My New blog is located at www.seekthecompass.wordpress.com

Sorry for such a long time with no updates. All my travels are finished for the summer. Since last time I posted, I have been to Germany and Ethiopia. Ethiopia trip was a Buckner trip with my home church and 2 other east Texas churches. During our time there we conducted health education 'classes' and medical clinics. I helped out in the Medical clinic assisting the doctor where needed. Several hundred eye glasses were also given away in the vision clinic. It was a very educational time where I learned about Ethiopia and their state of living. We visited 4 different villages/cities while we were there. I will add more detailed description of the trip with pictures later.
School starts back up again on Tuesday. It is my final year!! Thank you for all your support and prayers through my college career. I hope to finish strong!!

Below is PDF files of my report from my Kenya trip with LEGS. It can be accessed online and then downloaded from Adobe.

I have been told by several that I need to update my blog. Don't worry I am still alive and still loving Kenya!!
Much as happened the last few weeks!! New patients have come in, new friendships have been developed, and much has been learned. This week we finished the LEGS work with 3 guys from Mombassa. They were soo much fun to interact with. We spent hours talking and comparing the USA to Kenya on alll sorts of topics. I learned alot from them on the Kenyan culture. 2 memebers of the team have been sick. I was sick for a few days and Jason has been sick for about a week. I am feeling much better and Jason seems to be getting a little more energy back.
This last week has been spent getting last minute details taken care of. I had to chance to do balloons again in the wards. The kids were sooo much fun. The workers of the playroom were making balloons right along side me and doing just as good. It was awsome to love on the kids. I also spent some time playing in the playroom with some kids. They are so cute!!
Last night our team was invited for dinner at one a family's house. the food and fellowship was so great. It was neat to see how much they cherish the little work we have done here.
I have spent the weekend preparing to leave and packing up. It will be hard to leave all of the wonderful friends we have made here. The kenayan people are soo wonderful!!

We leave tomorrow night to come back to texas. It will be nice to be home for a few days. I will spend tomorrow telling everyone goodbye and getting pictures. I thank you all for your support and prayers since I have been away. I am excited to share stories and pictures with you all when I return!!

I pray that this experience will not just be a 6 week trip but that the relationships and experiences will impact my life forever. It has already impacted my life but I hope it will continue to as I remember the experiences and continue the realtionships!!

Sorry I have not been updating my blog as often as many would like me to. The work days are long and the nights are short. My time in Kenya is getting shorter and shorter as my time gets closer to return to Texas.

Up and Walking
Because of the long weekend due to a holiday, our patients were not able to leave until Tuesday. The prosthesis were completed and aligned and ready to be fit. Isaac and Benea had never used the LEGS prosthesis before. Isaac had never worn a prosthesis. Because of their lack of experience and level of amputation I had expected gait training to be difficult. As soon as they put the prosthesis on they began to work very hard to learn to use the knee and walk using the correct techniques. Gait training went very well considering their situations. After gait training I took them to administer the outcomes measures. When it was time for them to leave they could each walk relatively well. Isaac used a crutch for confidence and support. Benea used a single crutch that he had used for almost 20 years. Their gait had greatly improved since the first training session. It was amazing to see how proactive they were to learn the correct techniques and practice them. I am constantly amazed at how these amputees take control of their life and do not use their limitations as excuses. They were very proud of their new legs and ready to work very hard to walk as well as they can!!

Mombassa Boys
Last week 2 new patients joined us from Mombassa. They came in Tuesday because of a holiday on Monday. Solomon and Victor are both retuning patients and have worn the LEGS knee for several years. They have known each other for 6 years. Solomon lost his leg due to infection after a braking his leg in a soccer game. He is a very smart guy and teach social studies at a primary school. Victor is just as smart and interesting to talk to. The first few days with them we filled out informational forms and got to know them. Solomon asked Tasha and I what is means to be a Christian. We took turns explaining our Christianity beliefs and how they effect our lives. Solomon was interested at how they were all similar descriptions and answers. It is amazing how we all serve the same God but live thousands of miles from each other and live totally different lives.
Because my main job is not to be done until the patients have their new prosthesis, I spend my time talking with the patients and getting beat at checkers.

Dinner Time
Wednesday we had a celebration dinner with the staff of the Brace Shop and with other friends we have met. Mama Chickoos, the local and only restaurant, was packed full with our team and brace shop guys. The food was amazing!! It was a great time fellowship and fun.
The majority of Team Kenya left on Friday. We are now down to 3 people. Me, Ricc, and Jason are the remaining team members in Kenya. It is up to us now to complete all the tasks and train the patients to use the new prosthesis. The house is much quieter now. We continue our work with the patients and exercises with Micheal, the OT. He is my boss now when it comes to rehab and gait training. Megan taught him all that he needs to know and I am fully confident he is ready to lead out. It is great to see him so eager to learn and use his knowledge!!

What is a Home?
I have found that Kenyans have very interesting conversations and debates amongst themselves. After exercises, Micheal likes to start up debateable discussions. The first was "What is a home?" Solomon says his home is in Mombassa but his tribe is not from the coastal regions nor his family. He has lived in Mombassa for 7 years and considers it his home. Micheal says that a home is where the family shamba is and where his family owns land. Land is a very important aspect of life in Kenya. Land ownership is a Kenyan's identity.
The debate was over what is the definition of a home. Is a home where you currently live? Is a home where your family lives? Is a home where you own land? This discussion was very interesting on how the definition of 'Home' differs according to tribe, culture, and family.
The second topic of debate was politics. I never like to discuss politics because I do not know much about the US politics. Thankfully the political debate today was about current issues in Kenya and tribal conflicts. Tribes, loyalty, and leadership were all topics of discussion. They asked me what the tribes were of the USA. Even though we do not have 'tribes' in America, we do operate many things like tribes do. The more I thought about 'tribes' in America, the more I saw the comparisons.

The Real Kenya
Saturday we were invited to go to Daniel's house for lunch. Daniel is one of my favorite guys in the brace shop. He is always playing the radio, dancing, and singing along. He invited the 3 of us to join his family at his home for lunch. He came to pick us up and drive us up to his village home. From the time we began the drive through his village I knew I was experiencing the 'Real' Kenya. We drove past small mud homes through small roads that are just wide enough to pass through. We pulled up to his home surrounded by a makeshift fence. We were greeted by his 2 daughters and his wife. The home was small but functional. The kitchen was outside along with the outhouse. No running water or electricity went to the house. We were invited into the living area to wait for lunch. The chairs were draped with very nice cloths. I sat next to the girls. Lunch was served around the room. We had rice, cabbage, and goat. After lunch we were served fresh fruit and then chia. The food was amazing!! After chia, I was asked by the daughters to go meet their friends. The girls did not speak much English but I was up for an adventure. We began down the bumpy dirt road. I was told we were only going a few meters away. They took me through a fence. I met an older couple that did not speak any English. They were very welcoming and hospitable. we continued our journey down another bumpy road. As we walked people were coming out of their homes to see 'the white girl'. I got the impression that not many white people go to that village and walk down the streets. Everyone was starring as we continued our walk. I asked the girls where we were going and all they said was "shops". I had remembered passing some shops at the entrance of the village as we came in. Along the way, we stopped in a another house. I was welcomed by the mother of the house and met the friends of the girls. They had just returned from their shamba with huge sacks of potatoes. She was sorting them into 3 categories; seeds, cookable, and mashable. We talked for a while about why I was in Kijabe and for how long. She asked about my shamba and what I grew. I told here in America, I do not have a shamba and but my vegetables at the store. She was amazed at the idea of that. Upon leaving, she gave me a big sack of potatoes as a gift. Our walk concluded at the shops. We walked back and finished talking with the family. It was such an honor to be invited into Daniel's home and meet his family.


Intense Rounds
Today we continue to complete the prosthesis for the boys from Mombassa. Most of the morning I worked on examining the patient forms. I wrote almost 4 pages of suggested changes. During the afternoon I went to Kijabe Medical Center with the PT to do rounds with him in the wards. It was a very interesting experience. We began on the men's wards. The atmosphere was much different than at CURE. KMC is full of patients that need immediate care. It is the local hospital for surrounding villages. I walked around the wards and observed the PT so ROM stretches and strengthening exersices. I saw 2 stroke patients that were effected unilaterally. An interesting case was a Masai that had been stabbed in the head with a sharp knife. He was cut on the left side but all movements and process were effected on the right side. The Boracca center (speech) was effected which resulted in paralysis to the right ht side of the body and inability to talk. Another patient had just had his leg amputated along with a femoral fracture to the same limb. The PT was excited to tell me he is preparing him to be sent to the brace shop for a LEGS prosthetic and is currently using the rehab techniques taught by Megan. His amputation was caused by a gun shot from the violence in January. The last patient I was able to see was a young boy in the ICU department. He had electrical burns due to grasping electrical lines. He was unconscious under a tent of blankets. All of his torso was burned and not yet in dressings. It was painful to see. I hope to go on rounds another time before I leave with the PT.
It was interesting to see the stereotypes of being an American come out. He knew I was a student in the US. Because of this, he assumed I knew much more medically than I did. He would ask me questions, opinions, and interpretations of rehab. I had to tell him several times that I have not been trained and am learning from him.

Tomorrow we will complete the patients fitting and testing and begin on 2 more patients.


Please pray that the fittings go smoothly and that we can get all done that we need to. Pray fro travel safety of our patients and motivation from the staff of the brace shop.

(3 new posts!!!)

Sunday we went to Nairobi for a fun day in the city. We began the day by going to the Elephant orphanage. This is place that rescues endangered baby elaphants and helps raise them until they are prepared to go back into the wild. We got to see elaphants ranging from 3 weeks to 6 moinths old. They would come up to us and rub the huge backs up against us. It was a fun experience to get soo close to elephants.

From there we went to eat Ethiopian food. I had called my pastor, Kyle Henderson, the night before to invite him to join us. He is in Nairobi studying at a university about African Culture for several weeks. He was bale to come out and join us for lunch. We went to the YaYa center to go to the open air market. Instead of shopping I walked around with Pator Kyle and heard of all his experience thus far and some oif the many interesting things he is studying. We had a really nice talk. It was good to see a familiar new face and hear of his experiences and plans.

On a seperate note....The 'high ranked' people of CURE are staying at our house this week. I had the chance to talk with a man that will be going to the new CURE office in Ethiopia. He gave me names and contacts of the directors of the new Ethiopian CURE hospital. I hope these contacts can be useful with the Ethiopian ministry of the church.

We started our treack to the '3 layered waterfalls' at about 11:00 on Saturday. Dr. Gouchen, his wife and 2 college guys visiting them came along for the journey. We started the treack through RVA and then up to the railroad tracks. We marched along the tracks for about 2 miles, looking for our amred gurds that were to guide us to the falls. We stopped to rest while part of the group continued a little ways to find the guards. While waiting some of the team went down a steep trail to explore an old train crash that layed at the bottom of a revene. I decided to stay up top and 'save my energy'. Looking down the tracks I spotted 2 men with rifles. They were our guards. We waited as all the team gathered to begin the journey. We walked a little further down the tracks and then went off into the bush. The trail was distinct as we began through the bush. we followed a pipeline much of the way on the edge of cliffs and thick bush. The further we got into the jungle the thicker the bush became and lesss distinct the trail became. The climb became an obtacle course with trees to climb under, rocks to hop across, revenes to jump over, and vines to grab onto. The rocks and mud were slippery as I clibed uphill. The bush was scratching ass parts of my body and slapping me in the face as I swam through the leaves and trees. I could only see just a few feet in front of me. I was grabbing anything I could to pull myself up and hoping I didnt grab onto somthing live. The final climb was the worst. The Safari Ants found us. As my feet sunk into the dirt and I slipped on the grass, I began to see ants come out from all the dirt around me. The little clack ants were bittling me and the giant Safari ants were bitting and not letting go. the whole group was getting attacked by the giant Safari ants as we tried for the final climb. At this point we were all slapping ourselves and yelling at the ants. We finally made it to the 'top' to where the guards had stopped. "Here are the biggest waterfalls", they said. To our amazement and discouragement all we saw was a really tall cliff with very little water trickling down. Not the '3 layered' water fall we had expected.
The jnourney down the hill was just as adventurous and tough. I was grabbing everything to keep from sliding all the way down the hill. As the ants were still attacking, I slipped and slidded all the way back down to the river. There I stripped off my shoes and pulled up my ant to begin destroying the killer ants. These ants attached themsleves to my skin and held on. To get them off, I had to pull them and my skin away. I counted about 25 on me.
The river was not the bottom, We still had longer to go. At one reven to jump over a vine hung over. The guy in front of me swung accross using the vine. Good idea!!?!!?!! I gave it a shot but forgot to let go. I slid down the vine and down the hill. Tarzan made it look sooo easy.
We finally made it back to the Railroad tracks for our final trek. The trek for the waterfall is an experience I will not forget. It was the most adventurous thing I think I have done.


Safely back at the house we cleaned up and got ready to go to Nairobi with the Gouchen family and their visittors. We went to The Village to eat and shop around. The drive there and back was an adventure in itself!! When we got back we went to the Gouchen's house and had a fun and relaxing time playing Wii tennis and Cranium!!