Melting in the heat!

Hi all :-)

Well I had an awesome weekend cycling around Zomba mountain. There were about 20 of us in the group (not all cycled, some were hiking). We had an early start on Saturday and got to Zomba which is about 70Km from Blantyre at about 10am. Some of us then cycled from halfway up the mountain to the top camp site which took about 2 hours. It was extremely rocky though the gradient of the track wasn't too harsh. My bike however was not at it's best! I had borrowed the very rickety looking mountain bike from the guest house which had 18 gears (after I fixed them up) and a bent steering axle which made the steering very stiff - not good for avoiding rocks! This meant although I had good intentions of cycling up to the camp site I had to walk halfway :-( Anyway I made it despite a few bruises from falling off the bike due to colliding with aforementioned rocks. I can't remember the last time I fell off a bike - no that's not true I remember now: I was about 14 and on my paper round and a bee flew around my face so I took one hand off the handlebars to waft it away, as this attempt failed I took my OTHER hand off which succeeded in getting rid of the bee and also causing me to fall off - DOH!

Anyway after getting to the camp site I met several other people including young families and we went on a hike up to Chingwe's Hole. The myth about this hole at the top of the mountain is that it is so deep it reaches to the bottom of the Shire river (approx 2000m) and a past president of Malawi used to throw his enemies down the hole! I don't know how deep it is but I couldn't hear the stones I threw down there reach the bottom! We had a Braai in the evening and watched out for the rumoured meteor shower (it didn't appear unfortunately). On the Sunday we went for a cycle ride up to Chingwe's hole and then further around the plateau to Queens view (unfortunately very hazy due to the very dry dusty heat), and then continued down back to the hotel where we started Saturdays bike ride. This time I had used one of the extra bikes someone had brought instead of the guest house bike - which was in perfect condition and rode beautifully making it very easy to climb the mountain. I definitely want to cycle around Zomba again, it was beautiful although hot (approx 36 degree heat).

Today in Blantyre we are all melting in the oven - it's in the high 30's! The hospital is extremely stuffy and there is a slight relieving breeze occasionally outside. I'm sitting writing this waiting for my last MORNING patient to have her X-ray (it's now 3pm!) This has happened as when I sent her she was at the back of the queue and when it was her turn it became lunchtime for the x-ray technician, when he returned from lunch there were private patients from the afternoon clinic waiting to be x-rayed. Therefore as she is a poor 2yr old with no money we are treating for free she has to wait until the paying patients are done. This is not hospital policy but apparently 'the way things are done'. It's weird to see the prejudice between rich and poor and even the colour of skin still, it doesn't seem to be intentional but I've noticed in clinics that more explanations are given to those who understand English (and are therefore 'better educated') and to those who are in the private paying clinics. Anyway I better disappear downstairs and see whether the child has had her x-ray yet, then I can get on and book her in for her much needed operation.

TTFN

H xxxxxxxxxxx

Ambassadors for Christ

Today's sermon at church was about being ambassadors for Christ. To spread the word of God with the talents you already have (not to seek those you do not possess) and where you currently are, not striving to be in a place God does not want you. Thank you all so much for your emails and messages of encouragement about my previous blog - God is amazing. I know God has an incredible plan for my life but unfortunately I get so impatient at times and Satan then seizes his chance and does his worst. But as you can see from today's sermon God is continuing to talk to me and encourage me. I am feeling so much more upbeat this past week and have really enjoyed a busy 7 days. Although we didn't have any theatre operations till the Thursday I was still busy with a Monday children's clinic in the morning - the Children come from all over Malawi, and sometimes surrounding countries like Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique. It still hits me every time I see a new patient the poverty and problems these people endure. It breaks my heart EVERY time and I can't get over how resilient they are.

On Wednesday 6 people from England arrived in 2 Toyota Land Cruisers that had been converted for ambulance use here in Malawi. They had driven all the way here from England through Europe, the middle east and down into Africa which took them 2 months. They had raised the money for the trip and the trucks, and extra for medical equipment to donate to the hospital. The Charity is called AMECA and the lady who runs the charity is also funding the new extension to the private wing being built onto the hospital so we can bring in more money operating on adults so more can be done for the children (who are treated free of charge). It was interesting to see their reactions when shown around the hospital. The private wing here is very much like the English side rooms of the NHS - one or two beds per room with a TV! The children's ward however holds around 60 beds in an open plan huge room and is split into 6 bays of 10 beds each. The guys looking round had tears pouring down their faces whilst walking around the ward. The children were laughing and playing as usual whizzing around in the wheelchairs, on the donated toy trucks, or on the specially designed wooden tricycle that you pedal with your hands (it also has a trailer attached that several patients are towed around in!), even though they have bad deformities of their legs or arms with plaster casts or metal external fixators around various limbs to correct them they still have enormous amounts of fun as children should.

So on Wednesday night I went out for dinner and drinks with the AMECA guys and some people from the hospital to celebrate. Thursday was spent continuing my project here. I'm designing a video on powerpoint to teach student midwives how to recognise common birth defects like cleft lip/palate and clubfoot plus many others so they can refer the patients to get the right treatment early. The main problem in this part of the world is lack of knowledge about these very treatable defects, which means the child grows up without them corrected and faces a lifetime of abuse and rejection. One of CURE's hopes is to teach the relevant people that these deformities can be treated very successfully and the child can live a normal life.

Friday afternoon me and Hollie learnt how to play golf on the 9 hole Blantyre golf course with Aaron, Nathan and Tim (3 of the guys from bible study). It was actually quite fun. We then went back to the McGrath's to help out at youth group (approximately 100 secondary school age kids!) We then went to the food Court (AKA Spices) for fried chicken and chips with ice cream and sodas - very Malawian!! p.s I also thrashed Tim and Martyn at the air hockey in the games room :-) They weren't impressed a girl beat them! We didn't start watching a film Knight and Day till about midnight so went to bed very late. It's weird how out here I've got used to going to bed at the very latest 10pm (which is basically Malawian midnight) NOBODY stays up past this time, so going to bed at 3am was knackering. Yesterday was spent at Aaron's having a Braai (Afrikaans style BBQ), very yummy - steak, hotdogs, and potatoes, washed down with lots of sodas. We also played football and a bit of hockey, and Mario Kart on Nintendo Wii :-) We were all really boiled after running around we jumped in the McGrath's pool to cool off then had coffee and chocolate cake! Today has been much more sedate. We went to the McGrath's church for the first time (previously I've been going to the pentecostal type church which Bianca had introduced me to which is nice but it didn't really feel like home. But the church today was lovely, it very much reminds me of Thorpe Acre back home but on a smaller scale (about half the number). I think I will continue to go there, and I know a lot of people there already from Tuesday and Thursday bible study, whereas at the other church I only knew the few people from work there. I am on call again today as no one else could do it but hopefully that means I won't have to do another Sunday till November :-) It's nothing like NHS on calls anyway - only had to clerk a few patients!

Please continue to pray that God keeps encouraging and speaking through others to me, and also that the various parcels you have all posted get here safely!

H xxxxxxxxxxx

My God is an Awesome God and He Reigns on High!

Wow this is difficult. I am going to share with you all what I’ve not shared before – my doubts and struggles, which I know everyone else has but most times it seems like I’m alone in this struggle. I know however that that is just the Devil trying to stamp me down and doubt the existence of God in my life. Somehow I feel I have the courage to out this on my blog – weird how it feels easier to post this to a web page yet I couldn’t share it at house group this week or in the past with the closest of friends. God is really working hard in my heart at the moment! Please bear with me and pray for me as you read the following. I have been sitting for the past hour trying to decide whether to press the upload button or delete it all, but I am going to be brave and do it!

Over the past half a week or so, I’ve really been struggling with God’s purpose in my life. Which is strange, because for a good 5 years now I’ve been certain He wants me to be a medical missionary in Africa. I think this is still true, but the magnitude of it all has suddenly hit me. I’ve been asking myself (and God) – what am I doing here? Past thoughts and dreams have come to haunt me – I just want to settle down into a nice comfortable job in the NHS, have a family, and grow old in the comfort of England. With the work that God seems to have laid out before me – a life of travelling in strange countries providing medical care to those who need it most – am I ever going to have what I so desperately want, a family?

Jeremiah 29:11 comes to mind – I have a plan for you, a plan to prosper and not to harm you. I really do believe this, but it is so hard when God’s plan doesn’t seem to coincide with what I want, especially when what I want is not sin, but everyday life for other Christians.

On Wednesday evening Psalm 91 popped into my head – I have no idea why apart from the fact it must have been from God. I had no idea what Psalm 91 said I couldn’t even remember whether I’d read that one before. I have never heard from God in this way before, the word was so clear in the midst of a prayer. What did I do? Yes I ignored it – I didn’t believe it was from God, so I went to bed still in turmoil. The next morning I got up late and missed the daily morning worship the hospital has but instead sat down with my own daily devotion (The Doctors Life Support 2). I don’t remember exactly what the days thought was about but God spoke again – Psalm 91. This time I read it:

He who dwells in the shelter of the most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty
I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.’....
.... ‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.’

WOW! God in one paragraph renewed my strength. I still don’t understand why God wants me, and why He loves me so much, but with all my strength and the little faith I have I WILL TRUST HIM, I know He only has good things for me and His way is the best. It is still hard to grasp this, even though I’ve been a Christian for 11 years now.

God is still speaking to me now (I know He always is, but don’t you think sometimes He just shouts at you because you are so thick not to hear His whisper?!) I am listening to Kathryn Scott’s live worship album, the current song is:

Found freedom from my sin
And still the road is narrow
Sometimes I fall and bad thoughts are on the way
But I know your grace is strong
And your mercy new each morning
So I’ll stay the course until the race is run
Jesus I will follow
Follow anywhere you lead
No turning back
I’ve tasted and I’ve seen
That you are like no other
You reached beyond my sin and rescued me
So forgetting what’s behind
Remembering your great mercy
I choose to run until I win the prize

Amen! :-)

Mount Mulanje Madness!

Another week gone - eeek! I've been here 6 and a half weeks now! In some ways it feels like years, and in others it seems like a few days. The photo that will hopefully appear above after my dinosaur of a computer and the slowness of African internet combined decides they have enough strength to upload it. Unfortunately it has already failed in uploading the pictures to Facebook. I will try the whole FB photos again but it will probably be limited to 2-3 at a time. I really want to show you all some photos as the views on the top of the mountain were amazing and Hollie took some good ones of me operating last week. Also I think photos help you all know who I'm talking about! (Hence the photo above - back row: Nathan McGrath, Hollie Sapsford, Tim Jones, Seth Miller; middle row: Phil Grunder, Stephanie, Me; front row: Martyn McGrath, Camilla McGrath, Sharon Miller)

Well I went up Mulanje again :-) It was awesome fun, more than last time because I knew I could make it and I went with a big group of people (10 in all). I went with my Tuesday Bible study group + 2 younger siblings of the group, and a friend of the McGrath family. We went a different way to last time and stopped 2 nights, the first night after we climbed up to the plateau and then the second night after we had hiked across the plateau, and then the third day we trekked down and had pizza at a restaurant at the foot of the mountain - very yummy! Surprisingly my muscles don't ache in the slightest, but I do have some blisters on the feet and rather bad sunburn :-( I put cream on when I was still wearing my t-shirt and didn't think to add cream to shoulders and back when I took it off and wore my vest top instead - DOH! Please pray for it's quick healing as I'm struggling to sleep with the pain at the moment.

I am really blessed with a good group of friends (see above picture) and thank God that I am now calling the place I live in home. It even looks like home now as I have put photos and hangings up on the walls in my room and have my Ugandan throw over my bed. It is still strange sometimes though and the realisation that I'm in Africa only hits me when I see a strange orthopaedic condition in the hospital or ride in one of the minibus taxis that are packed to the roof with passengers and chickens or when there is a power cut just when someone comes round in the evening for dinner!

I am on call again this coming Sunday so no exciting trips around Malawi - but maybe a browse around a coffee and book shop not far from the guest house and some shopping at the local market for vegetables.

I'm hoping to be able to go on one of the many outreach clinics the hospital does all around the country soon, maybe in a couple of weeks to Dowa which is in central Malawi.

That's all for now folks....!

H xxxxxxxx

Miss (well nearly!) Miller, MBChB, Lead surgeon!

In the past week now I've been allowed to be lead surgeon operating on some of the children, still only simple things like excising extra digits on hands and feet (polydactyly), debriding ulcers and infected wounds, and putting in/taking out K wires and such like. But it's still really cool to see my name on the top of the operating notes: Lead Surgeon - Dr. Miller! AWESOME :-)

So as you can see things at work are going well. I had another nice relaxing weekend just gone, we went to a really nice coffee/gift shop, where me and Hollie had lunch and mused around all the cool hand-crafts and suchlike. We then had a film night at Aysha's (the lead physio here) where we watched Harry Potter 5. Sunday involved going to church in the morning then lunch in town at the food court, (where they have the most amazing Bakery shop), and then there was a women's bible study group in the afternoon at someone's house.

Last Wednesday evening went well too - which was Bianca's leaving party and also my on call night. I didn't get any calls and loads of people turned up to the party. We unfortunately didn't have any power, but we had planned for that and had cooked the chilli (yes Vic and Katie - it was silly chilli!!) and potato wedges and rice all before the power went off at 6pm and kept it warm in the oven till guests arrived at 7ish.

I have played hockey a couple of times with some girls at the local sports complex in the past week and will definitely continue going as it's fun (despite automatically kicking the ball with my feet still - I usually play goalkeeper but have been playing outfield!) - yesterday I also got hit just under the jaw with a stick - which hurts :-( Please pray for quick healing.

This weekend we have planned to go up Mulanje with the Tuesday bible study group. There will be about 8 of us which is going to be awesome. We are going up early Saturday morning and then staying 2 nights on the mountain and then be back in Blantyre Monday evening in time to go to the local cinema to watch inception. Please pray we are all kept safe this weekend, both travelling on the roads and up the mountain, and that we will all have fun and be fit enough to do the whole trek!

Thanks to my Mam for help sorting my bank card. There wasn't a problem in the end, just a random ATM that refused my card - apparently they do that sometimes in Malawi. And thanks to Vic too - mmmmmmmmmmmmm Haribo :-) loved the card too. Thanks to everyone else too who is regularly emailing/messaging - love you loads :-) You are all making it easier to be here knowing you are thinking and praying for me.


Much love to you all,
H xxxxxxxxxxx

Home Sweet Home

So, I've been here a month now - eeek it's totally flown by! But I really feel at home here now :-)

Didn't go anywhere exciting this weekend as I needed to renew my visa which happened successfully and with no trouble at all though I had to pay £20 for the privilege. I tried to pick up some post that has arrived for me - very exciting :-) but couldn't as it was shut at the weekends. Will hopefully get there tomorrow.

It's a good job I didn't go anywhere really because apparently I was on call on Sunday and only found out when a guard came to fetch me (they couldn't get hold of me on my mobile as it was switched off from being in church in the morning!) African organisation!! Oh well, it was OK and there wasn't an emergency - just all the kids needed clerking for the coming weeks surgeries. By the time I'd got to the kids ward the consultant doing surgery on the Monday was already there doing his ward round, he didn't seem to mind too much that I hadn't clerked any of his patients!! If I was in the UK I would have been sacked - never mind nobody had told me I was supposed to be on call! Anyway all is well and I have now tracked down the on call schedule for this month and am on call this coming Wednesday night and on the 20th. Please pray whatever (if anything) I get called about I will be able to deal with confidently and well. I continue to be amazed by the patients here - they cope with so much. Any child with a deformity, even as small as a clubfoot, will have less in life than 'normal' children. Their families may reject them, they have less education, less job prospects, and even less prospect of marrying! It breaks my heart. Yet we are constantly rewarded by the huge smiles on their faces when they see that their limb is fixed/no longer in pain, or even when we tell them we can do something to help. I manipulated (pulled into it's correct position) a fractured forearm today in a 10yr old boy who had ONLY been given paracetamol and ibuprofen 30 minutes beforehand! He didn't even shed a tear, yet in the UK we would spend hundreds of pounds doing it in theatre when the child is anaesthetised. By the way this was a western kid who has lived here for 6 years as his parents are missionaries.

Sheila has now left :-( but I am getting on extremely well with Hollie the new med student. Dr Cashman is really nice and is very approachable and is good at teaching. I hope to get a project started soon with him on neglected lateral condyle fractures and how we should be treating them.

Bianca (the German student) leaves this Friday :-( I have also gotten on really well with her and will be sad to see her go. We are having a party around ours on Wednesday.

I have even found a hockey team at the medical school who I can train with and am going tomorrow - they have a goalie kit I can use (who knows what state it is in though!) I am really looking forward to it.

That's about it really for this week, ooooh the upload of a photo of me and Sheila up the mountain worked :-) YAY - see it above.

Much love

H xxxxxxxxx

Climbing Mountains!

So, I made it up Mount Mulanje! I got about a 1/3 of the way up on the Saturday and was sore;y tempted to turn around and go back. Sheila however, urged me on! 7 hours later after stepping off the minibus in Mulanje town we had made it to the plateau and rested for the night in one of the 10 huts situated there. We met some others also staying at the hut who were Malawian and were planning a trip there with school children to teach them orienteering and other scout like activities. They told us of some of the myths local Malawians believe about the mountain.

The highest peak - Sapwita - which means 'Don't go there' makes Mulanje the 3rd highest mountain in Africa. It is called don't go there because the locals believe witchcraft is on the mountain because people go up there and never return....!


We climbed down a different way on the Sunday which took equally long and by the end my feet were killing me - we had a well deserved soda at the small supermarket in Likumbula which is 6Km from Mulanje town round the side of the mountain. The views were stunning and we could even see Mozambique peering at us from below the clouds! I tried to upload some pictures for you but internet is snail pace here and it wasn't working :-( I'll try next time.

Work continues and is going well. Dr Cashman is back tomorrow, he is the other consultant doctor on the team I work with. This hopefully means I will get to help out with some elective joint replacements on the private patients which I have not yet done as Dr Sam mostly works with the children and minor fractures. A medical student arrived today for her elective, which means I have a travelling buddy for the next 7 weeks - she wants to go to Mulanje, I told her she'd have to wait at least a few weeks for my muscles to recover! I hope that she wants to visit the lake too.

bible study at the McGrath's was amazing - especially the roast chicken dinner beforehand :-) I'm looking forward to the same tomorrow evening. We are going to go to the local Chinese restaurant on Friday for Sheila's leaving meal - she goes on Saturday, please pray for safe travel and for her week in South Africa sightseeing before she returns to the US.

Thank you for your prayers about my stomach - my pain has completely gone :-) I'm now sure it was just a doxycycline side-effect as it is listed in the BNF. Please pray for this Saturday - I'm staying at home this week as I need to renew my visa. Please pray that it will be quick and easy with no complications and that they won't charge me too much.