More pictures

The first picture is us girls waiting out front of the Managua airport the day we arrived.  The 2nd picture is of Karl trying to collect water from an air conditioning unit to use in our sterilizer.  The 3rd picture is all of our team after our totes finally arrived after some of them were confiscated by customs.  It took RJ and Duane 25 hours to get from Managua to Puerto Cabezas after having problems with muddy roads from all the rain, a flat tire, coming up on trucks stuck in the mud which backed up all the vehicles for hours, losing power steering and sliding off the road and getting stuck, etc., etc.!  The 4th picture is of the baby girl who almost drowned by being swept into a water filled culvert during heavy rains.  She is the granddaughter of one of the Nicaraguan nurse who is one of our interpreters.  She is absolutely adorable!  The 5th picture was taken just seconds before this little girl aspirated on milk that her grandmother had given her the morning of surgery.  It was very scary since she could have died because of that.  I took this picture to show how she came to the OR in her little shoes with heels on them.  The 6th picture was taken at a beach.  The water was so warm.  The 7th picture is of the young man, Austin, who is setting up a small farm in Betania to teach the locals farming as a means to feed their families as well as a source of income.  He's doing some amazing work there.  That is where some of us worked last Monday when our work was done at the hospital.  The 8th & 9th pictures are the fisherman we saw at the beach who were fishing with nets.  They pulled the nets to shore only to have just a few small fish in them.  They loaded up all the netting and headed back out into the ocean.  Such hard work for potentially small rewards.  The 10th picture was taken at the Muskito market and the last picture is of some of the food we bought for the kids in the orphanage.   We have lots and lots of pictures and will combine them with the pictures from the California team.  Hope you have enjoyed them.    Carolyn

HOME!!

All of us from Nebraska are now home from Nicaragua!  The last from our team, Dean & I, Jody & Sherilyn flew to Managua yesterday and then left early this morning for home.  From Managua, we flew to Houston and then to Omaha.  We had another amazing trip.  On Tuesday, we spent time buying food for the orphanage.  Last week, Pastor Earl had told us about the dire circumstances of the orphanage and that at some meals, the kids only receive a cup of milk and a slice of bread.  We had money that was donated and we decided that we would spend that on bags of rice & beans, oil, sugar, eggs, fruit and vegetables and meat for the kids.  We have already started to look ahead to next year as to what supplies and things we can take for the kids.  They have gotten to the orphanage under such sad circumstances so we hope to help them in some small ways. 
During our time at the hospital, Rich and Mark did 87 surgeries.  There were more scheduled but some were cancelled for various reasons: fevers, some had eaten the morning of their scheduled surgery, broken equipment, no shows, etc.  We accomplished a lot under the circumstances!
We had a great team this year combining the Nebraskans and Californians.  The doctors, Rich & Mark, were great to work with and we hope to be able to work together with them again.  We couldn't have done it without the help of the Nicaraguan nurses and OR people as well.  They are hard workers and have been a tremendous help to all of us and have truly become our friends.  They are so appreciative of our help but probably don't realize what a privilege it is for us to be there working along side them to serve their people.  The need is so great there and we barely scratch the surface but the satisfaction we receive from these trips is extraordinary.  Thank you to all who have been so supportive of this mission through your donations and especially your thoughts and prayers.  God willing, we will return to Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, next year!  Carolyn
PS  We will be posting more pictures!

Wed. morning

Just finished breakfast and will be making final preparations to leave here this morning for Managua.  Will be flying with the California team who will be flying on today.  Dean  and I, Jody and Sherilyn will be staying in Managua and fly early tomorrow morning for home.  It has been a great time here but also time to go home!  There are lots of stories to tell from a young man being hit in the face with a piece from a well drill to a near drowning of a baby girl, to a small girl close to dying on the operating table because her grandma fed her before surgery and she aspirated.  The young man came to the hospital here with serious injuries and was flown to Managua yesterday morning and has had surgery there.  The baby girl went outside in her walker and fell out of her walker into fast moving water in a culvert, was swept under what would be equivalent to a 2 to 3 car wide driveway and came out the other end.  When her mother pulled her out, she was blue but is now doing well.  She was lucky she did not get caught up under the cement.  Well, time to wrap this up in Puerto Cabezas and head out.  It has been a great trip and will be anxious to share our stories at home.  Carolyn

Tues. morning

Good Morning.  Sunday we went to church and then to the hospital to do a few smaller surgical cases.  Before we started, Rich gave us Nebraskans a very meaningful and heartfelt message.  We so appreciated that and everyone conveyed to him what a pleasure it was to work with him.  Packing went well and the construction team from California were a HUGE help with loading and unloading of totes.  

Monday some stayed to help organize totes for next year.  I was with the crew that went to Batanya (sp.) to help at the big farm Austin is helping to develop.  It is amazing and hopefully will teach some of the locals how to farm to feed their families as well as earn a living.  We pulled weeds for a few hours.  We did a lot but barely made a dent compared to all the work that needs to be done there.  The ride to and back from Batanya is an hour each way over horribly bumpy roads.  The highlight of the day was after lunch when Austin took us all to a private beautiful beach.  We saw fisherman in a small boat out in the Atlantic fishing with a net.  They came up to shore near us to pull in the nets which was a huge job only to find about a half dozen small fish and a couple crabs.  But they loaded up their nets and paddled back out to the rough waters to start again.  They were amazing.  

Time for breakfast and then off to the pier and muskito market.  Hi, Sue and Karl!  Hope you  had a safe trip home!

Carolyn

The most amazing team

This is Suzie, co team leader for the Global Passion Medical Missions trip, and I want to thank Nebraska for sharing their servant minded folks with the Californians. We have had the most mountain top experience one can imagine. The team blended into one with in hours and all things clicked like we had worked together for years. We had deep meaningful evenings filled with laughter and tears, but most of all the building of strong life long relationships for years to come. Many cleft lips, tonsils, thyroid and pediatric hernias were repaired. The days started at 6 am for many of us and usually ended around 8 pm with highs and lows. No low could dampen the highs of the faces, thank you's and excellent outcomes we saw. I look forward to our next adventure. Thank you each one for your excellent care and love you gave to the Atlantic Region. Most of all thank you to our Savior for having our backs at all times. To Jesus be the glory.

Sunday night

Hi, everyone,   We are done at the hospital!  We went to church this morning, ate lunch and then went to the hospital for a few smaller surgeries.  An 8 man construction team from southern California arrived and went to the hospital.  They were a big help when we loaded up totes to come back to the compound.  The weather today was finally HOT with humidity but for the most part has been pleasant.  We have definitely made friendships at the hospital with the Nicaraguan nurses and there were some tearful good byes when we left. 
Rich and Melissa will be leaving tomorrow and those of us still here will split up and either sort and organize totes, go with the construction crew, or go to a farm to help mix manure.  We do not really know what that will entail but Dean and I have signed on for that job.  We will be at home with that job considering we have so much to clean up with the horses! 
Hope Sue and Karl arrived home safely.  We miss them!  The rest of us will be leaving Wed. for Managua and will fly home on Thurs.  Sad to leave here but will be anxious to get home.     Carolyn

Sat. nite

Great day at work.  The little girl who aspirated yesterday is doing well.  We got done early and got back here around 4.  Was nice to have showers before we ate.  An 8 man construction from southern California arrived today and will start working on a church Monday.  Tomorrow we will go to church, eat across the street and then get right to the hospital to do some surgeries tomorrow afternoon.  That will be the end of our work at the hospital as Rich will leave Monday morning.  Melissa will also be leaving Monday.  Sue and Karl left today and should be having a relaxing evening in Managua.  We were all sorry to see them leave early and will miss them the rest of the trip.  Have a good evening, everyone.    Carolyn

Friday evening

What a day!  Our first case was an interesting one.....or rather, intense one I should say.  The little girl was fed by her grandmother and therefore, aspirated food into her lungs......needless to say with little resources it was an intense situation and we ended up using some of our emergency equipment once we removed the dust from it!  We were able to work well as a team and we handled it as best as we could.....she is now in Peds where we will continue to watch her over the next few days.

I also befriended a doctor named Jose who is probably 5 years younger than me......who has agreed to learn how we address wounds in the U.S.....there is a little boy named, Bairon, who has been in bed for a month!  He had a bug bite on his leg that became horribly infected and they have been doing tortourous dressing changes once a day.....now, they have agreed to medicated him for pain as well as start physical therapy to get him out of bed to walk!  Tomorrow I will be involved the Nicaraguan MDs in helping them remove the sutures, we hope, and see what wet to dry dressing changes look like.

There is so much to do, but so many people we have helped.  Each day we have learned is a new adventure....we take what comes!  Thank you for all of the followers and for your prayers.....

Melissa

Hello everyone.The trip has definately enriched my life.The people here are so gracious and so thankful for our presence here.I have worked in the recovery room and it has been nice to revisit past experiences of my nursing career.I had the privilege to helping a young mom initiate her breastfeeding experience.Here NO bottles for first six months of life.Only cleft palates are not breastfed.Moms only hand express as there is only one pump and the nurses say it is not working well.I have taken pics of breastfeeding posters that are up on the wards.NICU is very interesting.Lots of preemies.The first visit we saw a preemie, 26 week gestation born the 13th .Only on O2 nasal cannula and IV fluid.Mom expressed breastmilk for gavage feedings.I was able to go in on a C Section on Wed.at 3pm.She was dismissed the next morning only to return on Thurs.bleeding and elevated BP.She is doing okay in ICU today.The maternity ward is 30 bed according to Dr.Taylor.Seventy percent deliver at home and they still deliver 800 or so per year.The experience has been more than rewarding and I thank each and every one of you for support and your prayers.God Bless.Sherilyn

Another day behind us.

Well we have another day behind us. It doesn't seem like it should be Friday already. Dr. Mark our general surgeon left today for the States. He has been great to work with. I have done mostly ENT and Sandra the Nicaragua anesthetist has done his cases. We will do another full day tomorrow and then Sunday after church. I will post some more pictures of the hospital so you can see our working conditions. The picture of the paper on the wall is news print that the children have been coloring on all week. The weather was good today except for a short downpour.

Dean 

Friday evening

Hello, everyone.  Done for the day.  Time is flying!  Mark did a couple hernia repairs today before leaving for home.  His first case was a little girl (3 yrs.) for a hernia repair.  As Sandra, the Nic. anesthetist, was waking her up, she vomited and then aspirated on curdled milk.  The mom had strict instructions at the clinic last Sat. NOT to feed or give her anything to drink.  After a phone call from the Mom to home, she found out the Grandma could not stand the crying and gave her something.  It was a very tense situation and the little girl is still in the hospital.  So glad that Mark did not have to leave not knowing how things would turn out.  This sort of thing apparently happens quite often.  
I took a short tour of the hospital before we left tonight and it certainly appears that the conditions are much worse than even last year.  Even the local nurses say that.  Karl has been our taxi driver and appears to have mastered dodging other cars, bicycles, and pedestrians (by the skin of his teeth!).  He and Sue went shopping today and took team money to buy things for the hospital such as fans, diesel fuel, beans, rice, coffee and several coffee pots for different areas of the hospital.  Karl and Sue leave tomorrow and will be home Sunday after a relaxing stay in Managua tomorrow night.  We have a lighter surgery schedule tomorrow and a short one after church on Sunday.  Our trip to Waspam has been cancelled so we will pack on Monday.  Probably Tues. we will visit the farm that Austin is working on growing fresh veggies as well as visit the Moskito market.  
That is all for now.  Thanks for all your support!  Carolyn

More time than I thought

I have a little more time than I thought so I will add a little. This trip has gone extremely well after we got over all the intial difficulties of gettiing our supplies and everyone here. We are planning on spending some of our fund raising dollars to get some food to the 115 children in the orphanage. We can buy 100 lbs of beans and 100 lbs of rice and some other staples. That will only feed them for a week or so but right now some meals are bread and milk. They are trying to house and educate these children and bring them up in a Christian atmosphere to have an impact on their community. It is so sad. The computer has found new life so we can again receive but not send emails. Best to all at home. More later.
Dean

Friday AM

Ju

Friday morning

Foggy and drippy this morning.  Looks like more rain will come this morning.  Yesterday Rich did thyroid cases as well as some other things while Mark did more hernia repairs.  We had a wonderful meal waiting for us when we returned in the evening.  It was a shrimp main dish with veggies.  Wed. night we could have either lobster or shrimp kabobs.  I think we have told everyone how well fed we are here!  The seafood here is fresh and delicious to say the least.  Today promises to be a busy day for ENT.  Mark has a couple cases and then leaves to return to Montana.
It sounds like the hospitals situation has deteriorated since last year.  Suzie says it is in the worst shape she has seen it since coming here years ago.  Equipment that breaks is not being replaced, gowns and drapes used in surgery are basically tattered rags, and the nurses continue to struggle without even the basics to do their jobs.  You can not even imagine what it is like unless you see it for yourself.
Thank you again to everyone who is following our mission and for your continued prayers.   Carolyn

Thursday evening

Today has been another long day for the team.....this morning I was able to go to the nursing school here with Carl....eighty students will begin school in March at the cost of $60 a year, however, this does not include food or lodging or materials.  The students share textbooks between all of them in a small library and are required to bring their own syringes, needles, etc, in order to practice in skills lab.

The neonatal intensive care was also a busy place today.  There, they had a few premature babies born over the last few days, some doing better than others......their spirits and will to live here is amazing to me.  You would be amazed at how they infuse IV fluids and keep track of what they are doing......all on paper!

Also, the end of my day I was able to pray with some other members of our team for a young woman about 15 years old whose spirit is manifested by demons.  We prayed for her and with her family and will check on her in the morning.

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts......they are all needed down here!

Melissa

Thursday PM

I am  have been having a wonderful time, busy in surgery  lots of cases everyday.  I am tired at the end of the day but what a great feeling to know how many people we are touching.  Looking forward to tomorrow I am getting a break to run around town with Karl.  Thanks to everyone at home for supporting this mission.  Love to all my friends and family.  XOX  SUE

Thursday PM

It rained again today but after that it was beautiful and hot.  I got promoted to designated driver today.  It is quite an experience driving in Nicaragua but fun. The need is so great in the hospital so Sue and I are going shopping with one of the Nicaraguan nurses and picking up some food and other things like stools and fans for the hospital. Everone is well and we thank you for all your prayers and support and will see you soon.  Love Karl

Thursday morning

Quick note as we will be leaving for the hospital.  Our laptop died so we do not have e-mail access;FYI.
Have had busy days.  We keep hearing more heartbreaking stories about patients we haven't even seen.  Pastor Earl talked to us last night and we didn't realize the orphanage was in such dire straights such as their food supply, the kid's clothing and school supplies, etc., etc.   Very sad situation for everyone in Puerto Cabezas.  You can tell as he speaks, that it breaks his heart to see the situations his people live in. 
Everyone is doing well & work together amazingly well.  Yesterday there was a break in the rain and we now have clean clothes.  The sun was out this morning but is now raining!!  And this is the "dry"season.  We all have curls and waves we didn't even know we had!  Lots of surgeries today so expect it to be a very long day.  Off to work.  Hope all is well at home.  We hear it is warming up.  Have a good day!  Carolyn

PS  We are having trouble getting to this site at times to post, so if you don't see new posts after a period of time, you will know why. 

Wednesday already!

Time is flying.  Doesn't seem possible that it's Wed. already.  The rain faucet just can't seem to shut off.  Rained a LOT yesterday to the point of it being close to going over the sidewalk going from the OR to the recovery area.  It's been difficult taking pictures because the camera lens fog up.  Tues. was another busy day with approximately another 20 surgeries.  Rich did 2 cleft lips with beautiful results and lots of tonsils.  Mark did lots of hernia repairs, hydroceles and a flank mass.  The last of us that stayed got back to the compound around 7:30.  We celebrated Rich's birthday with cake & a few leftover fireworks from Christmas.  The California and Nebraska teams have meshed together so well as well as so fast.  Seems like we have worked together for a very long time.  Jody has helped Keveta whip the OR into shape!  Even though Sue is working in Family Practice now, she is still the ENT pro and her and Rich are a great team!  I don't see Sherilyn & Melissa a lot but they seem to be enjoying the hustle & bustle that is always going on in the recovery area.  Dean has his own little corner of the OR and is loving every minute.  I share sterilizing duties so am mostly in the OR area but do have opportunites to get out & see what's going on in other areas.  But the man of the hour is Karl.  He is keeping very busy ALL over helping fix lots of equipment, etc. and is keeping everyone happy.  Yesterday he worked with RJ on electrical problems.  The climate here makes it nearly impossible for anything to work for very long.  Mary, the director of nursing has been bringing him lots of machines in hopes that he can work miracles and in some cases, he has.  Karl is the "go to" man!  We are going to eat soon and will be on our way.  Expecting another busy day!  Hope all is well back home.   Carolyn


Just a quick note and I will try to add some puctures. The weather has been very wet. Rain every day and it seems like lots of it. Not much chance to get laundry dry. The AC has worked without fail in the OR and very little power outages. Carolyn has pretty well said it all.
Dean

Dean

Tuesday Early AM

I have been going on the early crew @ 6:20 I will send a few pictures. The first day got off to kind of a slow start with cautery and sterilizer glitches but once we got rolling we did around 20 cases total. I was doing ENT with Rich. We did two cleft lips and several tonsils. The other table did lots of hernia repairs among other things. I need to get the pictures on and eat so I will close. Lots of stories but not much time.
Dean

Sunday morning

Good Morning, everyone.  Dean & I are early birds this morning.  Breakfast will be soon and then church services for 2 hours.  Since we didn't want to worry anyone at this point, we did not tell you about the problems encountered by the team getting here.  Other than some of our totes not arriving till Thurs. night, the NE people have had it easy compared to the California team.  Part of their team flew separately from the rest of the team.  The first group was rerouted but made it to Managua Friday night.  Their totes ended up being confiscated going through customs.  The 2nd group arrived and their totes went through.  Suzie & RJ stayed with the totes as long as they could and then were thrown out and the totes were taken away and locked up for the night.  Suzie's goal was not to be thrown in jail as well.  Pastor Earl's brother, we think through devine intervention, happened to be at the right place at the right time and saw a person he knew that worked in customs and put her to work helping with their situation.  To make a long story short, their totes were finally released Sat. morning and their team got here in Puerto Cabezas on 2 different flights.  Now back to the NE team in PC with Keveta on Fri. evening, we were all waiting to hear news about them which changed with every phone call (and there were many from her to the people in Managua).  We had to make a plan B as far as having our clinic on Sat. with NO doctors.  We planned as best as we could and went to bed hoping for the best in the morning.  We started our clinic with Dr. Taylor (Nicaragua dr.) helping fill Mark's (the general surgeon) spot and Jody assisting him.  Sue & Sherilyn were the ENT docs, replacing Rich till his arrival.  Dean, Melissa & I were at the scheduling (surgery) table.  Dean & Melissa assessed patients, made the schedule and I did paperwork.  (Yes, there's some paperwork in Nicaragua.)  Since a lot of our clinic supplies were in the totes which hadn't arrived, we were working with a lot of makeshift forms, supplies, meds, etc.  One by one, California people arrived after we had seen lots of patients and filled some days for Rich & Mark.  The clinic was a HUGE success and we were done, packed and out of there before 4:00.  WE DID IT!!!!!!!  We had a team meeting, a great supper and able to get to bed early!  We will have a very busy week and the doctors will be doing lots of surgeries and there will probably be some later evenings that we will be working.  That should cover our happenings for now.  By the way, if anyone at home is expecting to get e-mails from team members, you probably won't be receiving them for the time being.  We are able to receive e-mails (the junk mail is coming through fine) but not send.  Just continue to follow our blogs for updates.  In spite of all the problems, everyone is upbeat and excited for the week.  Keep us in your prayers as we proceed with our mission.  Carolyn

In Puerto Cabezas

Hello everyone!  We are in Puerto Cabezas and Melissa is here as well.  Dean & Karl went to the airport last night and got the rest of our totes.  Great news!!  Arrived in PC today at 12:15 and were picked up and brought to the compound which will be home now for 2 weeks.  Hopefully the totes will arrive Saturday.  Some of the California team is in Managua at this time and the rest of their team should arrive later this evening.  We hope to conduct our clinic tomorrow.  We have been busy this afternoon organizing the totes that Keveta keeps here at the compound.  Time for bed.  Everyone says "HI".  More blogs to follow
Carolyn

In Nicaragua

We are in Managua!  Left Omaha on time this morning at 5:35 as we saw 4 of our totes going back to the terminal on a cart!  So far, they have not arrived but are supposed to be on a 9:30 flight tonight. (We have a total of 12.) Good thing we are staying across the street from the airport.  Dean & Karl will be going over to see if they have arrived. 
We have had lots of challenges already.  The man who was supposed to meet us with papers from the Ministry of Health allowing us to get through customs was not at the airport.  We still managed to get through customs.  Found out later that he has been tied up at the Ministry of Health waiting to get the papers.  Needless to say all our plans have been changed somewhat and we are waiting on word of what to do next.
If you don't hear from us on a regular basis through these blogs, don't be alarmed since electricity could be a problem.  It is sporadic to say the least.
We are all tired and hoping to get some of these issues resolved so we can get to bed.  Has been a long day with very little sleep.  Hope to keep you posted.
Carolyn & crew 

11th Hour

Well if appears we are down to the 11th hour. The totes are packed and ready to go. I was sure we would be taking 6 or 7 totes but  the final count is 12. The Nicaraguan Ministry of Health decided to get very picky about who they allow to do medical missions in their country so last week was a whirl wind of emails back and forth with Keveta in Nicaragua and all the team here. We were finally able to satisfy their requests and got the official approval late last week. We thought this was done several months ago.
We leave for the airport at 2:30 AM tomorrow to catch our 5:30 plane. We will be in Managua by 12:30. Karl and Sue will meet us at Eppley and Melissa will leave from NY Friday. She will meet up with Suzie and the California Team in Managua and fly onto Puerto Cabezas with them.
We are all very excited to finally be leaving for this mission. I want to thank all of you for the many ways you have supported  us as we have been preparing  for this mission. Please continue to keep us and those we will be serving in your prayers.
We will try to blog as time and electrical service allow as we go through the next two weeks so keep checking back.
Dean