Much Thanks to Dr. Doug Myers

Dr. Doug Myers left today. He is a practicing ear, nose, throat, surgeon in our hometown of Vancouver. He was here for almost the entire month of February. He was a great help and had some great outcomes with his ear surgery. He operated on one woman with severe hearing loss in both ears. She could only hear people if they would shout. The morning after the surgery she could hear whispers. Another gentleman jubilantly proclaimed that he could now get rid of his hearing aid. His assistance and advice were most appreciated.

Doug assisting me on a "jaw wiring"

I also enjoyed getting to know Doug better. It has also been fun to relate some of the rewards and challenges of our service here. In other words, it is nice to be able to talk “shop” with someone who can appreciate what I am saying. We have a growing number of family and friends who can totally relate to the transition from Vancouver to Nigeria.

Doug and I on a hike near Miango.

I also enjoyed getting to know Doug better. It has also been fun to relate some of the rewards and challenges of our service here. In other words, it is nice to be able to talk “shop” with someone who can appreciate what I am saying. We have a growing number of family and friends who can totally relate to the transition from Vancouver to Nigeria.

Michael Mitchell, MD

Medical Outreach to Kamrum

Kamrum Outreach Team

Emily and I celebrated her 20th birthday on Thursday, February 19th in a very special way: by going on a medical outreach to Kamrum with our neighbor Dr. Don Sampson. (Michael and the other kids stayed at home.) Emily and I were prepared to tent camp at our destination along with our other 20+ team members. We were actually spared of that though. In fact, we shared a bedroom and had a bed and a toilet down the hall. (Mind you though, there was no running water in the whole house!) A well-off retired man in town graciously opened up his home and hosted us.

It was a big deal that foreigners were coming to the village (people from another place), much less that some of the foreigners were white! The whole village turned out the first night; the women and children danced for us to the drums. The children were especially ecstatic when Emily and I got up and allowed them to coach us on how to dance their way. One boy was so excited about how I danced that he told me I couldn’t leave the village; I belonged with them!

Dancing welcome was warming up

The next morning and again on Saturday, Emily and I participated in the outreach by filling prescriptions. Medical care is the honey that draws the villagers from all around. They come to see the doctor and get medicine. Before they can get their prescription filled, however, they must meet with a counselor. The pastors that came along were very friendly and talked and prayed with each individual about their spiritual health as well as their physical.

The "pharmacy"

In addition to the medical care that was offered, another team came and provided a live worship band, outdoor movie, and guest speaker. The soccer field was packed with people dancing and singing and laughing. We learned later that the village does not usually turnout like that for locally sponsored events.

Emily and I both had special friends that we made on the trip; mine was a young Fulani woman. I looked up the first day from the pills I was counting to find two young mothers with their babies strapped on their backs gazing at me intently and openly gawking at me. I looked up and smiled and they giggled to each other and continued to look at me in wonder. (Many Nigerians we encountered on the trip had not seen a white person before.) One of the ladies was bold enough to come up to me and signal for medicine for her head that was hurting. (Later she started walking down the road with a 30+ pound sack of grain on her head and a baby strapped on her back so fast that I couldn’t catch up to her - - no wonder she had a headache!) We weren’t taking anymore patients that day (we’d already seen over 200), so we told her to come back the next day. We actually ended up seeing more than 500 patients over the course of the two days we were there. Patients waiting at 8:30 am

I woke up and prayed in the night specifically for this one girl. She touched me for some reason. Fulani keep to themselves and are very resistant to hearing the Gospel. I was very excited when she came back alone the next day to me specifically. We had stopped seeing patients already again, but I was able to get one of the doctors to see her. My friend agreed to be counseled and hear about Jesus. She promptly came back to me and just pulled up a chair and sat next to me for a long time just watching me. It was precious. Only the Lord knows what seeds were planted that day; I would love to find out one day!

Our trip concluded with a visit to the village chiefs and important men. The village musicians, this time horn players, turned out to send us off. Especially touching were the village women that gathered around our vehicles and began singing and wouldn’t stop until we finally drove away. Nigerians really know how to make you feel welcome and very special!

Lisa

Chiefs and our gracious host

Farewell send-off by the musicians

The women singing for our farewell

Best Teacher Gift Ever!

Just last week, a student came up to me and asked if I would like a local bred chicken. I was amused by the fact that in America, students show their appreciation with apples; in Africa, they show their appreciation with chickens. My mouth just watered at the thought of receiving a nice plump, hormone-free frozen hen ready to cook. I told the student they could just bring the chicken and put it on the concrete floor because I would take it home right after my last class. I don’t think the student got that part . . .

I was quite surprised at the end of my last class to turn around and see a student holding a living chicken, upside-down by its feet in my doorway! The chicken calmly sat on the floor of my Toyota Sienna van for the ride home while I pondered what to do with this fine gift. . .

My driver knew just what to do with it! He got his pick of the chicken pieces, and the rest of us, workers and all, enjoyed some tasty fried chicken. Alphonsus got a good laugh first though when Hannah suggested that we make a pet out of the chicken and name it Sally.

I am jealous of all the cool, dramatic before and after pictures my husband has from the O.R. I decided to take my own before and after pictures . . .

Lisa

Sally - Before

Sally - After

Another Life Saved

At 9 pm last night Dr. Aboiyar called and said there was an 18 month old boy who had probably aspirated a bean and was in respiratory distress. He needed to go to the operating room as soon as possible. I happened to be coming home from picking up Emily and I was driving by the pediatric ward just as I was talking to him. I stopped the car and sent Emily home with the car.
The boy was in the intensive care unit and struggling to breathe. His chest collapsed with every effort to inhale. He was clearly getting tired. Two days prior to this, he was at his grandmothers’ home in Lantana, a four hour drive away. He coughed and had difficulty that night, but they waited to take the boy to Jos on the next day. He was initially admitted and observed in another hospital here in town. He was not improving, so they recommended that he be evaluated at Evangel Hospital, recognizing that we had the necessary equipment to manage airway problems. Thus he arrived 48 hours after choking on what was presumed to be a bean.
Dr. Aboiyar and I quickly set up the operating room and broke out the very specialized scopes, which were supplied by Dr. Joel Anthis when he was here 2003-2006. With careful coaching of our anesthetist, we were able to get the child asleep and get a good look. Something like a fishbone was lodged between the vocal cords. The vocal cords were now red and swollen. The voice box was starting to get infected by the foreign body that was lodged there. The airway was truly in jeopardy.
Dr. Aboiyar was able to deftly remove the barbed fish spine and then visualize the windpipe and make sure there was no other fishbones lodged deeper in the airway. After removing the fishbone, the child was breathing slightly better, though he still had to struggle with a swollen airway. In the US, we would have left a breathing tube in place overnight, but our pediatric intensive care unit at Evangel cannot take care of intubated patients. We simply gave him oxygen, antibiotics, and medication to relieve the swelling.
By this morning our patient, whose name is “Godswill”, was breathing comfortably. It was clear that it was God’s will that the parents have a young boy. It was also apparent that it was God’s will that Godswill survived this life-threatening event. We pray that Godswill will live up to his name and go on to do great things for God.
It has been a good day. We don’t often get to see such dramatic events in our specialty. It is a special bonus when I can see such immediate results. It is especially pleasing to me to know that we have equipped a Nigerian doctor to make a such a great difference in this community.

Godswill is bathed by his grandmother in front of his bed in the pediatric intensive care unit.


Left to right: Dr. Aboiyar, father, Godswill, mother, grandmother, me
Michael Mitchell, MD

Evangel Hospital is 50

Evangel Hospital is 50 years old now.

We have been celebrating Nigerian style. There have been three days of festivities. The music has been remarkable. The speeches have been long. The memories have been wonderful and encouraging. We have had many guests from the past. Dr. Glenn Verbrugge, who was a surgeon here from 1974 – 1984 has come for the festivities. Dr. Phil Andrew of Australia was here from 1979 to 1994. He is a family practitioner who started the training program in 1989. It has been encouraging to see how far the hospital has come over the years, knowing that it will continue to progress with time and the dedication of so many people. Back when it started, Evangel had two doctors from the United States and for many years it remained a two doctor hospital. It took off in 1989 when the residency program started.

Now there are only five American doctors and nine Nigerian consultants who are graduates of the training program at this hospital. We have 18 resident doctors in training. Over 100 doctors have been trained at Evangel. Evangel is soon to be a teaching hospital for 23 medical students as well. We have many other nursing students and pharmacy students passing through. Though it is a humble hospital by western standards, this a greatly respected hospital in the region and people travel hours to receive care here that they know will be better than they can get anywhere else.

Adventures in the Classroom, Part II: Fun with Vocabulary

Every week on Tuesdays, I assign my students 10 vocabulary words. These words are from a well-known list in the ESL (English as a Second Language) world. We go over pronunciation of the words and then the students are responsible for defining the word, writing the part of speech, listing other forms of the word, etc. in hopes that they will truly retain the word. Their vocabulary is an area that needs great improvement, particularly learning academic words that they will encounter throughout the remainder of their time in seminary. The only part of the exercise that I grade for errors is the 10 original sentences they must write using the assigned words. Grading 720 sentences a week is no small task!

The students eagerly flip through their notebooks as soon as they get them back. Using actual sentences from their notebooks, I target and address areas that I see need some work. It might be usage of the actual vocabulary words, commonly misspelled words, or writing tips in general. An area that I am especially targeting this semester is using the correct form of the word. (“He emphasized the importance of industry”, not “He emphasized the important of industry.”)

As you can imagine, I get some pretty interesting sentences and some lively discussions in class about them. My favorite story of the week involves the word “magnetic.” Many of the students used this word incorrectly in their exercise. At the board I had to tell them that “magnetic” does indeed involve two objects that are attracted to one another. However, care must be taken when the two objects are humans! Somehow

“A husband should be magnetized to his wife.”

just doesn’t quite work!

It amused me that though many students wrote this very sentence, the class as a whole instantly burst into laughter when I brought the matter up! They realized how funny it sounded out loud, but didn’t seem to think it was so funny on paper.

We have a lot of fun! It’s a joy to help the students in their struggle to understand the English language better.

Lisa

Tres Amigos (the three friends)

Here are two of Camille's closest friends in Nigeria. Hopefully, I can get Camille to add to the blog and tell you about them . . .

A New Semester Begins at JETS

We are now three weeks into the new semester (and the final one for me.) This time around, I am teaching two sections of first year English for the Bachelor students; in fact, I AM the freshman English department at JETS (Jos/ECWA Theological Seminary). Kind of a scary thought, actually! I’m sad to report that my colleague, Abi Hunt, has moved on. She and her husband are moving up to the Kano area in northern Nigeria where the needs are even greater, spiritually and academically. I am very thankful for the semester Abi helped me. I am feeling much more comfortable now dealing with cultural issues and am more familiar with the academic needs of the students. I could not have been an effective teacher without Abi’s help initially and am grateful to God for granting her assistance for at least one semester!

I currently have a total of 72 students. I teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 am until 10:45 am. Marking papers so far has been a real challenge. The students need as much individual attention as possible, but there are only so many hours in a day! I definitely need prayers as far as strategies to maximize their learning with the least investment of energy on my part. There is such a range in their abilities and age. Individualizing is another concern. I have to constantly be mindful of my student Nkwe who is completely deaf.

I spent the first semester laying a foundation with the students. This semester we are continuing to work on vocabulary building, the way English words are put together, and the way English sentences are put together. Now we are working our way up to the different types of sentences and writing paragraphs. I am beginning to see some improvement in their understanding and skill in using the English language. It just thrills me to see their progress!

Lisa

End of First Semester and Student Feedback

I am just about to turn in grades for the first semester. A new semester has begun. . .

In an effort to improve upon my teaching methods, I offered my students an opportunity for extra credit by turning in a student evaluation form. All but one student took me up on my offer. Since our family and friends have made it possible for me to be at JETS (Jos/ECWA Theological Seminary) as a teacher, I thought I would share some of the results with you. (Jeanie suggested that I do this while she was here.)

I purposely did not edit the students’ writing errors; it will give you a little feel for their needs (and what I am working with.) By the way, only the cream of the crop make their way into JETS; these students are being groomed for key positions within the Nigerian church.

What did you like most about this class?

I like the method of Mrs. Mitchell teaching. She treated in an easy understanding. I am happy because I am one of her student. I like this class because all the student are faithfull to their studies.

I like all the activities and also the puntuality of the teacher. The teacher is so patient in answering questions and also been friendly thats good ma!
(Those of you who know me and my tendency to run late might get a good laugh out of that comment!)

The notes provided to us is just wonderful, and the way we students flow with the teacher is excellent. I also love the vocabulary, and the way you make pronounciation is really improving mine own pronouncement. I again love the practicals we do in the class because my personal problem with english grammar is my foundation.


What did you like least about this class?

nothing.

I like least about this class because of the improvement I had I don’t think I can forgate the class In fact almost I like every thing in this class it helped me much

Nothing bad about the class I love everything about her class from her to how she teaches is lovely she does it the Native English speakers style.


What do you think the teacher can do to make this class better?

She can carry on. And God bless her

I want our teacher to continue with her teaching method, and this will help me, my friends even at home to learn and have the experience in English language. This will give the pattern to have a practical English languages.

I want the teacher to apply here at JETS so that she could a perminent lecturer have.


Other comments? (Use other side of paper if needed.)

I personally want to appreciate God for having you as my English lecturer because your present has improved my English, and it also made an impact to my learning. Actual my words cannot appreciate you proper, but I know that God will reward you with his abundance blessings.

I thank God for helping the teacher to teach me well. I am glad that I belong to a class where the source of English Language originates.

I whan to tall you that, the impack which you have make in my life will NIVER BE IN VAIN

Please don’t stop helping us


Thanks again for partnering with me in teaching these students in the name of Christ! I am really excited at the progress I am seeing them make.

Lisa

Conclusion of Jeanie's Visit

The most recent blog entries have been done exclusively by Michael. Though it’s been exactly two weeks since Jeanie left to go back to the U.S., I’m just now feeling caught up from the things I left undone while she was here. It was worth it though! What a special blessing to have her here with us. She has gotten a little bird’s eye view into our time here: a time that we will be talking about for years to come.

Jeanie had written a blog entry just as she left, and though I’m a little delayed in posting it, I thought you might enjoy reading a little of it:

It’s been very interesting and enlightening as to what my sister and her family do while living here in Jos, Nigeria. I feel like I know how to pray for them, the people they work with and minister to in a more effective and specific way. It’s amazing all that they do here. It’s nonstop activity from BEFORE sunrise to AFTER sunset.

I’ve enjoyed meeting many of the missionaries here and their kids..... So many people from different backgrounds working towards the same goal, sharing the love of Christ. So many different ways of accomplishing it too.

. . . What I’ve been so impressed with is how much more connected people are here. Our usual greeting to one another in the States is “How are YOU doing?” Here, they want to genuinely know how you, your family and work are doing. The people here are so warm and receptive.

It was a little tearful saying goodbye at the airport, but I trust that in just four short months, we will be greeting one another at another airport, this time in very far away Vancouver. Before that time, there is much work to do right here in Jos, Nigeria!

Lisa

Birthday – Lecture – Nigerian Thank you meal

The past 24 hours has been pleasantly full. Yesterday we had a nice Sunday dinner prepared by Lisa, and to top it off we had homemade pumpkin pie. The pumpkin was local Nigerian, though they don’t look like our orange pumpkins. Since Hannah’s birthday is coming up on Wednesday, February 11th, we put candles in the pie and sang to Hannah. The kids are trying to make their voice quiver like Uncle Larry’s voice when he sings “Happy Birthday”.

I operated on an unusual facial tumor today and Dr. Doug Myer did his first surgery. He tested the operating room with a tympanoplasty (ear drum repair). I then gave a lecture this afternoon to the family practice residents. I have been getting a lot more exposure to the residents. I have two family practice residents rotating with me now and I had one last month as well. It has been a pleasure teaching them.

This evening’s dinner was provided by Mrs. Lilian Ibrahim, Victor’s mother and Gwakmon’s aunt. These are two boys here on the compound who have captured our hearts. Mrs. Ibrahim has done an amazing job at raising some lovely children. Over the past 10 years, she, as a single mom, has raised her three daughters, one son, one nephew, and one niece (six total) in a very modest two room apartment here on the compound. We have been trying to help the family in various ways. Mrs. Ibrahim has been very appreciative and treated us to a meal in her home this evening. We had pounded yam with peanut vegetable stew. You eat this with your hands, as Sterling is demonstrating. We also had moimoi, which is husked bean mush made into balls and then dipped in a red tomato sauce. It was a lovely evening with a remarkable woman who is living out her faith.
Michael Mitchell, MD

Fire Truck Water Delivery

Our water problem is not resolved yet. Several months ago, our well was contaminated by the septic tank that was too close. Until a couple of weeks ago, we were getting water from our neighbors via water hose from their outside faucet to our ground water storage tank. The water was good, but the neighbors’ well cannot indefinitely support two families of six during the dry season. We supplemented by having our driver make one or two trips daily to another compound with a high yield well. He would fill up five 25 liter Gerry cans. He would then pour them into our ground storage tanks.
We at one point thought we were going to fix the problem by running a new pipe to a nearby hospital water storage tank on the compound. The construction was halted by politics. Some people were upset that we were getting access to water that they did not have access to. Our new tentative solution has been to get another large ground storage tank and fill all our storage tanks with a water tanker truck. We send our driver to make sure that a truck is filled with treated water from the “Water Board”, since there are stories of truck drivers filling their tankers with river water and then selling it as treated water. Our first delivery was two weeks ago.
The water lasted 12 days and by Wednesday we had gotten very low on water. We sent our driver again to hire a tanker. Apparently they are now in high demand and he had trouble finding one that was available. He somehow negotiated with a Water Board official, who arranged a delivery by a fire truck. Don’t worry, the driver assured me that they were leaving some water in the fire truck in case they were called to a fire.
Michael Mitchell, MD

ENT Help Has Arrived

Dr. Doug Myers from my hometown of Vancouver, Washington has come to help me. He has been in practice in Vancouver for many years and has a wealth of experience. He is slowing his Vancouver practice and now looking for opportunities to serve. He arrived in Nigeria on February 2nd and will stay until February 28th. He is still getting over the jet lag and getting oriented to Nigeria as well as the hospital. He saw his first patient (pictured above) today and he will operate on him on Monday.
It has been great to have someone from home and I look forward to his help.
Michael Mitchell, MD

Busy in the hospital again

Business in the hospital for the Ear, Nose, Throat department has definitely picked up again.

Monday, Jan 26

Excised this woman’s tumor. She never smiled for me before the surgery.

Nine days later she is not looking too bad. She was much happier and laughed with us when we joked around. Pictured with her is the baby that she was pregnant with in the first picture. We had to wait a few months until after she had the baby before we could do the surgery.

Tuesday, Jan 27

We had a busy clinic and then went to the operating room. An 8 year old girl aspirated a metal spring, which Dr. Aboiyar removed.

Friday, Jan 29

I repaired a broken cheek bone. We had some technical issues with our surgical drill, so we used the standby Black and Decker drill. Dan Reimer, a visiting American medical student, helped me with this case. Dr. Aboiyar was tied up with some administrative business.

Saturday, Jan 31, We drained a neck abscess in the operating room. (No pics.)

Monday, Feb 2 We had a full day in the operating room biopsying tumors and performing an extensive sinus surgery. (No pics.)

Tues, Feb 3, was an especially long day. We had quite a few patients to be seen in our clinic and we then had booked a surgery in the afternoon. Dr. Aboiyar was capably fixing a broken jaw in the operating room (using surgical techniques that he has learned over the past few months), I was still trying to see the last few patients in the clinic. At the end of the day, one man walked into clinic with a bandage taped between his eyes and blood stains all over his clothes. He had been hunting that morning in the bush. His homemade gun had misfired and the bolt flew back into his face. The bolt fell to the ground as did the patient, though he never lost consciousness. He was driven into town by his father. They first went to the outpatient clinic where they sat for some time in the waiting area to be seen. After he was finally seen, he was sent immediately to the ENT clinic. When I returned from my late and brief lunch break, he was waiting. I called for him right away and he staggered to the exam chair, where I removed his bandage. He had a large hole between his eyes -- large enough to put a thumb in. He had no vision in the right eye. I took pictures, but they are too graphic for this forum. We took him to the operating room immediately after finishing with the boy with the jaw fracture. I debrided and closed the wound and finally got home for a late dinner with our new guest and my help, Dr. Doug Myers.

Michael Mitchell, MD