Some more meandering April 3 and 7,2012

     It is beginning to warm up but they say it will get wamer. It was 110 in the shade and 100+ in the house. If there is a breeze it feels like a blast furnace. In the OR it gets down to a cool 85 with the air conditioner. One has to keep drinking water by the gallon to keep some semblance of hydration. One wets the bed but not peeing in the bed but perspiring even with the fan going, when there is electricity. It is still about 90 to 95 in early morning. In some of the huts where other people live and no fans etc. it is 100 even in the early am. The shower water is even hot by the time it is pumped into the hospital water tower tank and then through the hot ground to our houses. Some say the humidity is increasing although I hadn’t noticed it much yet. The air is still pretty dry. It is hard to study French or read or do much of anything when it is so warm.

     Update on Zane. He has been afebrile since he got to the airport in N’Djamena one week ago. He is undergoing lots of tests at University of Maryland Children’s Hospital. They say he may have a little infiltrate? in one lung and his WBC was 17,000 with high percentage of lymphocytes and his AST was elevated. He is being tested for all kinds of unusual thngs but all has been negative thus far. We should know more in a few days. But we are glad that he is feeling better and afebrile. Maybe they will figure out what it was. He has several different opinions from different specialists as to what the problem was or is. We are very thankful for all the prayers going for him. 

     Surgery is still busy and has some interesting cases. I took out a brachial cleft cyst a few days ago. I did a 5th ray amputation of a foot for a tumor of the 5th toe. Also did an amputation of front half of a foot trying to save his heel so he can walk. He had a very large tumor of his distal part of foot. Also a 1 yr old with a very large incarcerated inguinal hernia and another man with a strangulated inguinal hernia but the bowel was still viable and pinked up ok. Also a c-section today for fetal distress with bradycardia and much meconium but mother and baby are doing well. Another c-section was not soon enough for the baby even though we did it very quickly after she arrived. I drained a huge peritracheal abcess with probably 2 cups of purulence removed. Also chest tube in a man with an empyema that he had had for 2 yrs he says. He had been to other clinics but no one had stuck a needle in his chest to see what it was. I wish I was a better urologist with all the blockages from large prostates, urethra strictures including a 4 year old, bladder tones, also have testicular tumors, hydroceles, undesended testicles, renal cysts, etc. Actually we have taken care of most of those ok I think. I had two that looked like chocolate pudding when you cut open the testicle after we did the orchiectomy for some kind of tumor. We are somewhat short of some sutures but someone had sent lots of very tiny suture ie. 7-0 or 8-0 that we have very little use for. This was some donation in years past.

     Pray that we will have the gift of tongues or languages and learn French rapidly. Yes I know that it takes work or time concentrating on it and tryng to use it with the local people but there are other languages here such as Arabic and several others as well. The administrator’s son age 12 already can speak 5 languages including English, French, Arabic, Gombie, and Longerier sp?
     Glad to hear from anyone that sends us updates of back home esp. thanks to Gloria Ketcher, Cathi Spencer, and Lauren Upson and Κathy Keaton, Kendra Anderson and others.
     Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. Incidentally my email is drbland@sbcglobal.net in case this is copied on somewhere. Dolores email is dfband01@gmail.com . Our internet is sketchy and slow but we are getting through if we are patient.

Love to all,
Rollin and Dolores