During my first few months in Mali, I read the book The Hospital By The River by Catherine Hamlin. The book is about a hospital in Ethiopia called the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital which does surgery helping women whom from long, obstructed labor suffer complicated fistulas that cause them to constantly leak urine or stool. I was so inspired by the book and the life changing work the Lord has done through them for women in Ethiopia. I wondered if that was something women in Mali suffer from and if our hospital here would one day be helping ladies with those types of fistulas.
This week Dan performed his first fistula repair with success so far at post-op day 2. The patient is a young girl, about 18 years old. We actually had the blessing of doing many surgeries this week with the help of a visiting medical team from Omaha, NE and Dan's father-in-law, Dr. Dave Billings. This particular surgery though was something new for all of us (it's not common in the US). We are praying for healing and a successful recovery for this young girl. She has to stay on bedrest for two weeks and the nurses have to watch her urinary catheter closely so that it doesn't get blocked. Please pray with us for her healing and for the Lord to speak to her and her family caregivers during the next few weeks in the hospital.
