Blog Aug 29, 2017

It has been an interesting week or so but also sad.   Danae, Addison, and Juniper arrived back here in Bere after we drove through the mud and water holes down the "road" to Kelo to pick them up from the bus.  Glad they are back.  Olen, Lyol, and Zane are not coming back until Sept 23.  They are staying with Kermit (Olen's dad) since RonnieLee (Olen's mom) passed away after her long battle with cancer.   All the family had gotten there in time to see her before she passed.   She was always so energetic and outgoing (life of the party) and will be greatly missed by everyone.  
The next night after they got back I was up about all night with a "maternity patient" they said was greatly distended perhaps an ectopic pregnancy.   When we opened her abdomen discovered strangulated internal hernia with dead sigmoid colon loop and dead 1 meter of terminal end of her small intestine.   Her other intestines were greatly dilated.  Resected the dead colon and reconnected and resected the dead small intestine and reconnected it.   We don't have fancy staplers so everything is sutured by hand somewhat tedious.  She aborted today which was expected.   Intestines still slow to function.   
The lady that we resected her dead 5th finger and metacarpal and stretched out her contracture claw hand about 2 weeks ago is doing well with no infection and with some physical therapy (I have to do it and teach her) I believe is going to be able to have a useful right hand.   
Also had a perforated intestine probable typhoid that had been several days so the abdomen was filled with dirty fluid and everything all stuck together.   Was able to find and close the hole and so far she seems to be doing ok.  Was not sure if there was other obstruction or not but she is passed flatus and not vomiting now.  
Sunday Zach and some volunteers went to Moundou with the little pickup to get some supplies but were late coming back.   It was after dark and had rained another inch on top of the saturated ground and full water holes and rice fields and he could not see where the solid middle of the "road" through the water hole was and got off the side into the mud.   Ten people from a nearby village were digging and pushing for 4 hours to try to get him out but only got in deeper.  The mud was even softer once you got through the semisolid crust.   There was almost no phone signal service where they were but finally managed to get a text and part of a call through to Dolores cell phone.  About midnight we (Dolores, night guard, and I) went our Toyota 4-runner with winch to try to pull him out.   It had a dead battery that Zach had taken with him to Moundou to get a new battery.  I had to borrow a battery from Olen's Toyota that I had just charged up a few days before.  I had just put on new calipers and pads (that Danae had brought back) on the front  and had not finished bleeding the lines but the brakes worked somewhat anyway.   My 4-wheel drive did not seem to work but we made it about 45 min to where they were stuck.  We finally were able to get the pickup jerked out of the mud.   The 4-wheel drive does not seem to be working on the pickup or my 4-runner or Olen's.  It was rice fields to the side of the "road" so almost everything covered with water.   We got back to Bere after 0100 by being very careful.   
Our emails are  drbland42@gmail.com and  dfbland01@gmail.com
Love

Rollin and  Dolores Bland 
Hopital Adventiste de Bere
Boite Postal 52
Kelo, Tandjile,  Chad,  Afrique
Blog  www.weareamissionarybland.blogspot.com  

Blog Aug 17, 2017

We have been back in Chad since Aug 3.  It is rainy season any "roads" are passable if you have 4 wheel high clearance .  We have had 6 inches (15 cm) rain this week so far on this very flat land.  It took us 11 hours to get the 350 km (about 200 miles) from NDJ to Bere over the very rough and slick mud and deep water holes.  We blew out one tire on the way.   We have since found another way that is a little bit faster.  The 42 km from here to Kelo normally takes about 2 hours if you hurry.  The government "has no money" so nothing is being done to any "roads".  We spent 13 days in France, Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and Monaco on the way back to Chad.  We had rented an RV and drove 5527km (about 3316 miles) and saw lots of interesting places including Paris, Chartres, Chateau de Chambord, Nimes (the best preserved Roman amphitheatre), Pont du Gard (well preserved longest Roman aquaduct), Josselin, Carcassone (old walled medieval city with turrets), Mont St Michel (abbey and fortress on a large rock away from shore in high tide), Dune du Pilat (the largest dune in Europe), the Normandy beaches ie. Omaha beach and museum, Giverny (home and gardins of Clalude Monet impressionist artist), Carnet (with alignment of old large stones over 200 years), etc.   The big problem was this was  "high season" meaning everyone is on vacation and on the road with much traffic everywhere.  We spent E400 (about $475) just on toll road fees and about $800 on fuel.  France is expensive although the bus and metro in Paris was not bad.
While in the USA we went to our oldest granddaughter's graduation from dental hygiene at LLU, California then visited my brother Reggie and family in Denver then to Hot Springs, S. Dak to visit Duane Smith (a friend and classmate of college, med school, and internship) that is not doing very well.   We were also at the Oklahoma campmeeting in July.  
Our hospital census is staying 50-60 since we got back with several long termers that are taking a long time to get ready to go home but Peds and Maternity have been busy.  We have had 5 c-sections this week.  We have had several still births since we got back.  We have had 2 typhoid perforation of small intestine, also a ruptured appendix with bowel leakage and 2 pelvic abcesses.  Dr. Debbie Mullins was here when we got here but left 2 days later after being here with Danae almost 2 weeks.  
Olen and Danae and kids are back in the USA as Olen's mom is expected to expire any time with cancer.  I think all the children and siblings are thee.  Is a very trying time for all of them as it has been coming on for quite a while.  We all take hope that the resurection and coming of Jesus will be soon.  Olen and Danae and kids left on the same plane that we came in on so we barely were able to say hello and good by.   They barely arrived in NDJ in time because their bus had problems and took 14 hours to get to NDJ from Bere.
Our emails are  drbland42@gmail.com and dfbland01@gmail.com 
Love,  
Rollin and  Dolores Bland 
Hopital Adventiste de Bere
Boite Postal 52
Kelo, Tandjile,  Chad,  Afrique
Blog  www.weareamissionarybland.blogspot.com