Blog Sept 24, 2017

This earth is "waxing old like a garment".  Three major earthquakes in a month hit Mexico.  Another earthquake hits northern California.  Even tremblors in Oklahoma.  Cyclone batters Japan.  Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose, and Maria devastate the Carribean islands, Puerto Rico, Texas, Florida, etc with severe winds and severe flooding.  There have been many deaths in all these disasters.   It is hard to imagine 175 mile per hour (280 km/hr) wind and up to 40 inches (101 cm) rain from a single storm.   
Danae and Olen and kids are all back here now.  Danae is trying to spend as much time as possible preparing for her Ob-Gyn boards that she is to take in Jan.  Olen spent some extra time with his dad after his mom's funeral.  Olen and kids had to take a motorcycle then canoe over part of the "road" to get here.  They are doing some home school for Lyol and Zane.  We are basically isolated here with no "roads" out.   The water is still rising.   But the rainy season should be decreasing soon and then it will turn dry.  The water table is at the top of the ground meaning that the water is at the top of the wells.   We took a ride a little way in a Land Cruiser with Jonathan Dietrick today until the water was hip deep and there were a few km to go on to the main river stream so near the bridge is probably at least 2 or 3 meters (6-10 ft) deep.   Hopefully we won't need to go anywhere but that is probably the main reason the hospital is slow because the patients can not get here except by canoe or ox cart.   Motorcycles are ferried in canoes to where the water is more shallow.   They like lots of water for the rice crop but they say this too much and it is later this year.  Mud bricks don't do well either as the water is up around some houses.   I'm sure there are some people that die especially in some remote villages because they can not get out. 
We had a miracle.  A volunteer several months (last rainy season) had broken a piece on our only lawnmower then he had completely disassembled the motor and everything and left a pile of parts.  While I was home on annual leave I was able to order a gasket set so to make it possible to reassemble the motor but I did not realize that a piece was missing that holds the blade onto the shaft.   We found a piece among some other pieces of old lawn mowers that fit.  We put the motor back together and the piece that we found that holds the blade onto the shaft.   Eureka!!!   The lawnmower runs and cuts grass.  Apparrently the volunteer did not realize that the only thing wrong was the broken piece that holds the blade on.   I can get some exercise mowing grass now.   
Our Chadian medical student was here last month.   Hopefully he saw and learned a few things.   He scrubbed with me on a typhoid perforation that we repaired also a strangulated hernia that had to have some intestine resected.   Also some C-sections for various reasons.   He has now returned back to school.  We had a quite large tubal abcess that we opened today.   Danae and I have done some vesico-vaginal fistula repairs since she has gotten back.   
Our emails are  drbland42@gmail.com and  dfbland01@gmail.com.   

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