then, as you can see, I folded on the blogging trend. So, here I am. 2:41am. I just finished putting together a Christmas gift to a dear friend who's changed my life a lot in recent months. Very cool how that happens. I'll get into that later.<br />
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</div><div>So, now that you understand I'm really good at giving into the latest internet trends(yes, I realize blogging is a more 'old school' trend but new to me?) I guess I'll start with who I am and what I want to accomplish with this blog. Then I'll just talk about my family and friends b/c quite frankly I'm probably the least entertaining blogger you'll ever encounter. Please excuse my grammatical grammers. My 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Pitts, tried so hard with those sentence diagrams but I just couldn't wrap my head around it. </div><div><br />
</div><div>My names Anna. You can call me....Anna. It works well. My parents called me that when I was born and it stuck? If you can think of anything better that's not crude, rude, or just dumb feel free to do that. The present day I am a nurse at Vanderbilt Children's hospital in the Cardiac ICU. I've been there for almost a year now and, still, every time I say it I feel so blessed to not only have a job but to have the job of my dreams. You know, the funny thing about my last statement is I really never dreamt about being a nurse in the PCICU but alas, I am. It wasn't 'til I got there that I realized this was what I'd been searching for all along. I guess God thought it would be more fun to surprise me than give me a heads up. Side note: I'm really glad there's spell check on here. Nonetheless, I'm very lucky and couldn't imagine not working with my little heart babies. I'll tell you more about my life later...</div><div><br />
</div><div>My mission for this blog is for you to hold me accountable. For so long I've had thoughts, ideas, interests, etc. and kept them to myself, or maybe even told my mom once or twice, but they never came to fruition. No more straddle the fence on this stuff anymore. So, here it is: My number ONE mission is to be a servant for Jesus Christ. Mission number two is figuring out how I can do that. Mission number three is, welp, doing it. Mission number four is sharing it. Enter scene: blogspot. yea! </div><div><br />
</div><div>As ppl get to know me they find that I am a very habitual human being. I like my comfort zones. I like where I am and I absolutely do not like change. I think growing up in the same house, city, school system, friend network my whole life instilled that in me. I realize God has called me to serve in Nashville at Vanderbilt but I also feel a calling for even more...even further. In order to break my cycle of comfort I'm stepping outside my bubble...one small step at a time...It started when I switched churches. I LOVED the church I used to attend and thought the pastor was an amazing person but my heart was uneasy. I didn't feel like I fit in and even more importantly I didn't have the desire to. I pretty much went to church by myself for 2 years. I invited ppl and some would come, others decided not to, but I didn't pursue them as I should've. After much prayer and talking with close friends I decided to look for a new church home. I was almost embarrassed to admit that for awhile. I mean, I've lived her my entire life and I'm looking for a church family? Shouldn't that be established by now? Well, not necessarily. I need something different. I've grown; I've changed.<br />
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I'm now attending Brentwood Baptist church on Sundays and Tuesdays(Kairos). Just this past Tuesday I talked to a girl about her "20 somethings" sunday school class. Well, alright! I do believe I'll give it a go. Making this switch has been so awesome. I've got a core group of friends that attend with me and I feel like I'm where God was telling me I should be. I love my old church but I had to move on. All this to say, I'm listening and I'm trying to make changes to further my spiritual walk with Christ. I find the more I pray, the more I hear, the more I desire to do, and it becomes this fun cycle of living out God's will. Paul says to the Jews and Gentiles of Rome in Romans 12:1-2:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"</span><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-28247" style="line-height: normal; vertical-align: text-top;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. </span><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-28248" style="line-height: normal; vertical-align: text-top;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Has anyone ever told you Paul knows what's up? Ok, well, I am. He's baller. God speaks so much truth through paul. Everytime I read it it's like a pep talk. Ok so anyway. Thanks for listening to me ramble. This is just the start...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Over-n-out</span></div>Anna Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00471654789154505020noreply@blogger.com1