Friday, April 18, 2014

He's got it....

It's early Friday morning... a candle is lit close to me casting a shadow inside the darkened house.  The birds are singing in the day and as I look out the windows, the sun is beginning to break away the darkness outside.  It's early in the morning.  And the day is just beginning.   A new day.  And a day that is known by my God.   It's been a month full of... life.   And while there has been a lot of what has become normal life... seeing patients in the clinic, spending time with my family group, and living  life with those around me.  It has also been a month of journeying alongside two different individuals both facing serious medical situations.   One a young man; another a lady with a few more years under her belt.  One a student; the other a mom of 7 children.  One aware of the seriousness of her illness; the other more fully grasping it after being hospitalized.  Both so different and yet each journeying alongside with strong community and with a faith in Jesus.  Watching the community at New Hope stand and surround these two individuals has been an absolute beautiful thing.   And I've been able to hear directly from the lips of these two individuals the effect that the care, support, and love has had on them.  It has left me speechless.  And it has undoubtably greatly impacted both of these individuals.  

He's up and moving now... just need to
snap another picture.  
Wizeye Joseph, a young man and a student at our secondary school, was diagnosed this last month with End Stage Kidney Disease.  His kidneys are currently failing him.  It's a hard diagnosis to digest... especially when how you feel doesn't match how sick you really are.  Besides headaches and occasional blurriness, Wizeye has felt fine.  His blood pressures, however have not been fine.  He has had blood pressures as high as 218/152 and just recently came down with typhoid.  A huge hit to an already struggling body.  His creatine, a test which measures kidney function, rose to a very hi level while he was in the hospital.  He was discharged a few days later, and a repeat test, showed an improvement in this level.  It is still higher than it was when he was diagnosed with kidney failure, but an improvement nonetheless.  He'll have his creatine rechecked next month and is slated to go back to the nephrologist in Kampala at the end of this month.  

Ketty Okoth was diagnosed with Poorly Differentiated Squamous Cell Carcinoma of her Esophagus last month.  It's been a month of waiting for pathology results, obtaining all the necessary foundational medical tests, setting up radiation, and having treatment put on hold because of a broken machine.  There is one radiation machine in Uganda and it has been down for most of this week.   (Yes, ONE machine.... it's a hard reality to swallow....)  It has been recommended for her to receive both radiation and chemotherapy concurrently. With a machine not working, a hesitancy here to do concurrent chemo and radiation, and a cancer that needs to be addressed urgently, it has been decided to head to Nairobi for treatment.  The plan is to leave New Hope on Monday and hop a bus Monday evening.  We should arrive Tuesday morning (after an all night drive))  and are slated to be seen Tuesday afternoon at M P Shah Hospital.  God-willing, A. Ketty will begin treatment early next week.    

Will you join us in praying for Wizeye and for A. Ketty?  For Wizeye's mom and siblings?  For A. Ketty's husband, Okoth and their seven children?  Thank you! Will you join us as we trust God in however He leads?  Yes, we are asking for a miracle... for each of these precious individuals.  I am asking that no matter what, their hearts, our hearts would be drawn closer to Him.

I don't know how long I will be in Kenya for. Realistically, it will be for at least a few weeks... but it could be shorter and it could be longer.  The Lord knows.  Trusting in His provision of my every need as I have the honor of walking with A. Ketty in these next days and weeks.  What an honor it is!

More later....

Kimberly/Kimmy/Kim





(Both Wizeye Joseph and A. Ketty Okoth have given permission for their stories to be shared).  

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